Parking
Start at the main entrance of Explora Patagonia and follow the walkway toward the spa. The walk begins on lodge grounds; check with Explora about permission and parking before setting out, especially if you are not staying there.
Overview
About Ribera Paine Trail
Why go
- A short, easy walk with riverbank and massif views
- Orange stakes mark the route across the low hills
Heads up
- Non-guest access through the lodge is unconfirmed
- Published distance descriptions differ by about 0.4 km
Map & elevation
The route
Loading the Torres del Paine map
Full mapElevation25–49 m
Plan your hike
Before you go
Parking
Safety
2 active Torres del Paine alerts
- ClosureInternal Y-150 road closedThe internal Y-150 road between Sarmiento and Laguna Los Cisnes is closed. - This is the internal road segment; CONAF lists the separate Y-150 access road to Sarmiento as open.Official details
- CautionOne-way and guide-only trail restrictionsPlan around CONAF’s current one-way and guide-only trail restrictions.Official details
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Torres del Paine Tour Guide
Your drive to Ribera Paine Trail, narrated.
Parkwolf is a GPS audio tour guide for Torres del Paine National Park. As you drive, it chimes in with what’s ahead: hidden gems, upcoming stops, history, geology, and wildlife, right through your car’s speakers.
See the Torres del Paine audio tourRecorded for this trailhead
Salto Chico and the Explora Lodge0:00 / 0:32
“You're approaching the Salto Chico area, beside the Explora lodge on Lago Pehoé. This smaller waterfall squeezes through a rocky channel, with the Paine peaks behind it.”
Plays as you drive up to this trailhead in the Parkwolf Torres del Paine Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- Mirador Cóndor from Pehoé
- Lago Pehoé and the Island Hotel
- Green Ground, Missing Forest
- Finding South with the Cross
- 81 audio storiesacross Torres del Paine’s roads, triggered by GPS as you drive
- Wildlife heatmapsfor Puma, Andean Condor, Guanaco, and 13 more
- Works offlinemaps, 35 trails, 56 places, and audio download before you lose signal
- CarPlay readysimple controls built for the drive
“Fantastic app with many points of information… It’s great to just turn on while you’re driving and it gives you an audio tour of the national Park. We love it!!!!”
Trail guide
Hiking Ribera Paine Trail
A short loop from ExploraRibera Paine is an easy 1.
Ribera Paine is an easy 1.6 km (1 mi) loop from Explora Patagonia’s main entrance, over low hills to the Paine River and back by boardwalk. Plan about 1 hour 15 minutes. Follow the orange stakes up and between the small hills, descend to the river, then continue along its bank toward the spa. Published route descriptions differ: the newer figure is 1.6 km, while an older one gives 2 km, so check the current marked circuit with the lodge.
Access and footingThe route links a lodge walkway and dirt road with a short climb, rolling hills, a riverbank…
The route links a lodge walkway and dirt road with a short climb, rolling hills, a riverbank path and the return catwalk. It is a gentle outing rather than a mountain hike. The walk starts on Explora grounds; permission for non-guests is not confirmed, so ask the lodge before making a special trip. Park entry by itself does not establish access to this route. Public mapping does not capture the full lodge-side alignment, so follow the orange markers on the ground.
River and mountain viewsThe main reward is the Paine River with the massif beyond it.
The main reward is the Paine River with the massif beyond it. Low bushes and small patches of forest break up the open hills. There is no named viewpoint; pause where the marked route opens a clear view across the water, and frame the river in front of the peaks.
Wildlife
Wildlife in Torres del Paine
113 sightingsPumaMost seen around 7 PMSighting map
146 sightingsAndean CondorMost seen around noonSighting map
381 sightingsGuanacoMost seen around 7 AMSighting map
53 sightingsHuemulMost seen around 7 AMSighting map
36 sightingsLesser RheaMost seen around 6 PMSighting map
11 sightingsWild HorseMost seen around 7 AMSighting mapSighting maps show where each species has been reported across Torres del Paine. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.
