Cleopatra’s Needles — Chile

Earth Sculptures #8

The Towers of Paine

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On the ‘end of the world’ route around the Torres del Paine National Park in Chile are found The Towers of Paine.

The Torres del Paine National Park, while named after the three towers, is also spectacular for other prominent features such as the horn-like structures of the greater Paine massif itself — the so-called Devil’s Horns: Cuerno Principal (Main Horn) and Cuerno Norte (North Horn). The massif is an eastern spur of the Andes.

Other interesting sites and peaks include The Shark’s Fin, The Fortress, The Sword, The Blade and The Cathedral.

Paine masif with Devil’s Horns circled: This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.

In a normal tourist year the national park with its glaciers, rivers, lakes, valleys and spectacular mountains can attract a quarter-million people, half of whom are foreigners.

The Towers of Paine themselves can be viewed after a long eight hour trek through hilly terrain and forested landscapes. They can also be seen from an alternative distant view from meadows leading to the park. This approach while not as spectacular does give a good indication of the colossal size of the towers.