It’s big, it’s beautiful, and it’s bursting with breathtaking scenery, Patagonia is one of those holiday destinations that makes you want to give up work, pack up permanently and move to an idyllic log cabin in the shadows of the Torres Del Paine!

The perfect holiday spot for those who enjoy the great outdoors, Patagonia homes some of the finest trekking tours, sailing adventures and camping locations that South America has to offer, and when you combine that with fine wines and delicious dining options that Chile and Argentina are famed for, it all adds up to a spectacular holiday destination.

While we hadn’t planned to visit Patagonia during our first six-week trip to South America, we soon realised, after speaking to other travellers, that we shouldn’t waste the opportunity to explore this magical place and so headed to a travel agency to book a one-way flight ticket to Ushuaia.

Internal flights were pretty reasonable at that time (8 years ago), and by purchasing a one way ticket from BSAS to Ushuaia and then a second one way ticket from El Calafate back to BSAS, we had plenty of time to discover Patagonia and experience the natural beauty as we drove overland.

Ushuaia or Tierra del Fuego, really does feel like ‘the end of the world’, and after spending a couple of days touring the town and sailing the Beagle Channel, we decided to make our way onwards and upwards to the world-famous glacier of Perito Moreno in Los Glaciares National Park.

Along the way, a visit to the Torres del Paine National Park is highly recommended, and if you are travelling between the months of November and March, you can take a weeklong Trekking Tour through the national park staying a ‘Refugio’s’ or camping mountainside.

An amazing spectacle of nature, Perito Moreno may be one of Patagonia’s most important tourist attractions, but they have built the paths and viewing areas in such a way that they are sympathetic to the natural habitat and unobtrusive.

Something everyone should see during their lifetime, Perito Moreno really is special, and I can highly recommend taking a bottle of Argentine Malbec Wine, a selection of cheeses, fresh bread and tomatoes to enjoy in front of the glacier – we did, and it was the best picnic spot in the world!