Mirador Los Cuernos: A Wonderful Day Hike in Torres del Paine

Mirador los Cuernos also known as Cuernos del Paine is without a doubt the best short day hike in Torres del Paine National Park.

Everyone can do this hike and the views of the mountains are just stunning.

We never heard about this hike before we went to Patagonia. It’s nowhere near as popular as the Mirador las Torres Base hike which is completely overcrowded with tourists. That’s why Mirador los Cuernos is my favorite hike to see the magnificent views in Torres del Paine National Park in Chile.

On the Mirador los Cuernos hike, you really have the mountains all to yourself.

In this blog post, we’ll go through all the things you need to know to do this small hike, and we’ll share a tale of big birds, waterfalls and avalanches.

AFFILIATE LINKS DISCLOSURE: Dear Reader, this blog post contains affiliate links. If you click on them, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Learn more here.

About Mirador los Cuernos

Mirador los Cuernos is Spanish for “the viewpoint of the horns”, which refers to the horn-looking moutains you see at the viewpoint. The hike is also known under the name Cuernos del Paine.

It’s an easy day hike in the Chilean Patagonia. The hiking trail itself is flat since it doesn’t gain much elevation. This means almost anyone can do this trek.

Distance: 6+ Kilometers (return)

Time: 2 hours (return)

Elevation: Mainly flat. Around 100 meters elevation gain.

As you can see, the hike really isn’t very difficult and it only takes about an hour to reach the Mirador los Cuernos viewpoint. So even if your physique isn’t the best, you can still do the hike!

Related posts: What to pack for a day hike? & Hiking for Beginners

How to get to Mirador los Cuernos

It’s easy to get from Puerto Natales to the Cuernos del Paine trail.

We bought our Torres del Paine National Park Pass in Puerto Natales bus station, and then we booked tickets to Refugio Pudeto, which is the last bus stop on the bus route to Torres del Paine National Park.

You can also plan ahead and book your bus tickets online – Just search: Puerto Natales to Torres del Paine (Terminal Pudeto).

The bus is full of all the hikers going to do the Mirador las Torres hike, but they will get off at the Torres del Paine National Park entry. We stayed in the bus until the last stop.

You will know it’s the last bus stop when you reach beautiful lake Pehoé at the end of the gravel road. This is where you start the hike towards the horns.

If you’re not comfortable going here by yourself, then check out this Torres del Paine Tour, which takes you from either Punta Arenas or Puerto Natales and into the National Park. And you will come by this wonderful trail on the way!

Our experience hiking Mirador los Cuernos

Now we’ve told you about the hiking trail and how to get to the Cuernos del Paine by bus, so let’s begin the hike!

This is our story from hiking to Mirador los Cuernos in Torres del Paine. We hope you will enjoy it.

1. Start at Refugio Pudeto

Glenn and I just got out of the bus. I was a little motion sick from going up and down the hills with the bus, while I desperately tried to take pictures of the many Guanacos (llama-type-looking animal) that we saw on the way.

We were finally at lake Pudeto and I was ready to get some fresh air and go for a hike. The weather was with us, it was such a beautiful day in Torres del Paine National Park.

Clear blue sky and sharp sun, and I had just lost my cap. I forgot it in the bus and the bus was already gone. So I would have to do with a ton of sunscreen and a burned scalp – But I didn’t have time to deal with that now! Because we were ready to go on an amazing hike.

So we started following the only gravel road that went further than the Refugio Pudeto.

We were on the right track.

2. Keep your eyes open

We only walked a total of 20 meters when we were rewarded with an amazing sight! We saw two condors sitting in a tree. We couldn’t believe our luck!

The Andean Condor is the largest bird in all of South America. It has a wingspan wider than 3 meters. So when it flies, you are not in doubt when you see it. But you might be in doubt when it just sits on a branch…

As it turns out, we didn’t see any condors that day.

Up until this exact moment when I write this blog post, I really thought I saw condors in Patagonia. But looking back at the bird in my pictures, this was definitely not a condor.

Apparently we saw a Southern crested caracara – some kind of falcon. The reason we thought it was a condor is because we know nothing about birds. We just saw a big bird and for some reason we just assumed that it was the biggest bird in South America.

We did see real condors later on a hike in Bolivia. But for now, all we saw was a falcon…

However, two days earlier we had been on the Mirador las Torres trail and we didn’t see any animals at all. Not even a little tiny bird. There was too many people on that popular track, so the falcons in the tree was a promising sight for the hike we were about to go on.

3. Salto Grande Waterfall

We had only walked for 15 minutes when we made it to Salto Grande, which is a massive waterfall next to the mountains.

The Salto Grande Waterfall marks the point where the Nordenskjöld lake meets the Paine River.

Salto Grande has such a strong flow that every second of it equals to filling up 100.000 x 1 Liter bottles. Crazy strong, right?

We spend some time at Salto Grande and took some pictures before continuing down the track. Apparently a lot of tour groups only go to Salto Grande and then turn around, so you don’t meet many people on the next part of the trail.

4. Lago Nordenskjöld

After spending some time at the Salto Grande Waterfall, we continued our hike to the Mirador los Cuernos. The hike goes along Lago Nordenskjöld, which is a big lake named after the swede who discovered it.

Lago Nordenskjöld is one of those clear turquoise-colored breathtaking lakes. We found the color similar to lake Pukaki in New Zealand. It’s just so beautiful.

We followed the trail for about one more hour. Eventually we rounded a corner and had suddenly made it to the wonderful viewpoint, Mirador los Cuernos!

5. Mirador los Cuernos viewpoint

The viewpoint of the horns is one of the most beautiful views I have ever seen in my entire life. It’s definitely one of nature’s finest!

There was only about 10 other fellow hikers sitting here watching the views, which means we almost had it all to ourselves! Only 2 days earlier, we were sharing the Mirador las Torres viewpoint with what felt like 500 other hikers.

This was a completely different experience – This was the experience we had been looking for in Torres del Paine.

We found a great spot to sit and unwrapped our sandwiches. Mirador los Cuernos was definitely one of the better places I’ve ever had lunch. All of a sudden a dry and lukewarm sandwich tasted amazing. Oh the small wonders!

6. The sound of an avalanche

After finishing our lunch, we decided to just spend some time at the Cuernos viewpoint.

We were in no hurry since our bus didn’t leave until a few hours later and we knew that we would probably never be back at this amazing place on earth. So we decided to take it all in.

We spend more than an hour laying down in the grass while looking at the mountains and listening to the avalanches.

We were visiting Torres del Paine National Park in February, the summer season, which meant that the snow caps were melting under the sharp sun. This created avalanches that was big enough to be visible from afar.

Even though I was so far away from the mountains, the sound of the snow melting and breaking off the mountains was still so loud.

To this day, I still remember the sound of the mountains.

---

This was one of my favorite memories from our time in Patagonia. I hope you enjoyed our hike to Mirador los Cuernos and that you will experience it yourself someday. Learn more about what to put on your Patagonia itinerary here. Thanks for reading and happy travels!

Not comfortable going by bus or car? Join a group tour! Check out this Full Day Torres del Paine Tour.