The Monasterio is a historic seminary. Inside and to the left is the chapel with original art and spectacular gold leaf. There is a large and beautiful central courtyard with a 330 year old white cedar tree.
It has 122 rooms, and they are all different but with original floors and doors. Superior rooms may have a terrace. Deluxe rooms have a desk. All rooms have a safe, robes, and slippers. Oxygen is pumped into 82 of the rooms.
Breakfast is a buffet from 5am to 1:30am. Dinner is served in the monk’s dining hall. Opera singers perform during dinner on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays.
There are two massage rooms. Check-in is at 11am and check-out is at 3pm.
This is a great 5-Star hotel option for your trip to Peru!
This is about 2 blocks from the Plaza de Armas and right next door to the Marriott hotel. The enclosed courtyard is really the highlight of the hotel and makes it one of our top choices. It feels very cozy, and the staff are very attentive.
Rooms have a TV, minibar, work desk, and some have a patio. The rooms around the courtyard are slightly more expensive.
This is a great mid-range hotel option for your trip to Peru!
Built in 2012, the Marriott is a converted convent. It has 153 rooms with oxygen, express, minibar, safe, robes, shower, and tub. It is about 2 blocks from the Plaza de Armas and right next door to the Novotel hotel.
The Classic Inca Wall rooms are on levels -1 and -2. Deluxe rooms are on floors 1-4. They all have different views. Some family rooms for 2 kids under 12 years old. Terrace (Superior) rooms have a private terrace, king bed, and face the courtyard (no twins or roll-aways). Suites are 2 rooms together.
Buffet breakfast 6am-10am. Happy hour every afternoon. Check out the Inca Wall exhibition area.
The spa has an indoor heated pool, sauna, jacuzzi, and massage rooms.
There are daily activities including photos with a baby llama, cooking class, and making pisco sours.
This is a great 4-Star hotel option for your trip to Peru!
If you have an afternoon or day to spend in and around Entebbe, there are several areas we can recommend visiting.
Botanical Gardens
Uganda Wildlife Education Center
Mabamba Swamp Visit
1) Botanical Gardens
The Entebbe Botanical Gardens, which border the shore of Lake Victoria, are home to an impressive collection of indigenous forest, shrubs and plants. Laid out in 1898, these expansive gardens are perfect for a leisurely stroll.
The highlights are its pockets of thick rainforest, which locals claim some of the original Tarzan films were made in, and excellent bird-watching with 115 species. You’ll see plenty of monkeys, including black and white colobus, and tree squirrels too. There is also a superb array of birdlife here, ranging from species endemic to the Lake Victoria area (such as the grey kestrel, Jackson’s golden-backed weaver and yellow-throated leaflove) to more widespread species (such as the red-chested sunbird and black-headed gonolek). If you’re lucky, you may even spot a great blue turaco, which are truly magnificent, in the forest areas!
The gardens are also home to tree squirrels and vervet and black-and-white colobus monkeys. This is a lovely place to stroll for a few hours.
It is a 15-minute walk from the hotel and costs about $10/person.
2) Uganda Wildlife Education Center
Another option is the Uganda Wildlife Education Center, commonly misconceived to be a zoo, but actually an animal orphanage that is home to wild animals which have been rehabilitated but cannot be returned to the wild. It’s a good place to see some rare and endangered species, including a pair of black rhino, giant forest hog, chimpanzees, grey-cheeked mangabeys, lion, shoebill and serval.
There is a good curio shop here if you’d like to buy some souvenirs, too.
It is a 15-minute walk from the hotel and costs about $15/person.
3) Mabamba Swamp Visit
Around an hour outside Entebbe is the Mabamba Nature Reserve. You’ll have a guided boat ride in either a traditional canoe or small motorboat. The main attraction is the fiendish-looking shoebill, a member of the stork family that stands over a meter tall. As you negotiate the papyrus waterways, there is also the opportunity to see a number of other birds, such as the blue swallow, the yellow warbler and the papyrus gonolek. There is also the opportunity to go on a guided walk at the reserve to see wildlife that lives closer to the shore.
It is a 45-minute drive from the hotel and costs about $150/person.
You can stay at mountain hut refugios while hiking on the W-Trek. Here are the available huts:
Central Sector
Frances (French) Sector
Paine Grande Sector
Cuernos Sector
Chileno Sector
Central Sector
Offering mixed dormitory rooms with bunk beds for 6 people, shared bathrooms, and hot showers. Curl up at night in a warm, fully made bed, equipped with sheets, a pillow and a bed cover.
Strategically located close to the stunning Lake Nordenskjöld and at the beginning of the trail that heads to the famous Las Torres Mountains. This is the primary base to reach the Las Torres Base Viewpoint.
Alternatively, stay at Hotel Las Torres (self-guided treks) or EcoCamp (guided treks).
Open September 12th (camping) and October 20th (mountain hostel).
Frances (French) Sector
Offering mixed dormitory rooms with bunk beds for 6-8 people, shared bathrooms, and hot showers. Sleeping bag required.
This is the primary base to reach the French Valley. The stunning 360 degree views from the outside of this hostel will be beautifully ingrained in your memory forever. Looking around at Lake Nordenskjöld, Mount Paine Grande, Mount Ferrier, Mount Tenerife and the Balmaceda and Chacabuco Mountain Ranges is a humbling and inspiring experience. You’ll likely also see the famous “foehn” winds zipping like little tornadoes of water around the lake, and hear the sounds of avalanches from the Francés Glacier.
Open September 12th (camping) and October 20th (mountain hostel).
Paine Grande Sector
Our refuge has capacity for 100 passengers daily in private rooms with 2, 4 and 6 bunk beds (with mattress cover, pillow and pillowcase). Sleeping bag required.
On the shores of Lake Pehoe there is an incredible refuge, with beautiful views of the Cuernos del Paine and Cerro Paine Grande. It is the starting point of the route to the French Valley and the path to the Grey Glacier.
Paine Grande refuge is open from October to April.
Cuernos Sector
Offering mixed dormitory rooms with bunk beds for 6-8 people, shared bathrooms, and hot showers. Sleeping bag required.
It’s hard to pick favorites in Torres del Paine, but this camp is truly stellar. The Cuernos Mountain Hostel sits under two epic mountains, next to the Lake Nordenskjöld and not far from a powerful, cascading waterfall.
Open December 1st (camping and mountain hostel).
Chileno Sector
Offering mixed dormitory rooms with bunk beds for 6-8 people, shared bathrooms, and hot showers. Sleeping bag required.
Being the closest camp to the Las Torres Base Viewpoint, you can relax at the end of the day and get a good night’s sleep, making sure you’ve got your internal batteries recharged for the highly anticipated next day. This camp is perfect for those who want to wake up before dawn, hike in the dark, and arrive in time to watch the iconic red sunrise over the Las Torres Mountains.
The Cinque Torri (or “5 Towers”) is between Corvara and Cortina. It can be visited in a day trip or spend the night at one of the 4 rifugios in the area.
The views are amazing, and the Cinque Torri is very striking at different times of day in different light. It is very popular for rock climbing and doing a via ferrata.
There is also a WWI outdoor museum which is fascinating to explore.
Rifugios are 50-70 Euros per person per night including breakfast and dinner. They have 2-person, 4-person, and dorm rooms.
Rifugio Cinque Torri — This is
Rifugio Nuvalau
Rifugio by the chairlift
Rifugio in the saddle
The Rifugio Nuvolau is one of the oldest rifugios. It is up at the top of the mountain. People who spend the night can enjoy an amazing sunrise and sunset. They grill up hamburgers outside on the deck, and it gets very busy at lunchtime. There is also a popular via ferrata circuit.
There are multiple ways to get to Cinque Torri, including a chairlift or hiking from short to long routes (2-4 hours one-way).
One possible hiking circuit is to park at Rifugio Col Galina, then hike up the short trail, spend the night and hike back down a longer trail.
2) Fly to PUNTA ARENAS or PUERTO NATALES, transfer to Torres del Paine
Puerto Natales is the closest airport to Torres del Paine. It is a 2 hour drive to the park.
There are more flights into Punta Arenas, but it is an extra 3 drive to Puerto Natales.
It is worth spending a night in Punta Arenas to do a day trip to see the Magellanic Penguins, also a cute town.
3) TORRES DEL PAINE (Patagonia)
Most people do 5-7 days in the Torres del Paine area. You can do the famous W Trek, or do hikes and other excursions from your lodge. Some lodges are inside the park and some are in Puerto Natales. From here, you can drive to El Calafate, Argentina via Cerro Castillo.
