Cambios

Hardly any of the trails of the GPT was made for hiking or especially prepared for hikers. This distinguishes this trail network from many other long distance trails. The Greater Patagonian Trail is composed out of existing routes that were mainly made by and for the local settlers to serve their purposes. This makes the GPT so authentic and diverse but also so inconsistent and challenging in parts.

When planning the Greater Patagonian Trail the first choice were the horse trails that traverse the remote valleys and mountain passes in the heart of the Andes close to the border between Chile and Argentina. Most of these trails are created and maintained by local herdsmen to drive livestock to their summer pastures and by settlers that live in the solitary of the Andes.  Along these trails practically no signposts indicate directions and only few trail markers facilitate route finding. Tracks quite often split up and rejoin and it such spots it is often unclear what is the main trail and what is just a cattle treading. Such trails may occasionally peter out and disappear in particular where they cross areas of open terrain and where neither the landscape nor the vegetation constrain riding or walking.   Only in a few national parks such former horse trails became official hiking trails.