Torres del Paine is a Chilean national park where you can see breathtaking landscape including rivers, waterfalls, glaciers and mountains steep as towers. They are the main reason for the parks’ name: Torres in Spanish means Towers. In 2015, more than 2.5 million visitors from all over the world came to see this wonder.
How to get to Torres del Paine
To go to Torres del Paine National Park from Santiago (the Chilean capital) is a 3-lag trip.
First, you should fly to Punta Arenas, the southernmost continental city in America. A 2-ways flight would cost you about 150 Euro. Secondly, you should take a bus (3.5 hours) going north to Puerto Natales, a charming town built around tourism: gear rental, hostels and restaurants are the most prominent businesses. The bus costs 10 Euro each way. You can take the bus at the very airport in Punta Arenas to arrive in the same day, or spend one night in Punta Arenas and go to Puerto Natales the next day.
Third step, you should take a bus from Puerto Natales to the National Park Torres del Paine (another 2 hours, about 8 Euro each way), which arrives at the park entrance, where you can buy a ticket (about 38 Euro for non-Chilean visitors, and 9 Euro for Chileans). Afterwards, and depending on the route that you want to hike, you should rent a catamaran or a van, which will bring you to the corresponding starting point (see map).
A good advice is to take a very early bus from Puerto Natales to Torres del Paine to get the most out of your first day of hiking.
What to see in Torres del Paine?
There are several ways to visit Torres del Paine National Park, and it will depend on how much money, time, physical condition and adventurous spirit one has. The first time I was there, I have done the “W” with my own tent, which implies that I had to carry all my stuff by myself: tent, sleeping bag, cooking stuff, food, clothes, etc. The good thing is that water is so pure and clear in all the many rivers and lakes that one can drink it directly from nature. But still, my backpack was way too heavy for me, and this time I really wanted to carry a light backpack and to enjoy my trip with my husband.
In the park, you can make a 4-days hike, called “the W”, because it goes around 2 big mountains in the park making a W shape, or “the O”, a 7-8 days hike, which closes “the W” with an upper bow (see map, “W” path in red and “O” path in yellow). I have done the W 2 times, in 2009, and now, with my husband, to show him all the prettiness and wildness of my country.
For doing the “W” one does not need any special training, but of course to have a good physical condition helps a lot. I was going to the gym 6 months in advance of this trip, and I really noticed how much strong leg muscles helped me during my hike.
For doing the “O” one needs a bit more adventurous spirit and condition: the hike is longer, the conditions are a bit harsher: it is more windy than the “W”, and you can do this only with a tent, because there are no other accommodation possibilities.
Where to sleep & eat in Torres del Paine?
During my first hike in Torres del Paine, I was by myself, with my tent and my heavy backpack. Along the “W” and the “O” there are several camping places. In some you should pay, others are for free, but in most of them you should reserve in advance (see link below).
Also, along the “W” there are several “refugios”, or very simple hotels in the park, with shared rooms (usually 8 persons per room) and a common and big dining room, where simple meals are prepared for dinner and breakfast.
There are many companies offering booking services, but we preferred “Fantástico Sur”, because my husband does not speak any Spanish, and from all companies I consulted, they had the better and most accurate information in English. Also, they had the possibility of booking breathtaking huts in the middle of the park, with amazing view and some more privacy.
This time we booked the “refugios” and one night at the huts, but the demand is so high, that I had to make reservations in June for our trip at the end of December.
Where to start the hike?
As the main circuit starts and ends in different places, it is possible to start in 2 different ways: right, at the Torres del Paine, the tower-like mountains that give the name to this national park; or left, at the Grey glacier. The first time I was there, I started left, but now I found out that the other route is a bit better.
The first day you arrive to the “refugio” called “Las Torres” with a van from the park entrance. There, you can leave all your heavy stuff and take just the needed clothes for a day trip to “Base de las Torres” and back. This is ideal because on average, that day you will walk for about 10 hours: 5 going in one direction and another 5 going back. This was maybe the most difficult part because the terrain is very steep and irregular, but it is also the most beautiful one, taking you to the highlight of this national park: The Torres del Paine. I found it good to start there, because no other day was so demanding as this first one. On my last trip I did this on the last day and I was already destroyed from the 3 previous day of hike.
The second day, you should walk from “Las Torres” to the left, going to the “refugio” called “Los Cuernos”. It is not on the map, but it is located a bit before the middle part of the “W” shape. This hike is rather short and easy, less than 6 hours. At the end, we found our wonderful hut, with the most wonderful view on earth. Here we could observe the amazing nature and incredible landscapes, and regain energy from the previous day and for the next ones.
The third day we walked from “Los Cuernos” going in the middle of the “W” to the French valley, where several rivers, glaciers and mountains are to be seen, and then went back and continued left to the “refugio” called “Paine Grande”. This day we walked 11 hours, but it was not as demanding as we thought, because the terrain was more even and we had a bit of wind cooling us. Regarding landscape, it was amazing to see huge wild rivers and hanging glaciers.
In our fourth and last day we had a one day trip to the Grey Glacier, so we left heavy stuff at the “refugio”. It was again a good idea, because this part of the “W” goes many times up and down, and is very irregular. We walked about 10 hours in the two ways, but we could observe a lot of amazing nature, and at the end, the big icy price: the wonderful Grey glacier!
When coming back to the last hostel, and we completed the “W” without any delay, problem or accident – which are very common, mainly because some people do not wear proper hiking shoes – we celebrated our South American adventure really loud!
This trip was such an amazing experience, and it was very special to be that in touch with the nature, so much in the south and observe such beautiful things, so pretty that they almost seemed fake. A trip like this is physically very demanding, but totally mind-freeing and rewarding, and I cannot do anything else to recommend such experience to everyone!
Links of interest
