*There are already so many online guides on how to hike/explore/camp/drive Torres del Paine. In this post I’m just going to write about my experience of Torres del Paine’s W trek.
I’m not entirely sure where to start with this post. I’ve just returned from an incredible five days of hiking the W trek in Torres del Paine. Rewind a week and I never would have imagined my time in Torres del Paine unfolding like it did!
Let’s start at the beginning with a little bit of context…
Before flying out to South America, I’d researched and read multiple blogs on Torres del Paine and how to explore it. I really really wanted to hike either the W or the O trek. However the information I drew from my research taught me the following:
- To do one of the multi day hikes, I would have to book far (months and months) in advance. For me this was an issue as I was trying to be as flexible as possible and as such hadn’t got a route planned. I felt commiting to a specific date wasn’t something I could do.
- I’d need to book campsites to do the W or O trek independently. There are three different companies with campsites in the park and they each have their own booking website. I’d have to coordinate between all three and hope for the best. It all seemed rather complicated and convoluted given I didn’t even know when I’d arrive to Puerto Natales.
- Hiking the W or O with a tour costs upwards of $1500. Out of my price range for sure and coupled with the fact that hiking the treks independently was described as easy meant I ruled out doing a tour.
- Driving a car around the park is a good way to see a lot of it and not be restricted by bus routes and times. This was an option I would consider.
So armed with that knowledge, I decided to wait until I was in South America and Puerto Natales before I made any plans (which isn’t usually like me!).
In South America
I arrived to Puerto Natales on Thursday 28th Feb to visit Torres del Paine National Park. Arriving with nothing preorganised nor booked meant I was under no illusions. I was preparing myself to make the best of the situation and I’d see what I could with what was on offer.
With that in mind, I’d posted on a lonely planet chat forum a few days earlier asking if anyone fancied teaming up and hiring a car to explore the park. Amazingly a girl did reply saying she was keen so we arranged to stay at the same hostel and go from there. At this point hiring a car and me driving (gulp!) seemed to be the most likely scenario even if we hadn’t yet worked out the logistics.
Oh how things change!! Sometimes an opportunity presents itself and you just have to grab it. This is what happened to us on Thursday afternoon. It started with us going to an information talk at Erratic Rock. Since we weren’t hiking, neither of us were entirely sure why we ended up there. I did think that our time would be better spent weighing up our more realistic options: day trips, bus tour, car hire.
All I can say is thank the stars, universe and Ronald (the guy I shared a dorm room with in Ushuaia and met again in Puerto Natales) that we went to the talk.
After the talk we approached the speaker and asked him for the best options and what he’d recommend doing. You can’t believe how surprised we were when he told us that there were two camping spots available for the five day W trek starting the next day. We would have to do it independently which was even better and cheaper!
I think my jaw hit the floor, I seriously couldn’t believe we had a chance to do the W trek with none of the booking complications. It honestly felt like fate! There was really nothing to consider. We signed up immediately and spent the last few hours of the day dashing around Puerto Natales buying food and renting equipment.
Given its spontaneoity, I was nervous and slightly stressed that we wouldn’t be able to get everything together in time. I was most worried about there being no tents available. Thankfully it all worked out and bright and early the next day we were ready to start the W trek…exciting!!!!
The W trek (West to East)
Day 1 – Paine Grande to Grey Glacier
We caught a 7am bus from the bus station in Puerto Natales. After a 1.5hr drive we arrived to the Laguna Amarga park entrance where we registered and paid the entrance fee ($21,000 CLP and valid for three days).
As we were doing the trek from west to east, we got back on the same bus and drove to Pudeto to catch the catamaran across the lake to the start point.
With plenty of time to wait before the boat (leaves at 11am), we were able to walk up to the beautiful Salto Grande waterfall (20min walk each way + time for photos).
We were the last group to board the boat and at one point I thought they weren’t going to let us on. Luckily they did and the positive was that our backpacks ended up at the top of the bag pile. Getting off was a lot quicker for that reason!
Our route for Day 1 was from Paine Grande to Grey Glacier. Starting just before midday, we headed towards Lago Grey. Not expecting it to be so warm, I was soon out of my extra warm thermal and walking in my sports bra! The views on the way are stunning.
With our practice session putting up the tent the previous evening still fresh in our minds, we quickly set up the tent. We then headed to the viewpoint for Grey Glaciar and sat on the small rocky beach on the edge of the lake. The sun came out and it was so peaceful!
Back to camp for food and an early night. I of course had to get up in the middle of the night for the toilet. It was so worth the toilet run, unzipping the tent and seeing the starry starry night sky was incredible.
Distance walked: 11km
Hours walked: 3hrs45
Day 2 – Grey Glacier to Paine Grande + Hanging Bridges
Day 2 for us was retracing our steps back to Paine Grande camp. Since the return walk wasn’t very long, we walked to the two hanging bridges with closer views of Grey Glacier in the morning.
The hanging bridges were cool but slightly nerve wracking. I felt pretty exposed on them and walked across as quickly as I could. Grey Glacier is immense – my pictures don’t do it justice!
We had lunch at camp and then started our walk back to Paine Grande at 1pm. At Paine Grande we set up camp and were keen to add another little extra to our day and walk to Mirador Pehoe for sunset. Ten minutes into the walk, we sadly decided against it because of the strong winds. I felt like one strong gust would blow me off the path down the hill!
Distance walked: 15km
Distance breakdown: 4km return to hanging bridges, 11km to Paine Grande from Grey
Hours walked: 6hrs 45
Hours walked breakdown: 3hrs return for hanging bridges, 3hrs45 to Paine Grande
Day 3 – Paine Grande to Camp Frances + Mirador Britanico
We divided our route for Day 3 into three sections. The first section was from Paine Grande to Campamento Italiano. The views over Pehoe Lake for this section were fabulous. It could be the bluest lake I’ve seen! Plus the earlier sunrise over the lake was gorgeous!
The second section was walking to Mirador Britanico. At Campamento Italiano we were able to leave our heavy rucksacks and walk up to Mirador Britanico through Valley Frances.
Not having to cart our bags for the uphill climb was amazing! My back and hips got a nice break. I’m also glad I took extra bag straps with me – thanks Em! Instead of using them for my bag, I used them as belts to clip my dry bags to. It was so handy and let me carry a few layers and snacks with me.
Although there were flat and gentle parts, it was predominantly a steep uphill climb to Mirador Britanico. The scenery through the valley and the views at the top are gorgeous. Once again I was so happy the weather was kind to us.
The last part of our walking day was from Italiano to Camp Frances. It was only a short walk (30 mins) and we had our tent set up by 6pm.
Day 3 was also the day I met a Brit from would you believe Kingston!! Crazy!! What are the chances of meeting someone so close to your home town in the middle of Patagonia!
Distance walked: 22.5km
Distance breakdown: 7.5km to Campamento Italiano, 13km return Mirador Britanico, 2km from Campamento Italiano to Camp Frances
Hours walked: 6hrs50
Hours walked breakdown: 2hrs20 to Campamento Italiano, 2hrs25 to Mirador Britanico and 1hr55 back down, 30mins to Frances.
Day 4 – Camp Frances to Central Camp
The penultimate day of the trek – eeek!!! Today was all about getting to the last campsite ready for the hike to the Towers the next day.
It was another great (and hard) day of walking. I was definitely feeling my aching feet! A significant part of the walk runs next to the massive Nordenskjold Lake.
We briefly walked along its shore before heading back up into the hills. The uphill climbs were tough and steep! Again views were just fab!
We arrived to Camp Central at 3.15pm and quickly set up camp. By this point, I think we were tent experts! Since we wanted to see the towers at sunrise, we had an early night.
Distance walked: 13km
Hours walked: 5hrs 30
Day 5 – Up to the Towers
Hiking up to the base of the towers was the walk for the final day. I really really wanted to see sunrise at the Towers when the base of the rocks are bathed in a golden orange light.
We’d heard that rain was predicted for the early morning. Not to be deterred, we decided to try anyway as it was our one chance and as everyone likes to say the weather in Patagonia is forever quickly changing.
An early start. We set our alarms for 1.30am and started walking at 2.20am with our headtorches. Finding the right trail in the dark proved a little tricky. We took a wrong turn and ended up joining forces with another group of 7 who had followed us. I somehow ended up as group leader which I’m still unsure as to how it happened.
Once on the trail, it was impossible to get lost as there really is only one path. The reflective markers were a massive help and reassurance. Having started a little later than planned and getting a bit lost, we walked briskly to the top.
The walk is a mixture of flat, downhills and steep uphills. The final ascent to the base of the towers is pretty steep and rocky. It was also snowing lightly which meant I was more cautious with my footing. I didn’t want to slip on the rocks.
We made it to the top, quicker than estimated, at 5.50am. The sun was due to rise at 6.30am but our luck with the weather didn’t continue, and the snow and cloud cover prevented the towers from glowing golden.
After an hour at the top, the group we’d walked with left as the clouds weren’t clearing anytime soon and it was very cold! Thanks to some good advice we’d packed our sleeping bags and were able to stay up.
I imagine we made quite a picture sheltering between rocks cocooned in our sleeping bags. There were definitely some double takes and curious looks from fellow hikers.
We’d originally planned to get the 2.30pm bus back to Puerto Natales. This meant we’d have to start walking down at 9 or 9.30am latest. By 9.30am the peaks were taking it in turns to emerge slowly from the clouds before disappearing again.
Realising that it would be a push to make the earlier bus, we changed our plan and decided to catch the evening bus back. We were confident the towers would clear at some point, we just had to sit in our sleeping bags and wait.
From what I could see there were several times when we were the only ones up there. Our waiting eventually paid off!! Between 12-2pm we were treated to an ever clearing view of the towers and even a small bit of blue sky! What a result!!
Patience was key and thank goodness we had the time to wait! The other guys we knew on a guided tour had to head down 11.30am latest. Luckily we had the freedom to do as we wished.
It was then time to head down and pack up camp for the last time. Walking down in daylight when we could see all our surroundings was quite funny. We’d had no idea of our surroundings on the way up, aside from the occasional river and running water. The walk down was jarring on my knees, reaching flat ground and finally the camp was so needed.
We arrived back to Puerto Natales at 9.45pm and hurriedly went to return equipment. That was it – our 5 day W trek had come to an end and it was brilliant!!
Distance walked: 19km
Hours walked: 6hrs 20 (3hrs20 up and 3hrs down)
Final thoughts
Over the course of the 5 day W trek we walked a total of approximately 80km. I had a brilliant time hiking and exploring the incredible landscapes of Torres del Paine. I’ll keep counting my lucky stars that we were able to do it in such a last minute fashion!
P.S. I’m going to write a second short post on advice, costs, equipment and what I packed etc. I think it’s too much information to go into one!
