Torres Del Paine | Everything you Need to Plan and Prep for the W-Trek

Patagonia held a long-standing and prominent position on our bucket list for its epic vistas and endless opportunities to be immersed in nature. But honestly, we didn’t even know if Patagonia was a province (nope) or a less defined area of land like the Canadian Prairies (kind of). Needless to say our planning started from ground zero and Torres del Paine National Park ended up on our itinerary simply because it popped up on repeated searches about the area.

If you’re anything like we were, this guide is for you. We’ll share everything we learned from months of planning and days of trekking and hope it makes your experience a little easier and more enjoyable.

Plan + Prep your Self-Guided W-Trek in Torres del Paine

Tour vs. Self-Guided: Why we recommend hiking without a tour
Advanced Booking: Winging it isn’t optional for the W-Trek
Choose your trek: A breakdown of Torres del Paine route options
Accommodation Options: Overview of the types of accommodation in the park
Booking Campsites: A guide to each campsite on the W-Trek
Know before you go: Five things we learned along the way
Packing List + Meal Plan: FREE Download
W-Trek Budget: Summary of our costs from accommodation to groceries

Tour vs. Self Guided

Ok, we’re a bit biased seeing as we went the self-guided route, but if you’re debating booking a tour hear us out. Torres del Paine is incredibly well marked and you’re rarely alone for long stretches of time. It’s nearly impossible to get lost. And for us, the beauty came from the discovery and making it to the end on our own steam.

Don’t get us wrong, we’re all for tours in areas that are hard to navigate or explain. But the W-Trek is 80+ kilometers of hiking which is best experienced at your own pace. Of course, if you’re looking to make it easier there are tours that will arrange to carry your packs from camp to camp, though we think a far better bang for your buck is booking sites with full camping equipment and meals. We’ll get into that below.

For a more gratifying (and less costly) W-Trek, do it yourself. You got this.

Book in advance. No, seriously.

When we travel long term we rarely have accommodations booked more than a few nights ahead, but the W-Trek is one excursion you shouldn’t do on a whim. Campsites get reserved months in advance during high season (Nov-March)…which we learned the hard way. Luckily we found availability two and a half weeks out, but it was infuriating to pull off and really restricted our options. Don’t be like us.

Choose your Trek

Torres del Paine is a massive park with tons to see in every corner. Naturally there are many paths you can take. Here’s a roundup of your top options.

1. Day Trips – The simplest is day trips, either from a camp near one the park entrances or by taking a bus to and from Puerto Natales. This is a great option if you just want to see one or two of the park’s attractions. If you’re short on time this might be your best bet, but we’d recommend staying in the park for as long as possible.
2. The O-Circuit – The other end of the spectrum is the most challenging. Trekking the O typically takes 8 days and includes all of the W-trek, connecting the two arms of the W to create a wonky O-shaped trail. If you’re a serious hiker there are a lot of benefits to this route. It’s less crowded, more remote and more spread out. We weren’t even sure we could handle 4 nights, let alone 8, but there’s no doubt that the O is the ultimate way to experience Torres del Paine.
3. The W-trek – We opted for the W-Trek which is appropriately somewhere in between in terms of difficulty, length and cost. It hits all the most popular ‘attractions’ – Grey Glacier, Britanico Lookout, and the famous Las Torres – and is typically travelled from West to East. We did it backwards over 4 nights but you can do it shorter or longer depending on what you’re looking for.

Accommodation Options

There are also a lot of different ways to tweak the cost and difficulty of your hike, typically with cheaper options making it harder and pricier options making it easier. You can always mix and match like we did. (Our costs are included in the budget section at the bottom of this post for reference.)

1. Camp with your own gear – This is the cheapest (and heaviest) option. It involves packing and carrying everything you need for your hike, including tent, sleeping bags, food, etc, etc…pretty hardcore. On the flip side it’s also the most cost-effective option as all you need to book are campsites. You don’t need to own all the gear – there are plenty of rental shops in Puerto Natales. (Check out Rental Natales and Erratic Rock).
2. Camp with the park’s gear – This is a nice somewhere in between option if it’s within your means. You can book full gear, or just tents (that we later learned include sleeping matts), and everything will be set up for you when you arrive, a nice treat after a long day of hiking.
3. Don’t camp at all – In addition to campsites there are hotels and Refugios (hostel-style lodging) throughout the park. These make the sleeping and eating part of the experience way more enjoyable with actual beds, and if you choose, hot meals included. We found ourselves in a Refugio for one night. Though it was a little taste of luxury, it was wildly expensive.
   • Tip: even if you are camping you can pop in to the Refugios to use the facilities, ie. hot water for tea, nice bathrooms. And, if you choose you can camp but still book your meals.

Booking Campsites

The process of finding and booking campsites in Torres del Paine might be harder than the trek itself. There are 8 different campsites on the W-Trek, 3 campsite operators, and 3 different sites and platforms that aren’t the most user-friendly.

When you’re ready to book, this map comes in handy. For further help, here’s what we learned about each campsite along the way that might impact your route. They’re listed from East to West because that’s how we completed the trek (psst… we think you should too).

• Torres Central – Our home for night 1, Torres Central is at the Eastern entrance to the park, right by Torres Central Hotel.
  • Hiking Info: 4 hours to Las Torres, 4 hours back. The best part about this site is you can leave your packs behind in your tent or the ranger’s station before embarking on perhaps the most gruelling hike of the W.
  • Facilities: Fairly large grounds. Plenty of picnic tables for cooking. Running water. The bathrooms are mediocre at best – there were no toilet seats or paper when we stayed.
  • Tip: Torres Central has a mice problem so make sure you leave your food in the ranger station. We still think we heard mice running around our feet in the middle of the night. Ick.

• Chileno – En route to Las Torres from Central. Many people stay at Chileno on their first night (or last when you’re travelling from West to East) because it’s closer to Las Torres.
  • Hiking Info: 1.5 hours from Central to Chileno. Largely uphill so be ready for a difficult hike if you’re heading there with full packs. Another 2.5 hours from Chileno to Las Torres. There is a shortcut from Chileno to the Frances Valley so you don’t have to go through Central until you’re leaving the park.
  • Facilities: Campsite in the woods. Refugio with restaurant and bathrooms. Picnic tables by the river.

• Las Torres – Not to be confused with Torres Central (above), this campsite sits at the base of the nearly vertical last kilometre to Las Torres. This is a popular choice for those who want to see sunrise. It was closed in 2019 when we visited.

• Cuernos – En route to Frances, a gorgeous camp with cabins climbing up the hills.
  • Hiking Info: 5 hours from Central, 1 hour from Frances. We wouldn’t recommend Cuernos > Britanico > Paine Grande unless you’re a serious hiker. The trek from Cuernos to Frances was one of the most difficult stretches for us.
  • Facilities: The newest and nicest in the park. Campsites. Cabin-style lodging. Clean, spacious bathrooms. World-Class bar (apparently).

• Frances – Our home for night 2. The campsites at Frances were sold out so we stayed at the Refugio. Which at Frances means domes!
  • Hiking Info: 7 hours from Central, 1 hour from Cuernos
  • Facilities: Campsite. Domes with comfy bunks, sleeping bags and pillows, plus two showers, two bathrooms and a fireplace. The nearby restaurant serves up sandwiches, pizza, and full-course meals for those who book them in advance.
  • Tip: Frances Campsite is about a 10 minute uphill walk from the restaurant, so not great if you want to take advantage of the food.

• Italiano – En route to Britanico. One of the few free campsites in the park.
  • Hiking Info: Less than 1 hour from Frances. 1 hour to Frances lookout plus 1 hour to Britanico from there. 2 hours from Paine Grande.
  • Facilities: Campsite in the forest. Outhouses. No running water.
  • Tip: Leave your bags on the bench outside the ranger station before heading to Britanico.

• Paine Grande – Our home for nights 3 and 4. At the Western entrance to the park where the Pehoe catamaran will either drop you off or pick you up.
  • Hiking Info: 3 hours from Italiano.
  • Facilities: Large Campsite. Enclosed cooking area with bustling picnic tables. Hot showers available starting at 6pm. Plenty of clean bathrooms.
  • Tip: Paine Grande is notorious for strong wind and it’s no joke. We saw a few tents blow over and even though we were in a sturdy one from the park we were still up most of the night from the sound. Be prepared for cold temperatures and bring earplugs.

• Grey – En route to Grey Glacier and often the first or last stop on the W Trek.
  • Hiking Info: 4 hours from Paine Grande.
  • Facilities: Campsite with cafe and restrooms. Refugio with bar, restaurant and additional restrooms. Phone charging station. Deck with Muskoka chairs.

Five things to know before you go

1. Consider skipping Torres at sunrise – Many people wake up at ungodly hours to walk (climb) with the hopes of seeing the towers glowing red in the sunrise. Which sounds amazing. But as much as we love a good sunrise getting up early enough to make the 4+ hour hike in the pitch black with the huge caveat that it’s often too foggy to even see the towers didn’t seem worth it. Especially when we could see two of the three from our tent at Central.
   • If you’re super into this idea, consider doing Fitz Roy in El Chalten at sunrise instead. The free campsite is a shorter hike from the granite spires that also glow on a clear morning.
2. Get there before closing time – The entry to Las Torres strictly closes at 4pm and the lookout at 5pm to ensure hikers have enough time to get back to camp before dark.
3. Britanico Mirrador is worth the walk – Many people only go to the Frances lookout vs. continuing on up the middle of the W to Britanico lookout. Which is a shame. Frances lookout is stunning but a totally different experience from Britanico. If you can handle the hike to Las Torres, the trek from the Frances lookout to Britanico will be a breeze.
4. Account for transfer time – Most people stay in nearby Puerto Natales before starting the trek which is a two hour bus ride to the park entrance and another hour from either entry point (by catamaran to Paine Grande or shuttle to Central).
5. Go to the 3 O’Clock Talk – No matter how prepared you are we highly recommend heading to Erratic Rock in Puerto Natales for their daily talk before you head to Torres del Paine.
   • To boost your confidence. If you are anything like us your curiosity is stronger than your ability. The talk helped to assert our confidence before we set out. We left feeling fully prepared and reassured that we would be just fine.
   • To scare you the right amount. On the other hand, the talk also seemed designed to scare even the most avid hikers into being cautious along the way. We were consistently reminded that there was no search and rescue in the park, and a few horror (but true) stories convinced us that walking through rivers vs. falling off slippery rocks was better. Hell we’d take wet feet over broken arms any day.
   • To get a head start on prepping. Aka the free bin. Even the most avid hikers can’t turn down a free garbage bag for extra weather protection, or better yet a half full propane tank. We also got ziplocks and a tupperware (which we still have). And when we completed our trek we returned the favour by dropping off our leftover propane, garbage bags, a mug and a pot for some lucky hikers.

The Packing List + Meal Plan

Speaking of prepping, if you’re this far down the rabbit hole your next and final step is getting together everything you need and packing it up in your turtle shells. To keep your packs light and your costs low it’s probably a good idea to plan out what you’re going to need, especially when it comes to food.

Finally, below is a breakdown of our budget. These costs are all based on the rates and corresponding exchange in March 2019. You could easily do this cheaper if you book early and bring your own gear (fun story: we even met a duo who did it virtually free without paying park entry or camping fees but we don’t recommend that). On the other hand, you can also spend more and make it a little easier for yourself by booking things like food and lodging along the way.

Budget Per-Person

$497 CAD / 274,000 CLP (or $124 CAD / 68,500 CLP per day)

• Park Accommodation – $303 CAD / 176,000 CLP
  • Park Entry – $43 CAD / 41,000 CLP
  • Three nights camping with tent – $124 CAD / 64,000 CLP
  • One night at Refugio Frances – $136 CAD / 71,000 CLP
• Transit – $78 CAD / 41,000 CLP
  • Bus from Puerto Natales > Torres del Paine – $31 CAD / 15,000 CLP
  • Shuttle from Entrance > Central – $6 CAD / 6,000 CLP
  • Pehoe Catamaran – $41 CAD / 20,000 CLP
• Rentals + Gear – $67 CAD / 32,500 CLP
  • Rental Natales (sleeping bag) – $41 CAD / 20,000 CLP
  • Puma House (stove and sleeping matts) – $21 CAD / 10,000 CLP
  • Used pot and mug – $5 CAD / 2,500 CLP
• Food + Drinks – $49 CAD / 24,500 CLP
  • Groceries – $31 CAD / 16,000 CLP
  • Treats in the park (Two drinks and a chocolate cake) – $18 CAD /  8,500 CLP

The W-Trek is an absolute beast to plan so hopefully all of this gets you well on your way. We guarantee it’ll be an experience to remember and celebrate.

If a multi-day trek still sounds intimidating head across the boarder to El Chalten instead.

What else do you want to know before tackling Torres del Paine?