Torres del Paine, A How-to Guide
How to do the “W”
Figuring everything out was not easy, and so I wanted to compile a little how to guide.
Preparations
Figure out if you want to camp (roughly 4500 CLP/night for the campsite if you already have your tent/sleeping bag/sleeping mat) or stay in the refugios (25000 CLP/night/person for a bed, more if you want a bed with sheets and a pillow, and around 45000 CLP/night/person if you want dinner, breakfast, and a packed lunch and a bed). If you do Torres del Paine East-to-West, the first to refugios are owned by Fantastico Sur, and the second two by Vertice. You can make reservations for campsites or beds online on their website.
You’ll arrive to Puerto Natales at 9 or 9:30pm after finishing the trek if you take the 6:30pm catamaran, so you’ll want to stay there for the night. Book a hostel before you go!! You can also take a 12:30pm catamaran, leaving you time to get out of Puerto Natales the day you finish the trek.
Equipment
You need: tent, sleeping bag, sleeping mat, stove, gas, food, cooking instruments and eating instruments. I rented a tent, sleeping bag, sleeping mat, a stove, and a mess kit (bowl/cup/spoon) and it cost me $23,000 CLP for the 4 nights, though we were given a discount of 3000 CLP each, for being students, I believe. The tents are for two people. You can rent larger tents, but it’s not recommended due to strong winds. That is a somewhat legitimate concerns. You cannot fit more than 2 people into these tents.
Here are the prices we received from Erratic Rock, as of 12/2013
Sleeping bag (-9C) 3.000 CLP/night
Mess kit (up to 3 people) 4.000 (complete)
-stove 1.500
-bowls 500
-cups 500
-water bottle 1.000
-pot 500
-spoons 500
Sleeping pad 1.000
2 person tents 3.500
A note on the mess kit: the websites for Fantastico Sur and Vertice make it sound like there are areas for you to cook that have stoves. That is not the case. You will need to bring your own stove and gas, though you can buy gas at some of the refugios. The refugios also sell food (pasta, sauce, tuna, etc.) but it is EXPENSIVE.
Getting to the Park
Most flights go to Punta Arenas, but you need to be in Puerto Natales to go to the park. From Punta Arenas to Puerto Natales is 3 hours or so. Thus, you can take a flight that arrives to Punta Arenas before 7am, or you can give yourself a day or two to explore the pretty impressive town of Punta Arenas.
In Puerto Natales, rent whatever equipment you don’t have. We went to Erratic Rock, and they had pretty reasonable prices, helpful staff, and good equipment. If you haven’t yet made reservations for the refugios or campsites, go to Fantastico Sur and Vertice to do that. You can rent a tent and sleeping bag with them, thus meaning that you don’t have to carry your equipment with you, but it’s more expensive. When we rented equipment, Erratic Rock rented tents at 3500 CLP/night for a two person tent, while Fantastico Sur charged 7000 CLP/night. It’s up to you whether you want comfort or price.
Take the 2:30 bus to Torres del Paine. If you stayed the night before in Puerto Natales, you can also take a bus to Torres del Paine in the morning, at 7:30am, I believe.Pay the entrance fee when you arrive. If you’re studying abroad, take you Chilean Cedula (Carné), you pay a significantly reduced price (5000 CLP vs 18000 CLP, for 2013).
Day 0
Take a transfer to refugio Las Torres. Hike from their to your first campsite, El Chileno.
Day 1
Wake up 2 hours before sunrise, which will be EARLY, ask the front desk. Hike to Mirador Base Las Torres to see the towers at sunrise. Leave your bags at camp, bring water and a camera.
Go back to camp, have breakfast, pack up, and head to Los Cuernos. You can also continue on to El Italiano. The benefits of doing so: it’s free, and it will make your second day shorter. The drawbacks: fewer amenities, and it will make your first day longer.
Day 2
Hike to El Italiano if you didn’t stay there the night before, drop your stuff off, except for your camera and water. Hike into Valle Frances, one hour to the first mirador, and another hour or hour and a half to the second. The second vista gives you a great view of the valley, and I would recommend it, but it isn’t necessary. Hike out of the valley, pick your stuff up at Italiano, and head to Lodge Paine Grande, which is definitely the most flat, and easiest, part of the trek.
Day 3
Hike from Paine Grande to Refugio Grey, take your time, it’s only 4 hours. If you arrive early enough, set up camp and hike to the mirador 1.5 hours farther north for a great (and highly recommended) view of the glacier. Go back to Refugio Grey.
Day 4
Hike back to Paine Grande so that you can catamaran out of the park. You can either take the 12:30pm or 6:30pm catamaran out. It’s a 4 hour hike, so choose if you want to leave early or later. We chose later. You buy your tickets on the boat (12000 CLP CASH, December 2013). Buses leave from Pudeto, which is where the catamaran will drop you off. Congratulations! You finished the trek.
You’ll arrive to Puerto Natales at 9 or 9:30, if you take the late catamaran, so you’ll want to stay there for the night. Book a hostel before you go!
The next day, bus back to Punta Arenas, or bus on to your next Patagonian adventure!
Minimum days in which you can do this trek (unless I’m missing information):
Day 1: Arrive in Punta Arenas early, bus to Puerto Natales, rent equipment, bus to Torres del Paine at 2:30, and hike to El Chileno.
Day 2: El Chileno to Mirador Base Los Torres and back (without packs). El Chileno to Los Cuernos.
Day 3: Los Cuernos to Italiano. Italiano into Valley Frances, and back (without packs). Italiano to Paine Grande
Day 4: Paine Grande to Refugio Gray. Regufio Gray to mirador and back (without packs).
Day 5: Refugio Gray to Paine Grande to catamaran that takes you to Pudeto. From Pudeto, but back to Puerto Natales. If you chose the early catamaran, you should be able to bus back to Punta Arenas (though double check the bus times, as I didn’t do this, I’m not sure on that). If you chose the late boat, stay in Puerto Natales.
Day 6: Off you go! Congratulations.
So there you have it. I wouldn’t recommend doing the minimum number of days. Give yourself some time. Punta Arenas is a town with a rich history and beautiful buildings from old wealth. You can go to Isla Magdalena and see 200,000 penguins if you’re there during the high-season. There is plenty to do, and no need to rush.
An interesting idea: another group from my program bought round trip Santiago-Punta Arenas tickets, but purchased a flight that stopped down in Puerto Montt on the way back, disembarked, and instead explored Puerto Montt/Chiloé as well. They then took the 12 hour bus ride back to Santiago. An interesting idea!
I hope this helped!