#Torres del Paine

This article is the last in a series of five detailing each day of the W-Circuit trek in Torres del Paine National Park. The trek was completed starting with the Glacier Grey leg and going west-to-east, though it can be completed in the opposite direction as well.

The Base las Torres are one of South America's most distinctive natural landmarks and the most visited sight in Torres del Paine.

The trail from Torres Central goes through the Valle Ascencio and then up a steep ascent to the base itself. If you've summited a 14er before, it is a comparable hike. You can also camp at the Chileno campsite which is much closer to the base. Head out early in the morning to give yourself enough time. While many plan to take iconic sunrise photos of the Torres, in practice it is extremely difficult to reach the base before dawn and visibility is far from guaranteed.

Valle AscencioValle Ascencio

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This article is the fourth in a series of five detailing each day of the W-Circuit trek in Torres del Paine National Park. The trek was completed starting with the Glacier Grey leg and going west-to-east, though it can be completed in the opposite direction as well.

Getting from Cuernos to Torres Central takes approximately 4 hours. It is fairly flat and you'll follow along Lago Nordenskjöld most of the way.

Torres del Paine N.P.Torres del Paine N.P.


The lakes in Torres del Paine are really tiers of cascading glacial water flowing all the way to the ocean eventually.

Torres del Paine N.P.

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Valle Frances

The French Valley ascent will be your longest day when completing the W-Circuit. You can expect to take 5-7 hours to complete a round-trip to the end of the valley along with several hours on each end between campgrounds and refugios.

This article is the third in a series of five detailing each day of the W-Circuit trek in Torres del Paine National Park. The trek was completed starting with the Glacier Grey leg and going west-to-east, though it can be completed in the opposite direction as well.

The third day of a five-day W-Circuit trek will be your longest regardless of which direction you choose to tackle it in. You can expect an average of 10 hours of hiking on this day. You'll spend around 2.5 hours hiking from Paine Grande to Campamento Italiano, the base of the French Valley trail. Heading up the French Valley and back takes another 3-6 hours, this can vary quite a bit depending on your physical fitness and weather conditions. Italiano to the Cuernos campground and refugio takes another 1.5 hours, you can also choose to camp at Italiano and bypass Cuernos the next day by continuing on to Torres Central. You should leave Paine Grande shortly after dawn so you don't feel rushed later in the day.

Lago Skottsberg is along the trail from Paine Grande to Campamento Italiano. You'll see the aftermath of the 2011 fire that burned the forest in this area and was responsible for the open flame restrictions in the park today.

Lago Skottsberg

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A view from the French Valley looking back at Nordenskjöld Lake in Torres del Paine National Park.

This article is the second in a series of five detailing each day of the W-Circuit trek in Torres del Paine National Park. The trek was completed starting with the Glacier Grey leg and going west-to-east, though it can be completed in the opposite direction as well.

The second day of the W-Circuit is a fairly short one, you'll backtrack along Lago Grey to Paine Grande and stay there for the night. You may encounter very high winds in the pass between Lago Grey and Lago Pehoé as there is a bit of a wind tunnel effect.

Torres del Paine N.P.Glacier Grey


The Paine Grande refugio and campground can be seen below.

Torres...

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This article is the first in a series of five detailing each day of the W-Circuit trek in Torres del Paine National Park. The trek was completed starting with the Glacier Grey leg and going west-to-east, though it can be completed in the opposite direction as well.

The first step in your Torres del Paine trek is actually getting to the park. There are several bus companies that run from Puerto Natales to Torres del Paine, all of them will leave in two waves at 7:00 AM and 11:30 AM. The bus ride takes 2 hours so you should catch the 7:00 AM bus to give yourself enough time to hike on your first day. Bus tickets should be bought at least the day before. You can purchase tickets at the bus station in Puerto Natales or at Erratic Rock's equipment rental store (I would highly recommend their daily talk on Torres del Paine treks at 3PM).

The park entry fee is $21,000 Chilean Pesos and must be paid in cash. You're officially required to have already made reservations for your stay in the park at campgrounds or refugios to gain access to the park, in practice they were not actually checking people's reservations. This could change at any time and it is up to you if you want to risk it but it seemed unlikely they would turn anyone away. Even at the peak of high season they were plenty of vacancies available at refugios along the way, and given the fiasco that online reservations turned out to be with Fantastico Sur you might be better off turning up in person. As of 2017, credit cards are accepted at all of the refugios along the W-Circuit. There are no...

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The catamaran trip across Lake Pehoé will give you spectacular views of the Cordillera del Paine range. The Lake's blue color comes from rock flour, finely ground mineral powder caused by the grinding of the glaciers against the rockbed, dispersed in the water.

The 3PM daily talk on Torres del Paine treks at Erratic Rock in Puerto Natales is an invaluable source of information. Make sure to drop by and also check out their excellent rates on equipment rentals.