About Torres del Paine National Park
Patagonia is a large region in the southernmost portion of South America. The region is made up of portions of Argentina and Chile. Patagonia is known for beautiful mountains, glaciers, lakes, and diverse wildlife. Torres del Paine is arguably the most popular national park for backpacking in Patagonia and completing the park’s “O Circuit” is a major bucket list achievement.
Getting There
The best way to get to Torres del Paine is by combination of plane and bus. First, fly into Santiago, Chile. Then fly from Santiago to Puerto Natales (PNT). Booking these flights separately is cheaper. (My domestic flight was under $200). Flights from Santiago to PNT only run several times a week so if you’re unable to find a flight to PNT, don’t worry, just fly into Punta Arenas (PUQ).
If you’re able to fly straight to PNT, you can take a taxi from the airport into town (about 10 minutes) where you’ll stay the night at a hostel or hotel.
If you fly into PUQ, you’ll need to take the bus to Puerto Natales. Purchase a bus ticket for your ride from Punta Arenas Aeropuerto (PUQ) to Puerto Natales (Rodoviario) at the following website:
https://www.recorrido.cl/bus-sur/en
The bus will pick you up from the airport at the selected time and drive you approximately two hours to Puerto Natales. From the bus stop you can easily walk to your hostel or hotel in town. I actually loved the bus ride. You get the chance to see the southern most part of South America and a lot of interesting wildlife.
If you plan to fly back to Santiago by way of Punta Arenas, you will also book your bus ticket from Puerto Natales back to Punta Arenas at this website.
Where to Stay in Puerto Natales
You’ll stay the night in Puerto Natales before journeying into the park by bus the next morning. There are lots of great hostels to stay at. I recommend Yaganhouse which you can book here: Yaganhouse Hostel. I booked a private room for only about $40 USD. They also serve you complimentary breakfast in the morning and will help you call a taxi to the airport when it’s time to head back. If a hotel is more your thing, check out Hotel Vendaval.
Getting into the Park
The next morning, walk up to the bus station, Puerto Natales Rodoviario, and get on your bus to Torres del Paine. I recommend getting on the earliest bus available. The bus ride is about two hours long. Keep your eyes open for amazing views and wildlife on your ride. People have been known to spot pumas from the bus! You’ll book your bus ticket using the same website as above:
https://www.recorrido.cl/bus-sur/en
Book as follows: Leaving from Puerto Natales (Rodoviario) and going to Torres del Paine
You can go ahead and book a bus ticket from Torres del Paine to Puerto Natales for the day you’ll leave the park. When you arrive at the park, you’ll get off the bus and show your park entry pass, then you’ll get into a van and be transported to the start of the trek which is at Refugio Central.
The Trek
The O Circuit is comprised of 80 miles broken down into 8 days of hiking and 7 nights of camping at “refugios” or refuges, which are the campsites. The campsites are as follows, to be booked in this order:
- Seron
- Dickson
- Los Perros
- Grey
- Paine Grande
- Frances
- Central
There are some slightly varied routes available, for example towards the end of the trek you can choose to stay at Los Cuernos instead of Frances and you can stay at Chileno instead of Central, but ultimately, everyone will complete the same trek.
The other popular trek, “The W” Circuit is within the O Circuit. Essentially, doing the O, you’ll complete the W plus more while walking in the opposite direction of those who are only doing the W. The W Circuit is done clockwise whereas the O is done counterclockwise.
Book Seron, Frances, and Central at:
https://www.fantasticosur.com/web/
Book Dickson, Los Perros, Grey, and Paine Grande at:
https://reservas.verticepatagonia.cl/index.xhtml
Book your entry into the park here: (this is what you’ll show at the park entrance)
https://parquetorresdelpaine.cl/sistemas-de-reservas/
Print out all of these reservations and bring them with you. You’ll be asked to show your reservations at the refugios upon check in.
The “Refugios”
You’ll notice that when you book the “refugios” which are the campsites, you’ll have several different options to choose from. The cheapest option is to simply book a campsite – meaning you’ll carry your own camping gear and food; however, you have the option to book camping gear for every night if you choose. What this means is, if you book this option, there will be a tent, sleeping bag, and sleeping pad set up for you every night at each campsite.
You can also choose to have meals made for you each day. You can choose to have only dinner at each campsite or you can choose “full board” which is dinner at the campsite, breakfast in the morning, and a sack lunch to take with you on your trek. Know that Los Perros does not have any food at the refugio. You will have to bring food for at least this one day.
I opted to carry all my own gear, meaning I set up camp myself each night, but I bought full board for food. The dinners were really lovely. Each night after setting up camp I sat down in the warm refugio and made friends with the other hikers over dinner. There is even beer and wine for sale at most refugios.
In the mornings I sat down for breakfast in the refugio and then grabbed my sack lunch. It was plenty of food and well worth not having to carry 8 days of food on my back.
Prices/ Conditions
Typically, the campsites are about $10 per night. “Full board” is about $60 per day.
There is WIFI available for purchase at most of the refugios for about $8 per day. There was no WIFI at Dickson or Los Perros.
The last 4 campsites (Grey through Central) are quite busy as these campsites are shared with the people doing the W Circuit in the opposite direction. The first three are pretty quiet and less busy as these sites are only the people doing the O circuit.
Seron is very windy. Camping is in a big open field. Try to find a spot next to the outer perimeter where you’ll have the cover from trees or the hill.
What to Bring
Check out my gear list for Patagonia: https://allthewayalanna.com/essential-gear-for-backpacking/
Things to Know
Plan to hike about 7-10 miles each day with the longest and toughest days being from Los Perros to Grey (about 11 miles) and then the last day in which you’ll leave Central and hike up to The Torres (about 12 miles) then back down to Central.
Your last day’s hike to the Torres is the park’s main “day hike”. That means that people takes buses into the park and complete just this hike before leaving. What this means for you is a potentially very busy trail. I recommend starting this leg of the hike as early as possible. We started the hike at 3am in order to make it for sunset and although it was hard to wake up and cold in the morning, I’m so glad we did. When we hiked down at about 8am, we passed TONS of people on their way up.
There is ample water in the park. I carried a liter water bottle with a filter (Be Free Water Bottle) and didn’t need more than this because I had so many opportunities to refill. Some people in my group actually didn’t filter their water (also works) because water in the park is fresh from the glaciers. Still, I felt a little better filtering it.
Best Time to Visit
The park is best enjoyed in Spring (September to November) or Fall (March to May).
I visited in March and it was perfect.
Lastly
After you’ve completed your last day of hiking and you’ve packed up at Central Refugio, you’ll get back on the bus into town. I recommend staying the night in Puerto Natales again before starting the journey home. Have dinner at Café Kaiken and then have some celebratory drinks at Last Hope Distillery! At this point you’ve completed one of the most amazing treks in the world! You will have stories to tell, new friends from around the world, and the most amazing memories from this trip. I hope my guide has helped you plan your adventure. Feel free to reach out with any questions!
