Hiking Torres del Paine's W-trek...

So last I left off, I was getting ready for my four day hike through Torres del Paine National Park. Right now, I'm back from the wilderness and scrolling through all my photos from the 75km W-trek. I'm still just gobsmacked at how beautiful it was, and just how blue the water was! This is somewhere I'd definitely recommend going. Even if you're not a hiker, you can marvel from a distance. It has to be seen to be believed!

I booked everything myself rather than getting the company Fantastico Sur (who owns most of the park) to organise everything saving myself around $200USD. I paid full board (bed plus all meals) at each place I stayed, ranging from $$110-165USD a night. Not cheap, but cheaper than getting someone to book it for you. You can bring your own food or camp but I preferred not having to carry everything. If you do it yourself, you'll just have to be organised and make sure you organise your bus to and from the park from Puerto Natales (7:30am or 2:30pm every day during summer). Shuttle bus and catamaran tickets can be purchased onboard so no dramas there.

For anyone concerned about whether they should do it with a guide or not, you don't need one (unless you want tidbits of information along the way). The trails are very well marked and you'll be going along with hundreds of hikers so you'll be fine. I hiked from east to west but you can also do it the other way. Essentially what makes it the W-trek is that there are three arms that you go down and come back. Not the most direct way of hiking but when there's such amazing sights at the end of each arm, you push through. I'll describe each phase of the hike as I go through my days at the park.

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Day 5
Essentially just a travel day. Spent the morning stocking up on some snacks for the hike as well as hiring hiking poles (best decision ever). I took the 2:30pm bus with bus company JBA, but there are plenty of others, all heading off at the same time. The road leading to the park provides breathtaking views of the mountains, and adds to the excitement. Got into the park, paid the CHP 18,000 fee, and was transferred to Refugio Torres Central where I would be spending my first two nights (if you go west to east, you take a catamaran to the other side of the park). Not much else to say really, I had a little wander around and admired the beast of a mountain before me. Tomorrow the hike would begin.

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Day 6
After picking up my packed lunch, I was off.

Today's route would take me from Hostel Torres Central to the Mirador las Torres up at the top of the mountain where weather permitting, you can see the three rock towers. The first half hour was miserably wet with rain soaking my pants, luckily my jacket protected my top half and my backpack had a cover. In Patagonia, you can expect to go through all four seasons in one day and sure enough I did. As I continued on, rain turned to snow, before howling winds came in to painfully deliver that snow. And to top it all off, the sun pops in and out occasionally to burn you. Sunscreen is a must.

Anyways, the first pit stop was Refugio Chileno. As part of the trek, you're meant to stay here on your second night; however it was full so I was forced to endure the extra two hour hike back to Torre Central. From Chileno, you wind your way through the mountains, often walking along paths that are on the edge of the mountain. A strong gust could send you tumbling down the slope. Nevertheless, the scenery along the way makes up for it.

Eventually you reach the base of the moraine, and then it becomes a steep ascent. You're scrambling over rocks, almost hugging them to not let the wind knock you backwards and crashing down the slope. It was actually quite fun albeit really tiring. Once you reach the top - voila! You're rewarded with the most gorgeous blue lake (was actually really surprised to see a lake up there) and if you're lucky the Torres will be visible. I was one of the first few up there reaching there at midday, so I spent a good hour taking in the serenity and hoping the clouds/fog would part. No such luck. Turns out they didn't clear that day until 5-6pm so nothing I could do.

Looking back, I'd actually say this was the best of the three arms. I can see why people go west to east so they can end with this. But oh well. After that, it was just a case of extreme envy as people checked into Chileno while I was forced to continue on for two more hours. A lesson to book early. All in all, this first part was 19km and took me eight hours (with plenty of breaks).

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Day 7
The second day was pretty simple: just walk along the shoreline from one refugio to the next, in my case Torres Central to Los Cuernos (for most others from Chileno). What was meant to be a simple 11km hike was hampered significantly by the blistering wind blowing against me. You walk along the incredibly blue Nordenskjöld Lake the whole way but it's hard to admire it when your eyes can't stay open against the wind.

Along the way I kept running into people I'd met at the refugios. When everyone goes in the same direction, it's not hard to see familiar faces and make friends. In a way it's nice to know that everyone's in it together. Eventually I reached Los Cuernos and checked into my domo (dorms were booked out because I was late in booking). Another lesson in being prepared. The domo was not insulated very well. I was freezing in it and would never do it again.

Not much to this day really. It's meant to be an easy day in preparation for the tough trek on the next day.

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Day 8
This is the longest day of the W-trek, leading from Los Cuernos up to the French Valley and then down to Refugio Paine Grande, totalling just over 25km. After what was one of the coldest nights I'd ever experienced, I had to tackle the day with very little sleep. Ended up starting the hike at about 8:30am just to get my body warm.

The first park of the hike was surprisingly easy and fast. You walk to Camp Italiano at the base of the French Valley to dump your big bag and take only a small one up the next 6km. From there, it gets a bit more tricky. The first part up to the Frances Lookout (about 90 minutes up) is over a lot of rocks and quite steep, not to mention covered in snow. Tip: don't be the first one up, let someone else forge the path (I let some people overtake me once I realised it was easier to follow footsteps rather than look for the orange markers). The lookout provides a nice view of the lake as well as the snowy mountains. Every fifteen minutes or so, you'll hear a crack and if you're lucky, you'll get to witness a mini avalanche.

From here, you then make your way up to the Britanico Lookout at the top where you get a panoramic view of all the mountains around you. Surprisingly the bulk of this leg wasn't too strenuous, you're just walking through the woods at a slight incline. Only the last little bit is over some steep rocks. While I was there, they had actually closed the last kilometre of the trail due to bad weather but the lookout at the 5km mark was still pretty damn good. I was lucky enough to catch the view right before the snow and fog came through and obscured all vision.

From here, it was simply making the way back down to Camp Italiano, picking up my bag, and continuing on for another 8km to Paine Grande. This part was pretty easy and flat so no dramas here, despite the extremely muddy trail. But I'll say that when you make your way over that last hill and see the refugio in the distance, you'll get the biggest rush!

This was definitely the longest day, taking me 10.5 hours to travel 23km. A hot shower, a hot meal and several beers with my hiking buddies were a great to cap off such a strenuous day. And it was so good to sleep in a warm room!

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Day 9
The final day. The final leg of the trek leads from Paine Grande to the Grey Glacier and back, making for a 22km round trip. Perhaps as a result of having trekked for three days now, or maybe the beers the night before did me a disservice, I found this last day extremely tough. Even moreso than the day before which was longer and further.

This trek is very hilly and you're climbing up and down steep rocks all the time. I can't count the number of times that my hiking poles saved me from a nasty fall. I guess what made this trek a lot harder was that the scenery wasn't great; there was nothing to distract you. However the sight of Grey Glacier in the distance as you make your way to the first lookout point is stunning. It's sights like this that force you to keep going those extra kilometres.

There's a refugio at the glacier which is apparently the best one. If you're too lazy to go back, you can stay here (and if you're too lazy to walk, you can shell out an exorbitant amount of money to take the boat back). As you get to the glacier you'll precariously climb up over a giant rock monolith to reach the vantage point. Once again I was hugging the rock face as the wind whipped around me. However once I was at the top, the view of the Grey Glacier in front of be was awe inspiring. Every now and then, a chunk would crack and plunge into the water. If only I had booked a kayak tour so I could be even closer!

Glacier done, I had five hours to make it back to Paine Grande for the 6:30pm catamaran back to the buses to take you back to Puerto Natales. Easily done. There's also a 12:30pm catamaran but if you want to catch that one, you only have time to make it to the first lookout before having to turn back.

On the bus back to Puerto Natales, I couldn't help but think that had I gone with the organised tour of South America, I would have missed all this. It was only because I decided I wanted to see Patagonia that made me ditch the tour (and thus actually have to put effort into planning my trip). And I'm glad I did. No regrets. This experience in Torres del Paine National Park is one I'll never forget and I'll never stop raving about it!! Four days and 75km worth of memories. Definitely go if you've got the chance!!


HBL signing out from Puerto Natales, Chile.

Up next: Flying through Argentina: Patagonia, Buenos Aires and Salta...
Previously: My South American travels begin...