Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Torres del Paine Route Info/Beta
One common sentiment among the hikers we met at Torres del Paine is how difficult it was to find information about the "W" and the "Circuit" before you get to Puerto Natales. So, we thought we would provide a little info to the Internet that will hopefully be of some value to those planning their first trip to Torres del Paine.
NOTE: you can read our full trip report here.
(hi res image)General Info
We would recommend arriving in Puerto Natales by 3:00 PM the day before you plan to head to the park. This is to give you time to rent gear, if necessary, book reservations (for things like the bus to the park, refugios, etc.), and to attend the 3:00 PM daily talk held by the Erratic Rock Hostel. We attended the talk and it was very helpful and the people at Erratic Rock are great!
There are a few different buses that take you to the park that all leave Puerto Natales at 7:30 AM daily. It is best to book your bus ticket through your hostel so the bus knows where to pick you up. We also used Austral Glacier Travel to book our camping in the park. This is a good time to explain the camping (and non-camping) options in the park. The park has a number of refugios (small lodges with a staffed kitchen preparing three meals a day, bathrooms with hot showers and dorm rooms for those that prefer not to camp). Each refugio also has a paid campground and will rent you a tent, sleeping bag and pad. The camping can only be reserved in advance if you are renting gear too. Otherwise it is first come, first served and some did fill up fast while we were there. Since we are traveling for a year, we are not carrying camping gear and opted to rent gear at the refugios allowing us lightweight hiking and the ability to book our accommodations in advance. This certainly made the trek very comfortable and easy, but it limits you to the refugios (not always ideal as I'll explain later) and is kind of expensive.
In addition to the refugios, there are a number of free campgrounds. It is definitely do-able to camp only in the free campgrounds though it seems most stay at a refugio at least one night. You can only camp at designated campgrounds and some of the free campgrounds fill up fast too.
On the day you begin your trek the bus will pick you at your hostel at 7:30 AM (or thereabouts). At around 10:30-11:00 AM you will reach the Laguna Amarga park entrance. Your bus will stop and everyone will buy their park entrance tickets (note: you'll need your passport number if you are a foreign resident and actual identification if you are Chilean and hope to pay the discounted price for nationals). If you plan to do the W clockwise, you grab your pack and walk an hour or so down the road to Hosteria Las Torres and the beginning of the trail. Everyone else then loads back onto the bus and heads to stop #2: Guarderia Pudeto. This is where you catch the catamaran ferry if you want to begin your trek at the Paine Grande refugio (Lago Pehoe). This is what we did, but not necessarily what I'd recommend (more later). If you want to do "The Tail" you stay on the bus and head to the third and final stop: Sede Administrava CONAF. If you have good weather that day, this is what I'd recommend as it provides very good views of Cerro Paine Grande and the Cuernos del Paine (my personal favorite sights in the park) and can be done without adding a day to your trip.
The Trek(s)
First you'll have to decide how much time you have, how much ground you want to cover each day, and whether you want free camping, refugios, or some mix of both. I'm going to focus on the "W" as that is what we had time for, but I really wish we had allowed the time to do the full Circuit. If you have a week to 10 days, go for it! Note, though, that you'll most likely need to carry gear as there is a large gap between Hosteria Las Torres and Refugio Dickson.
Here are a couple of sample itineraries for the "W." I'll be describing counter-clockwise routes as that is what was recommended to us, but it is certainly possible to go clockwise as well. Camps are marked on the maps with a number for the night we stayed there. Sorry the map isn't perfectly focused and cuts off a bit of the tail part of the trail.
Route 1 - refugios only (what we did):
Day 1
Catamaran to Refugio Paine Grande and a 2.5 to 3 hour hike to Refugio Grey.
Day 2
Hike up past Campamento Los Guardas to Grey Glacier (about 2 hours roundtrip with daypack). Hike down to Refugio Paine Grande.
Day 3
This is the longest day, but still not all that difficult. Hike from Refugio Paine Grande about and hour and a half to Campamento Italiano. Head up the Valle del Frances past Campamento Britanico to the mirador (if you can, leave your pack with someone at Italiano and just bring a daypack). Head back down the Valle del Frances, pick up your pack if necessary at Italiano and hike to Refugio Los Cuernos. The full day took us about 7 hours moving at a brisk pace, but stopping for pictures, lunch, etc.
Day 4
Hike from Refugio Los Cuernos to Refugio Chileno. Note that the maps provided by the park (as of January 2010) do not show a major shortcut on this trail. About 2-3 hours into your hike, you will encounter a small lake on your left (the very large Lago Nordenskjold has been visible on your right for most of the hike). About halfway down the small lake the trail splits, follow the left fork, hugging the lake. At the end of the lake the trail splits again and again you stay left, though this time the fork is well marked.
Day 5
We got up at 3:00 AM to hike to the Torres del Paine for sunrise, allowing the 2.5 hours the map indicates. Moderately fit hikers should be able to knock significant time off almost all the times listed on the map, especially if you’re not carrying your tent and sleeping bag. The 2.5 hours ended up being 1.5 hours and we arrived well before sunrise... the first ones there! After you've had your fill of the towers, hike down, grab a cup of coffee and some breakfast at Chileno and hike out to Hosteria Las Torres. From there you can catch a shuttle to Laguna Amarga or just walk the road for another hour or so. Buses back to Puerto Natales leave at 2:30 PM.
Route 2 - refugios only with the Tail (what we wish we did):
Day 1
Take the bus all the way to Administrava CONAF and hike the tail to Refugio Paine Grande.
Day 2
Hike up 2.5 to 3 hour hike to Refugio Grey. Then go up past Campamento Los Guardas to Grey Glacier (about 2 hours roundtrip with daypack). Hike down to Refugio Paine Grande.
Day 3
This is the longest day, but still not all that difficult. Hike from Refugio Paine Grande about and hour and a half to Campamento Italiano. Head up the Valle del Frances past Campamento Britanico to the mirador (if you can, leave your pack with someone at Italiano and just bring a daypack). Head back down the Valle del Frances, pick up your pack if necessary at Italiano and hike to Refugio Los Cuernos. The full day took us about 7 hours moving at a brisk pace, but stopping for pictures, lunch, etc.
Day 4
Hike from Refugio Los Cuernos to Refugio Chileno. Note that the maps provided by the park (as of January 2010) do not show a major shortcut on this trail. About 2-3 hours into your hike, you will encounter a small lake on your left (the very large Lago Nordenskjold has been visible on your right for most of the hike). About halfway down the small lake the trail splits, follow the left fork, hugging the lake. At the end of the lake the trail splits again and again you stay left, though this time the fork is well marked.
Day 5
We got up at 3:00 AM to hike to the Torres del Paine for sunrise, allowing the 2.5 hours the map indicates. Moderately fit hikers should be able to knock significant time off almost all the times listed on the map, especially if you’re not carrying your tent and sleeping bag. The 2.5 hours ended up being 1.5 hours and we arrived well before sunrise... the first ones there! After you've had your fill of the towers, hike down, grab a cup of coffee and some breakfast at Chileno and hike out to Hosteria Las Torres. From there you can catch a shuttle to Laguna Amarga or just walk the road for another hour or so. Buses back to Puerto Natales leave at 2:30 PM.
Route 3 - free camping only
Day 1
Catamaran to Refugio Paine Grande and a 3 to 3.5 hour hike to Campamento Los Guardas (be sure to head up to glacier too!).
Day 2
Hike down to Refugio Paine Grande and east to Campamento Italiano.
Day 3
Head up the Valle del Frances past Campamento Britanico to the mirador (leave your tent up and your pack in it and just bring a daypack). Head back down the Valle del Frances and spend another night at Italiano.
Day 4
Hike from Italiano past Refugio Los Cuernos and Refugio Chileno to Campamento Torres. Note that the maps provided by the park (as of January 2010) do not show a major shortcut on this trail. About 2-3 hours into your hike, you will encounter a small lake on your left (the very large Lago Nordenskjold has been visible on your right for most of the hike). About halfway down the small lake the trail splits, follow the left fork, hugging the lake. At the end of the lake the trail splits again and again you stay left, though this time the fork is well marked.
Day 5
From Campamento Torres it is only a 45-mintue hike to the Torres del Paine for sunrise. After you've had your fill of the towers, hike down, grab a cup of coffee and some breakfast at your tent, break down camp for the last time and hike out to Hosteria Las Torres. From there you can catch a shuttle to Laguna Amarga or just walk the road for another hour or so. Buses back to Puerto Natales leave at 2:30 PM.
Now, of course, you can mix it up as well and stay some nights at refugios and some at free campgrounds (if you carry your own gear). The possibilities are myriad!
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