Torres del Paine
On my recent trip to Patagonia I spent a week hiking the O-Trek in Torres del Paine National Park. This is probably the most famous and popular place in Patagonia so there is plenty of info online already, but I just thought I’d share the seemingly unique itinerary I took, and why I really liked it, and fill in some other information gaps that I had wish I had known while planning my trip.
The process for booking campsites and lodging for your trek is not super user friendly. There are 3 different entities that host lodging in the park, one being the park itself with its free campsites, and then two private vendors. You used to have to make separate reservations at three different websites, but luckily now there is a single site that aggregates the process. It’s still far from an efficient process, but at least everything is all in on place. So, definitely check out BookingPatagonia.com for booking your trek, and your headache will be marginally reduced.
These epic mountain views were on the way from Seron to Dickson.
One important thing to understand about visiting Torres del Paine is that it is very popular, and can be crowded. And the backcountry accommodations are steps above “primitive”. The free campsites run by the park are the closest thing to “primitive” camping that you can book, but unfortunately for me they were all closed for the 2023 season. As I was planning for my trek I was simultaneously nervous about the hiking and dealing with the natural world, and the potential crowds and lack of backcountryness. While searching for information in forums I found a post that help put the experience into perspective. First it said that for anyone who is an experienced backpacker in the US will have no problem with the hiking and camping aspect of the trek. And next it said to NOT think about this trek as a “wilderness experience”, but as an “international trek.” The second part there helped give me the appropriate expectations for the trek, and after returning home I would definitely pass on that wisdom to anyone else thinking about the O-Trek. Only I would add that the section of the O-Trek that isn’t part of the W-Trek is closest thing you’ll get to feeling like you’re wilderness camping. And I would certainly recommend to anyone deciding between the W and O treks to do the O if time permits.
This is just a short walk from Los Perros campground. You have to stay here, and you have to leave by 7:00am.
The two nights I spent on the backside of the O trek were definitely my favorite park of the trek. Most people spend three nights for that section, but I decided to pass over Dickson campground and do some longer days, which I’m glad I did. The W trek section of the loop can be very crowded. That’s where you’ll get day hikers in addition to everyone doing both the W and O treks.
This epic view is what you’ll see as you descend from John Gardner Pass.
Now for my Itinerary. So I didn’t actually complete the entire loop, but I probably ended up hiking about as many miles as I would have if I did complete the loop, if not more, and I still got to see all the main sites. The campsites I stayed at were the following:
Night 1: Chileno
Night 2: Seron
Night 3: Los Perros
Nights 4 and 5: Grey
Night 6: Paine Grande
The reason for this itinerary was mostly based on availability, but I actually ended up really liking this itinerary. Starting at Chileno was a great way to ease into the trip. I actually opted to not take the shuttle bus from where the buses drop you off to the visitor center, so that added 7km of hiking to my day. It was 7km on a dirt road and most people opt to wait and pay for the shuttle. Chileno was a bit of party, at least at the refugio where they serve hot food and beer, but it eventually quieted down and the morning was peaceful. As a photographer I wanted to hike up to Mirador Las Torres for sunrise, so I got up nice and early to make sure I got there in time. I actually had hiked up in the afternoon the day I got there as well to scope it out. But be careful with your planning since they close the trail to Mirador Las Torres fairly early.
Sunrise at Mirrador Las Torres.
While I enjoyed my time at Chileno very much, the hike to Seron is when I got to leave the masses of people behind and begin the part of my trek that would feel most like wilderness. For most people Seron is night one of the O trek, but I thought this was great night number two after a busy night at Chileno. Seron is very quiet, with just an open field for setting up tents. I believe you can rent a tent here, but there’s not indoor accommodations.
I spotted these two white throated ibis, or bandurria, not too far from Camp Seron.
Deciding to skip Dickson meant that I had a long day ahead of me after Seron, almost 30km, so I made sure to get up early and hit the trail.
Early morning along the trail near Seron.
Camp Dickson seemed like a beautiful place to camp but I’m glad I skipped it, otherwise my days would have been too short for my liking. I was able to stop there for an hour or so to eat lunch before moving on. The trail as you arrive to Los Perros is amazing. It looks like a completely different planet. This may be a good time to mention the single thing that annoyed the most about this trek. The music. Everywhere. Every Campground had music playing from the afternoon until the stores closed. I cut my lunch break at Dickson short when they started blasting AC DC as the store opened, and the music at the store at Los Perros really took me out of the amazing state of mind I was in after such an amazing hike. I made sure to pick campsites as far away from the music as I could.
Your suppose to leave Los Perros by 7am, so make sure you get to sleep early and get a good nights sleep for a big day. I was very skeptical with the parks estimated time from Los Perros to Grey, but it ended up being fairly accurate. The pass itself is very steep, but what really makes it take so long is the steep decent on the other side of the pass followed by many more ups and downs as you follow along Lago Grey.
The view from along Lago Grey.
One of three suspension bridges along Lago Grey
My original itinerary was to spend one night at Grey and two nights at Paine Grande, but I ended up staying two nights at Grey so I could do a glacier walk tour. Just a short walk from Grey you can rent kayaks or do the glacier tours. I don’t know how the glacier tour here compares to Perito Moreno, but it is much cheaper. I’m assuming that’s at least partly because you start much closer to the glacier. It’s still a little expensive, but it was a nice activity for an otherwise mostly relaxing day.
Neither of those people are me. We are standing on Glacier Grey.
Taken from Glacier Grey
Taken from the boat as we’re approaching Glacier Grey
The hike from Grey to Paine Grande wasn’t too long, but offered some more amazing views of the lake and Glacier
Lago Grey and Glacier Grey
I arrived at Paine Grande pretty early in the day, which gave me plenty of time to explore the area and scout some sunset/sunrise photo locations. I found an amazing trail along Lago Pehoe. I didn’t get quite the color I wanted at sunset, and sunrise was full of clouds, but I still got some cool shots.
Lake Pehoe at sunset.
Lake Pehoe and some mountains in the afternoon.
I probably could have hiked back to where I started to complete the loop the next day, but instead I decided to day hike up to Britanico and back to Paine Grande, and then take a late afternoon ferry to catch my 7:15pm bus back to Puerto Natales. I was able to stash my big backpack at Paine Grande for a small fee and hike up to Britanico with just my daypack. And it all worked out great. I have one more thing to say about Paine Grande. Buffet. Yes, buffet. All you can eat. I carried most of my food for the seven days, but I could not resist the buffet. The main dishes and sides were a little bland, but the salad was good and the desserts were AMAZING! It’s a little bit expensive, but not that bad considering where you are and how good the dessert is.
Looking back on the trail on the way up to Britanico.
Some schmuck burned down this forest while trying to burn his toilet paper in the windiest place on Earth. Cool clouds.
Many backpacks on the ferry.
One reason I liked this itinerary was that it was shorter timewise than typical, with more hiking per day. I like to hike long days and couldn’t image having done this over several extra days. I could have easily done it a day shorter as well if I didn’t stay two nights at Grey. But I do realize that not everyone is capable or interested in hiking longer days, so make sure to plan according to your ability and comfort. And for whatever reason I also liked staying at Chileno on the first night, rather than the last like many people. Maybe getting up hours before sunrise on the first night sounds more manageable. Even with a couple of very long days I still felt like I had plenty of down time, especially with staying two nights at grey. I was really able to explore beyond the main trail, relax and read. It was also nice to leave the park a different way than I came, and making a loop that way.
However you choose to do it, Torres del Paine is an amazing place to go for a hike. I highly recommend some iteration of the O trek, or at least finding some way to stay in the park so you don’t have to travel from Puerto Natales every day. I hope you enjoyed my photos, and hopefully I offered some useful bit of information.
