The Torres del Paine National Park is a complete mixture of natural eye openers, from the mountains such as Paine with its 3,050 metres, Las Torres (Towers) del Paine and los Cuernos (Horns) del Paine. These are bordered by valleys and rivers, such as the River Paine, lakes and lagoons such as those of Grey, Pehoé, Nordenskjöld and Sarmiento and glaciers including those of Grey, Pingo, Tyndall and Geikie that form part of the Southern Ice Fields. The Park contains an area of more than 240,000 hectares and is starts 115 kilometres north of Port Natales and its northern limit is the National Glacier Park. The Park was created in 1959 and declared a Biospheric Reserve by UNESCO in 1978.
The Torres del Paine Trekking program is a classic trek of the most traditional trails of the Park and allows in a short time to get to know the most interesting routes such as the Base de Las Torres trail via the River Ascencio Valley, with a boat crossing of Lake Pehoé and then a continuation by the Valle del Francés that takes us to the Glacier Grey Valley. We follow the trails of the 'W' of the Las Torres but the program itinerary manages to at least maintain the major attractiveness of the trekking in fewer walking days.
7 days -6 nights
Day 1 - Calafate
Reception at the El Calafate Airport and transfer to the hostel or inn, according to the chosen accommodation.
- Lodging: Hostel room with shared bathroom. // Hosteria or Inn, double or single room with private bathroom
- Meals we provide: Dinner
- From / To: El Calafate / El Calafate
Day 2 - We travel to the Las Torres del Paine National Park
After breakfast in the Hostel or Hosteria we leave for Chile making immigration at the "Cancha Carrera' border crossing in the Castillo Mountain, which is normally open in the summer from December until March. We go directly to the Las Torres National Park that is designated a Humanity Patrimony Site. We stay this night in the Camping Site at Lake Pehoé. On the journey we should have exceptional views of the Lake Nordenskjöld and los 'Cuernos del Paine'. After arrival we take a two hour walk to get to know the Grey Lake with its native flora and wildlife. This Lake is more than 500 metres deep and begins in the Southern Ice Field where it receives the ice falls of the Grey Glacier and has the characteristic of replacing its waters with sediments.
- Lodging: Camping Las Torres Full Camp in double or single tent (area with sanitary services)
- Meals we provide: Breakfast, box lunch, dinner
- From / To: El Calafate /National Park Torres del Paine / Camp Las Torres
- Duration: 8 hours- 2 hours of trekking
- Difficulty: Mild
Day 3 - Base of Las Torres and the River Ascensio Valley
We breakfast in the Lake Pehoe camp site. We begin our trekking by the trail to las Torres del Paine. The walk begins by the slopes of the Monte Almirante Nieto accompanied by the Ascensio River. Once we have climbed a steep slope that takes about an hour we enter into the River Ascensio Valley until we reach our refuge. We proceed through the forest until we reach the camping site at the base of Las Torres, being the point where the climbers that wish to climb the 900 metre vertical faces start. Later we enter the Torres viewpoint, a unique natural amphitheatre that we find at the base of the imposing and perpendicular granite towers that go up to 2,800 metres. We take the same trail to return to the camp.
- Lodging: Camping Las Torres Full Camp in double or single tent (area with sanitary services)
- Meals we provide: Breakfast, box lunch, dinner
- From / To: Camping Lake Pehoe / Las Torres
- Duration: 7 hours
- Difficulty: Intermediate
Day 4 - Crossing Lake Pehoé by boat and arriving at the Francés Valley
We have an early breakfast in the Full Camping. We go until Port Pudeto to embark and cross the crystalline waters of Lake Pehoé to Refuge Pehoé, a journey that takes about an hour. Once across we begin our trek to Valle del Francés, the mountain valley that comes from the interior of the range until Lake Nordenskjöld and it is bordered by Los Cuernos del Paine on the East and on the West by Paine Grande, a mountain of over 3,000 metres.
- Lodging: Refuge Pehoe Full Camp in double or single tent (area with sanitary services)
- Meals we provide: Breakfast, box lunch, dinner
- From / To: Camping Lake Pehoe / Francés Valley / Refuge Pehoe
- Duration: 5 hours
- Difficulty: Intermediate
Day 5 - Walk to the Grey Glacier Valley
Breakfast in the Full Camping. We begin our trekking to the Valle del Lago and the Grey Glacier, that originates from the Patagonian Ice Fields and goes into the northern sector of the lake surrounded by forests of lengas and morenas. The Grey Glacier forms part of the Southern Ice Fields and has a width of 6 kilometres and a height of 30 metres. Its bluish colour is produced by the absorption of the light by part of the ice. It is a glacier that is found in full regression, a combination of the global warming and the change of rain patterns in the southern Patagonian region. Blocks of blue coloured ice fall from the Grey Glacier and are blown south by the prevalent Patagonian winds. We continue by the track that defines our route for a further two hours until we reach a viewpoint where we can observe the lake and the glacier in its maximum splendour. Later we arrive at another viewpoint that puts us in front of the glacier, in a privileged position. The route crosses a forest of notros - whose reddish flower is a symbol of Patagonia - and a dense vegetation of thicket that are protected by the ice and are recovering the Paine Grande. Finally we return by boat across Lake Pehoé to arrive at Port Natales.
- Lodging: Hostel room with shared bathroom.// Hosteria or Inn, double or single room with private bathroom
- Meals we provide: Breakfast, box lunch
- From / To: Refuge Pehoé / Grey Glacier Valley/ Puerto Natales
- Duration: 3 hours
- Difficulty: Mild
Day 6 - Leaving Port Natales to go to El Calafate
Breakfast. We leave from Port Natales to go to El Calafate. Port Natales is on the Canal Señoret, in between the Golfo Almirante Montt and the Seno Última Esperanza, in the XII Región de Magallanes. It is relatively close to Punta Arenas that is some 250 kilometres to the north. Port Natales is the city closest to the Park and for this reason it is called the Entrance Port to the Park.
- Lodging: Hostel room with shared bathroom. // Hosteria or Inn, double or single room with private bathroom
- Meals we provide: Breakfast
- From / To: Puerto Natales / El Calafate
Day 7 - El Calafate
After breakfast we leave from El Calafate to go to the Airport to take the plane to Buenos Aires and this is the end point of the trekking.
- Lodging: Hostel room with shared bathroom.// Hosteria or Inn, double or single room with private bathroom
- Meals we provide: Breakfast
- From / To: El Calafate / Calafate Airport
Services
Included:
- Bilingual tour leader for all the trekking
- Mountain guide
- Navigation of Lake Pehoe
- Transfers during the trekking by public and private transport
- Accomodation
- Lodgings according to the itinerary and that is:
Not Included:
- Entrance to the national parks
- Medical insurance
- Life Assurance
- Tips
- Drinks
- Air tickets
- Optional excursions and all services which are not included in the journey program
General information
Recommended gear for the trekking
The following is the suggest equipment and clothing required for the trekking:
- 50 litre rucksack
- Synthetic interior garments
- Long Sleeved T-Shirt and another of cotton
- Walking trousers
- Under trousers without feet
- Polar jumper
- A pair of leggings and a pair of gloves
- Two pairs of woolen socks
- Two pairs of light socks
- Walking shoes
- Woolen hat (better woolen than fibre)
- Sun visor
- Hand and bath towel
- Sun glasses
- Sun cream protector
- Torch
- Walking sticks (fundamental)
- Documents necessary to enter to Chile (Passport etc.)
- Personal medicines
Frequent Questions
How do we get to Las Torres del Paine?
The Torres del Paine National Park is open all year round. Its entrances are 115 kilometres from the city of Port Natales. The opening hours of the Sarmiento and Lake Amarga entrances are from 8.30 to 20.30. It is possible to arrive to the Park by air, land or sea. By air the choices are to go to Punta Arenas in Chile or El Calafate in Argentina. The closest airport is Punta Arenas which is 225 kms from Port Natales and 340 kms from the National Park. It is possible to arrive by land via Argentina and the border crossing of 'Cancha Carreras' close to El Calafate. Also it is possible to get there from Port Montt after crossing from Argentina by the Monte Aymond pass.
What is the climate like in the Torres del Paine National Park?
The climate in Patagonia is very variable with the presence of winds especially between October and December. The Andes Mountain Range (Cordillera) protects the Southern Ice Fields, generating micro climates in each region causing the possibility of high temperatures in La Laguna Azul, cold in the Los Perros Camping Site and high winds on the Paine Grande Mountain. The best time to visit is between spring and summer, thanks to the long days and short nights and temperatures between 5ºC y 20 ºC. On the other hand, Autumn and Winter are less benign but it is still possible to undertake the excursions and transfers. The big advantage at this time when the temperatures are between -5ºC y los 10 ºC, is that there are many fewer visitors and there is less wind.
What are the flora native and wildlife like in the Paine Region?
There exist different classes of vegetation: from pre-andino thickets on the banks of the rivers and lakes; Magellan forests of nothofagus or coihues; Magellan tundra of bushes and pastureland. The higher one goes the more the vegetation is concentrated in the forests until they also disappear. There are close to 100 species of native animals in the Park with some of the important mammals such as Puma, Guemal, Guanaco, Fox and Skunk. It is also possible to see condors, eagles, black necked swans, flamingos, black woodpeckers and Fisher Martins amongst many others.