How to Hike the Torres del Paine W Trek

One of the very best hikes Patagonia has to offer is the W-trek, 5 days through Torres del Paine National Park. There’s also to extended O-trek that takes around 8 days, but I would say The W hits the most beautiful spots. The stretch of land all the way South covering part of Chile and Argentina offers some of the most mind blowing scenery on earth.

There’s several different ways to do the W-Trek and it’s completely up to you to choose the experience you want. You can choose to go with a guide or do the trail self guided (only in the summer months). You can choose to carry your own food and camping equipment or get a tent already set up and have your meals prepared. I’d say the guide is very unnecessary as the trails are clear and you’ll encounter plenty of others doing the same trek. You’ll also save tons of money by going solo like I did.

When can you hike the Torres del Paine W trek?

Self guided treks can only be done between October and the end of April. If you’d like to do the W-trek, between May and September, which is wintertime, you’ll need a guide.

Do I need to make reservations in advance of hiking the W?

Yes! For all the campsites and dormitories you need to book in advance. I recommend hiking the trail from west to east. This way you’ll be able to see the famous towers at sunrise. If you do it the other way around you hike to the towers on the first day and will need to continue to the next campsite.

Do I need to bring food?

You can either bring your own food and cook, or you can reserve full board at the campsites. This will give you a meal in the evening, breakfast the next day and a packed lunch. You reserve this when booking the campsites.

Do you need to book your park entrance ticket in advance?

You have to book an entrance ticket online as they currently do not accept payments at the park entrance. Book your ticket online here. Make sure to download the QR code in Puerto Natales while you still have internet. There is no signal in the park.

What does it cost to Hike the W-trek in Torres del Paine?

Hiking the W-trek without a guide costs $219,000 CLP per person/$240 USD / €243 + plus the cost of food. You can either carry your own food or book full board. 

Camping and Transport cost: 

• Return bus from Puerto Natales to Torres del Paine National Park: $13.323 CLP /$15 USD
• Adult entrance fee into the park: $44,000 CLP /$49 USD
• One-way ferry from Pudeto de Paine Grande Ranger Station: $30,000 CLP /$40 USD
• Grey Campsite: $11,000 CLP per person/$12 USD
• Paine Grande Campsite: $11,000 CLP per person/$12 USD
• Francés Campsite: $62,000 CLP per person/$70USD
• El Chileno Campsite: $62,000 CLP per person/$70 USD

How to book the campsites on the W trek?

There are different companies that have campsites in Torres del Paine National Park. This is why you need to book the campsites separately. This can feel a little overwhelming so I recommend using a website that lets you book everything in one go: Torres Hike. They do charge you a small fee, but its worth avoiding the hassle.

I tried to book my trek quite last minute. Most campsites were already full and I couldn’t find dates that worked. Then I found a woman named Oriane. She helped me book the entire trek. I ended up paying around €600 for the full trek, including full board and buses. If you’d like her help, her WhatsApp number is +56986999178  and her email is oriane.gippa@hotmail.fr.

 

Torres del Paine W Trek Itinerary

As I’ve mentioned before the best way to hike the W-trek is from west to east. This way you have the chance to see the sunrise at the towers. If you start at

Day 1: Puerto Natales to Grey/4 hours of hiking:

You take the bus from Puerto Natales to the pudeto dock. Here you’ll take the ferry to Paine grande and start hiking from there. You’ll make it to campsite grey and from there you can do some additional hiking to see Glaciar Grey which I absolutely recommend doing.

Night 1: Stay at Campsite Grey. 

Day 2: Grey to Paine Grande/ 4 hours of hiking (more if you walk to the second bridge of the glacier):

This morning you can start the day with either a walk on the Glacier or a kayaking tour to the glacier. You can also walk a bit further to the second bridge to get an incredible view of the glacier. This will take around 2 hours. In the afternoon you walk back to Paine Grande.

Night 2: Stay at Paine Grande

Day 3: Paine Grande – Valle Frances -Los cuernos/8 hours:

You’ll start the day with a hike to the Italiano Campsite. You can leave your backpack in the Italiano Campsite, and continue only with the necessary water, food etc. From there you’ll hike to the Britanico viewpoint. This is only up! On the way down you pick up your backpack if you left it at Italiano. Then you continue to Los Cuernos. It’s also a possibility to stay at Refugio Frances, but Los Cuernos is known to be the better campsite.

Night 3: Stay at either Refugio Frances or Los Cuernos. I recommend Los Cuernos. 

I saw incredible photos of the mountains lit up by the sunrise and I knew I had to see it for myself. I figured out these photos were taken at Lago Pehoé, so I booked one night at Camping Pehoe. Now the only thing to figure out was, how to get to Camping Pehoé after walking the W-trek. I couldn’t find the right information anywhere, but it ended up being quite easy! You can take the bus from Torres del Paine Welcome center to Camping Pehoé. Buy your ticket when you arrive at the welcome center.

I arrived just in time to rest for a moment and even though I came for the sunrise, I took the opportunity to also catch the sunset. One problem I ran into is that the restaurant I spotted on google maps, was closed. This meant I didn’t have any proper dinner options. There was a little shop, so I could buy some nuts and chips, but not an ideal dinner after a day of hiking. Luckily the camping shop had some bread in the morning as well. Anyhow, after seeing both the sunset and sunrise at this incredible spot, I took the bus back to Puerto Natales.

How can you find this special sunrise spot?  You can finding by walking towards the Explore Patagonia Hotel Santo Chico. I’ve linked the location here so you can find it too!

What gear do I need for the W-Trek?

This is what I brought on my trek. It might sounds a bit gross, but since I was also carrying a lot of camera gear and wanted to keep things light I brought as little clothes as possible. If you decide to bring your own camping gear, this list would obviously be much longer.

Hotels on the shore of Lake Pehoé

If you choose to add a night or a few nights on Lake Pehoé, you have a couple of options. Option 1 is the affordable campsite and option 2 is the luxury hotel with meals included.