Ultimate Guide to the W-Trek in Torres Del Paine National Park

• The trek covers approximately 80km (50 miles) over 4 or 5 days.
• The hike can only be done between October and the end of April unless you take a guided trek in the winter
• You must have made reservations for accomodation during the trek before you arrive. You may have to show your reservations once you arrive before you allowed entry.
• You will need to purchase your ticket online before you arrive. This can be done here Pases Digitales Parques Nacionales - Parques Nacionales (pasesparques.cl)
• You can hike the W from West to East or from East to West and can take as long or as short a route as you wish (or can manage).

December to February (summer)

This is the peak hiking season in Patagonia when the temperatures are the warmest, however, this also means that the trails are far more crowded during this time.

March - April (autumn)

Going in the shoulder season is a good alternative to the peak of the summer as the weather is still more stable than the winter but the crowds are lessened than in the summer. There is usally less wind that the summer during this time but it would likely be more rainy.

October - November (spring)

Similarly to autumn, hiking in the shoulder season of spring can mean a lot less people. It is generally quite cool so you will need warmer clothes in this season.

Our experience

We hiked the W in early March and it was wonderful. We were lucky in that we had mild weather and barely any rain. We did however pack for all weathers as the weather is very changeable in the mountains and particularly in Patagonia. My advice would be pack for your season but ensure you have alternative clothing for any other extreme weather to ensure you are prepared.

The first choice you need to make is whether you book a guided tour, a self guided package deal or whether you book it all yourself. The former being the most expensive and the latter being the cheapest.

In my personal opinion and from my experience, you do not need a guided tour as the W Trek is completely fine to navigate independently, however if this option is what you would prefer then of course go for it but be prepared to spend in excess of £2,000 (more if you also want a porter to carry your belongings).

The second option is to book a self guided package deal through a company which would cost you more than if you booked this independently.

The third option is to book everything yourself which comes up much cheaper but can be difficult to navigate - hence this guide to help you do just that!

You can hike the W from East to West or West to East. Most people hike it from West to East so that you finish on the high note of the Torres. We did it from West to East and would definitely recommend. 

Before we went I did a LOT of research about the options of how to do this and in the end we were led in a way by what accomodation was available so do bear this in mind - particularly if you are late booking the trip.

Our Intinerary:

Day One - Hike from the ferry to Refugio Grey - 11km. We also did an extended hike to view the glacier at the end of the day which I would highly recommend. This hike took us to some rope bridges and added another 7km onto the day.

Day Two - Refugio Grey to Refugio Paine Grande - 11km. We then added an additional hike to Mirador Pehoe and back which was an additional 7km.

Day Three - Refugio Paine Grande to Refugio Cuernos - 26.6km if you include the additional hike to the Mirador Britanico. This was a long old day and was determined by the bookings we could get but it was certainly worth it!

Day Four - Refugio Paine Grande to Refugio Chileno - 10km - we made really good time today and the weather was clear so we then hiked to the Torres and back adding another 8.8km.

Day Five - Return to the Welcome Centre - as we had done the Torres the day before this was an easy downhill back.

Other options

The options on how to trek the W are endless as you can take as much or as little time as you need, can go in both directions and is also dependent on the availability of accomodation. I would as a first step decide how far you are willing to walk each day and break that down into how long it will take you and then work out where you can stay from there. You will also need to decide on which direction - in my opinion I would always save the Torres until last as the highlight of the trip and you are eased in with shorter walks first but it really is up to you. There really is no right or wrong way!

Firstly you will need to make your way to Puerto Natales. This can be done in many ways depending on whether this is part of a longer trip or not but for simplicity the easiest and shortest way to get to Puerto Natales is to fly there directly from Santiago, Chile. Other options are via rental car or by bus which is a cheap way if you are travelling from a closer location such as El Calafate or Punta Arenas.

Once in Puerto Natales you then will need to get a bus from here to Torres Del Paine National Park. You can buy tickets online for your journey from Puerto Natales to Torres Del Paine from Bus Sur. They have lots of departures throughout the day but you're more than likely to need a morning departure depending on your route.

In the past there have been other buses that also run this route but don't have an online booking system. We used Buses Gomez and just contacted them via email to arrange our booking. I'm not sure if these are now available to use so I would recommend Bus Sur.

If you have chosen to trek from West to East you will get a ticket to Pudeto. From Pudeto you then get a ferry across to Paine Grande. You have to queue to get on the ferry so may not get the first one. For this I would recommend getting the earliest bus possible to the Park. The ferry is operated by Hielos Patagonicos and you just buy your ticket at the port.

If you're trekking from East to West you will book a ticket to Laguna Armaga and then get a shuttle to the Welcome Centre.

You must buy your ticket for entry to the park in advance via this website Pases Digitales Parques Nacionales - Nombre del parque (pasesparques.cl) 

Please note that you will not be allowed entry into the park unless you have pre booked accomodaiton and you will need to prove this on entry to the park.

The entry will cost you 44,500 chilean pesos for an adult to do the W trek.

When booking for the W Trek you will need to decide what type of accommodation you would like. These can differ between each site and I have broken these down for you below. I have also added a handy tool that outlines the choices and costs of each place that is an easy go to guide at the bottom of this page.

Vertice - Paine Grande and Grey:

Booking link for Vertice Patagonia

Here the options are:

• Camping site
• Bed in a shared dorm

The price for camping starts with a basic site and then you can upgrade for additional equipment such as tents, sleeping bags and towels. 

The price for a bed starts with a mattress cover and pillow and can be upgraded to include bedding if you don't have a sleeping bag.

Then in terms of food you have various options available from nothing or a simple breakfast right through to full board.

Las Torres - Frances, Cuernos, Central and Chileno

Booking link for Las Torres

Here the options are:

• Camping Premium Full Team - Tent, sleeping bag, high-density foam mat, pillow, welcome drink voucher
• Premium Simple Camping - Tent, high-density foam mat
• Camping site - place to install own tent
• Single bed in shared Shelter

You can also hire additional equipment where required.

Then in terms of food you have various options available from nothing or a simple breakfast right through to full board. 

When we stayed we had to be flexible as our ideal accomodation choices were not available, however, we actually loved what we ended up with. Here was ours for reference:

• Night 1 - Grey - campsite with erected tent - full board
• Night 2 - Paine Grande - campsite with erected tent - full board
• Night 3 - Cuernos - campsite with erected tent - full board
• Night 4 - Chileno - single bed in dorm - full board

We had hired foam mats to take with us from a company in Puerto Natales.