The Circuit trip in Torres del Paine is a trip for the intrepid traveller! This is an expedition where you’ll truly be out in nature, and away from the crowds. When choosing which trip to perform in the national Park (W or O), it’s important to be realistic about your physical abilities.
The “O” (Circuit) trip is for those with an adventurous spirit, who are wanting to hike for a longer period of time, and who are in fairly good shape.
In this guide to trekking Torres del Paine, Chile, we’ll give you priceless insider advice and tips from our recent experience in March, 2017.
First things First
As of October, 2016, you must have reservations for all of the camps that you intend to stay at. Whether it’s the free camping sites, paid campgrounds or the refugios, you must have a printed out booking (or proof of it on your smartphone) to show to the rangers at the camps.
There are 3 business for camping Torres del Paine on both the Circuit & W trails:
Vertice Patagonia – Campsites: Dickson, Los Perros, Grey and Paine Grande
Fantasticosur – Campsites: Serón, Los Cuernos, El Chileano, central and Frances
CONAF – free Campsites: Italiano, Paso and Torres Ranger station & Camping
Click on the respective links to book your campsites.
Before setting off to Torres del Paine, you’ll most likely be costs a night or two in the town of Puerto Natalas. There are numerous guesthouses, hostels and hotels there.
☞ Click here to compare costs & see evaluations on lodging in Puerto Natalas on Booking.com
What is the “O” Circuit?
As the name suggests, it’s a circuit. The “O” includes the “W” trail, with the addition of the backside of the mountain to make it a long loop – 130 kilometers.
Can you see the “W” formation with the red dashes and the backside linking it as an “O” (doesn’t truly look like an “O”!) – image credit:
Most people opt to do the circuit in 7 nights, 8 days. However, you could do it over a longer period of time if you prefer to have shorter trekking days and to stay in more camps along the way.
This trip starts at the Las Torres hotel and ends at the exact same place. From Las Torres Hotel, the first camp heading counterclockwise is Serón. From Serón all the method along the backside of the mountain to the Paso Ranger station and Camp, you can only trip counterclockwise.
The backside of the mountain is a part of the O Circuit, not the W.
From Grey Camping to Las Torres hotel (on the front side of the mountain), you will be linked up with the “W” part of the trek. people can trip counterclockwise, or clockwise on this part of the trail.
Only a maximum of 80 people are enabled on the backside of the mountain each day, while the W doesn’t have a limit.
Needless to say, when you connect up with the W part of the Circuit trek, it will be much busier than the backside of the mountain.
What Are The Camps like When Trekking Torres del Paine?
What your camps will be like depends upon which ones you decide to stay at. The free campsites are more basic than the paid camps, but are frequently more sought after. here is a breakdown of the camps that we stayed at, and what you can expect when camping Torres del Paine:
Serón: The campsite here is in a grassy, fenced-off field. There are appropriate toilets and hot water showers available. There is a sink for washing dishes, and drinking water from the tap. There’s not a “hut” for cooking in, but rather 2 picnic tables for cooking and eating at. Cost: 8,500 pesos / person ($12.75)
Dickson: Probably the most beautiful camp on the whole trek! The setting is spectacular. Dickson is an open field and you can pitch your camping tent anywhere you want. surrounding camp are towering mountains and glaciers. There is a big dome that you can cook in, full of picnic tables. There are flush toilets here, a sink and a hot water shower. Cost: 5,000 pesos / person ($7.50)
Camping at Dickson on the Circuit trip – a gorgeous site!
Los Perros: Even though this is a paid camp, it’s more basic than the others. The campsites are dirt plots and although there are flush toilets, there are no hot showers. There is a increased building for cooking in, with some benches and tables. Cost: 5,000 pesos / person ($7.50)
Paso: There is a extremely basic outhouse, no shower and a little hut for cooking in with a couple of benches together with the wall for sitting on. The campsites are dirt rather than grass. The ranger we encountered here wasn’t the friendliest guy ever. There was a cheeky fox here snooping around and trying to take people’s food and shoes, be careful! Cost: FreeGrey Lodge & Camping: (We didn’t stay here, but stopped in). This is a busy camp with people staying at the refugio and camping in the field as well. There is a great lookout point of Grey Glacier here, making it a prominent stop. There are great deals of appropriate bathrooms, showers and a kitchen.
Paine Grande Camping: This is a big campground. You can arrive here by boat, and some people begin the W trip from this point. It’s a extremely busy, but nice campground. There are great deals of (lumpy) campsites spread out over a field. You’ll find foxes here, so take care of your belongings. There is a big bathroom and shower area, with hot water. There is also a big enclosed building that is utilized as the kitchen area area. It has many tables inside. There’s a little shop here as well. Cost: 6,000 pesos / person ($9.00)
Tents set up at Paine Grande Camp
Italiano: This campsite is fairly large as many people stay here (it’s a part of the W trek). There are a few long-drop toilets, but they have an actual seat to sit on. The showers weren’t open when we were there, and even if they were, I’m sure they are cold water. There is a little shack for cooking inside and 1 picnic table, plus 2 other “tables” for sitting at and eating. Campsites are dirt rather than grass. Rangers here are great. Cost: Free
Torres Ranger station and camping Zone: There are rather a few nice, flat, dirt campsites available. There is 1 bathroom with a flush toilet and a little shack for cooking. There are no seats here for eating on, just some rocks and logs. The ranger is extremely friendly. Cost: Free
What to pack for Trekking Torres del Paine
In this guide, we’re presuming that you are planning to camp and cook along the trail. There are choices to stay in refugios which provide you with a bed and board, or you can also lease tents and get food at many of the camps. The cost of this varies and you’ll have to reserve online.
Here is a listing of what to pack for an independent camping trip along the “O” Circuit in Torres del Paine:
Clothing
2 tee shirts (one for trekking, one for evenings)
Thermal base layer top for during the day, or night
Fleece for evenings
Down jacket for evenings
Waterproof / windproof jacket for wet days, or cool nights
Thermal leggings for during the evening
Hiking pants (preferably with some pockets)
Waterproof / windproof pants for rainy days, or windy, cool nights
Underwear for each day
Regular socks for each day, with a pair of warmer hiking socks on top (double up)
Warm socks for evenings
Toque (beenie)
Bandana / Buff
Gloves
Scarf / neckwarmer
Sturdy pair of water resistant hiking shoes with ankle support (I have Merrels, Nick has Keens)
Sunglasses
Gear
Waterproof camping tent (the lighter the better)
Sleeping bag (-6 comfort level)
Sleeping mat
Mess set (pots, cups, utensils, knife, etc.)
Pocket stove with gas canister (2 canisters for a couple on the 8 day trek, cooking when / day)
Lighter (or 2)
Backpack with a good harness
Trekking poles (it can be windy, and the terrain is tough. Poles keep you sturdy)
Waterbottle (aluminum)
Carabiners
Camera with extra batteries
Setting up camp each afternoon was all part of the fun!
Toiletries:
Sunscreen
Bug spray
Bandaids
Antibiotic ointment
Anti-inflammatory / pain-killer (Ibuprofen)
Tensor bandage for joints
Toothbrush & paste
Small packet of shampoo & little soap
Wet naps / baby wipes (in location of a shower!)
Food:
You’ll have to decide what type of food you want to eat when trekking Torres del Painel. go for lightweight meals, and food that you don’t have to cook. You’ll want to make sure you have great deals of protein in your diet.
Plan to light the stove when / day in order to save on gas. I suggest cooking dinner on the stove and having breakfast and lunch foods that don’t requirement to be heated.
You can drink the water from the waterfalls, streams, rivers & taps at the camps. Don’t pack extra water. Patagonian glacier water is the best!
The water along the path is the very best water we’ve ever had
There is a great supermarket in Puerto Natales called UniMarc. Also, many of the trekking shops offer dehydrated meals and vacuum sealed foods as well. Dehydrated meals are around $20 each, while the vacuum sealed stews / curries are around $6 each. We bought the vacuum sealed foods at Wild Hostel.
Some recommendations for food:
Dehydrated meals (you just addhot water). more expensive, but worth it for how light they are, and easy to make.
Vacuum sealed stews (available in Puerto Natales)
Individual packets of rice with seasoning / dried veg
Instant mashed potatoes
Salami
Babybel cheese
Happy Cow cheese
Crackers
Oats / Museli
Oatmeal (only issue is that you requirement to boil hot water and may not want to in the morning)
Powdered milk
Tea / hot chocolate
Trail mix (nuts, dried fruit, M&M’s)
Snickers bars
Granola bars
Booze (rum, whiskey, pisco) this will keep you warm at night. Ditch the glass bottle and pour the alcohol in a plastic bottle to save on weight.
Grocery buying for food on the trail!
The name of the game is lightweight and little in size. trust me, when you’re trekking up a mountain at 6:00am in the pitch black, you’ll be cursing the weight on your back if your bag isn’t light enough. Also, keep in mind that you’ll want to have a great deal of protein in your diet.
Make sure to have enough cash on you for the duration of your trekking and camping trip. You’ll want money for the entrance fee (21,000 pesos), shuttle bus (3,000 pesos), and potentially some food along the way.
Packing tips for Torres del Paine
Keeping the contents of your backpack dry is the most important thing. It doesn’t matter if the outside of your pack is getting soaked, as long as your sleeping bag and nighttime clothing are dry.
In order to keep everything from getting soaked, we suggest lining your pack with black garbage bags (double up). Or, get yourself a water resistant bag liner. Then, pack everything in individual bags (inside of the bag liner) to ensure they stay dry.
Garbage bags help keep your products dry, both inside and out
Zip-Loc bags are great for keeping electronics dry as well, plus, they are see with meaning it’ll be easy to find what you’re looking for.
If it’s windy (and it most likely will be), your backpack rain cover will be useless and will just blow off of your pack. Leave it behind.
Only bring what you need. get a little tube of toothpaste, only have one attire for trekking and don’t bother with “luxuries”. You want your pack to be as lightweight as possible!
You can leave all of the products that you don’t requirement in Puerto Natales. inspect with your guesthouse / hostel about the costs of their storage. And, make sure that where you’ll be leaving your possessions is a risk-free place, preferably with lockers. We left our possessions at Kaluve Patagonia Guesthouse, which cost us $2 / day for 1 locker and we were able to in shape everything into one.
If you stay at the guesthouse when you return from the trek, the lockers are free.
Regarding food, make sure to take everything out of unnecessary packaging. transfer everything to Zip-Loc bags where possible. Every bit bit of packaging adds weight to your pack.
Renting vs. buying Your Gear
If you have your own camping and trekking gear with you, then you’re all set. You’ll be familiar with your set and understand that it works for you. But, if you’re on a long trip and can’t carry camping gear with you, or you’ve decided to do the trip at the last-minute, you can buy or lease your gear in Chile.
We don’t suggest buying any trekking or camping gear in Argentina, as the costs we found in Chile were cheaper.
In Santiago, there is a shopping center called sky Mall. here you’ll find all of the brand name stores – Columbia, Merrell, Doite, North Face, etc. I purchased some truly good hiking boots from Merrell and they withstood all of the aspects on the circuit. The cost was the exact same as it would have been in the United States.
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