PATAGONIA — TORRES DEL PAINE ‘O' CIRCUIT

The day before you start your adventure, you will arrive in Puerto Natales. You have to be at 6.30 in the morning at the Rodoviario de Puerto Natales (bus station; Spain 1455), to take the bus leaving at 7:00 am to the Torres del Paine National Park (PNTP). Your entrance to the park will be through the Laguna Amarga Lodge, where you will show your ticket and then take the approach bus to the Welcome Center of the Cerro Paine Reserve where you can enjoy the impressive silhouettes of the Torres del Paine and the Almirante Nieto Massif. Once there, start your first trekking. This will lead you through a huge forest of lichens called “old man's beard”. Once you have crossed the forest you will contemplate in the distance an extensive valley covered by margaritas flanked by the Paine River on the right, who will accompany you during the second half of your trek until you reach the Serón campsite, where you will dine and stay
Hiking distance: 9.6 miles (15.45 km)
Hiking time: 6.5 hours ...more ...less

This will be a long and unforgettable day of trekking. The first part of the trail will take you up and down, surrounding the hillsides of Cerro Paine where you will feel the strength of the wind. There, you will begin to descend to continue bordering Lake Paine, which on clear days works as a mirror of the summits that surround it. If the weather is in your favour, you will be able to see the northeast summit of the Paine Massif, including silhouettes and peculiar shapes such as “Cabeza del Indio”, “Escudo”, “Cube” and Dickson. The night will be in the Dickson Sector, located next to the glacial lake at the edge of the Southern Ice Field that gives it its name to the sector.

Hiking distance: 8.1 miles (13.04 km)
Hiking time: 4 hrs

Today you will begin to move towards the south-west. Along the way you will see the Dickson glacier falling into the lake of the same name. You will enter a beautiful lenga forest, where you will see Magellan woodpeckers beating the lengas. In the middle of the forest you will find a clearing. Stop there to look forward and backward, because in front of you and behind you can see glaciers, awesome! Further on, you will also pass through the Los Perros glacier, with incredible views towards its lake. Half an hour after the walk, you will arrive at Camp Los Perros, located in a quiet and ancient forest. In the Perros Sector the food service consists of rations of the trek, there is no restaurant service.

Hiking distance: 11.2 miles (18.02 km)
Hiking time: 6 hrs

It is likely that today is the most exhausting and at the same time most spectacular day of your trip. Attention: there will be slippery roads, swampy terrain and steep climbs and descents. The departure from Los Perros must be very early. The first part of the way is through a swampy land and then start a steep and long climb to the windy Paso John Garner. Once up, the overwhelming view will make you feel very small. In front of you will have one of the huge tongues of the Southern Ice Field, full of cracks and ice of the strangest nuances of blue and green. A landscape in which you do not know where the glacier ends and where the clouds begin. Once you catch your breath, start the long descent between rocks, to continue skirting the Grey Glacier, which will accompany you all the way to Lake Grey. A few kilometres after arriving at the site “El Paso”, you will cross two impressive suspension bridges over 50 meters long that pass over huge gorges with a fantastic view of the Grey glacier, an image that is hard to forget. Tonight we will stay in Sector Grey

Hiking distance: 6.8 miles (10.94 km)
Hiking time: 4.5 hrs

The first part of the road will be between many ups and downs. Crossing forests of ñirres, cohigues and notros, and with the majestic Cerro Paine Grande (the highest summit of the Massif with 3050 masl) and its hanging glaciers on your left, you will reach the Paine Grande Refuge. There you can stop for a while to have lunch and enjoy the amazing view from the place to the Cuernos del Paine. Then, you will continue your way towards the French Sector now with horns in front, Lake Pehoé on your right and another face of Cerro Paine Grande on your left. After a quiet but long walk you will reach the French Sector where you will dine and sleep.

Hiking distance: 13.7 miles (22.05 km)
Hiking time: 11 hrs

This day you will visit another of the most emblematic and magical places of the Park, the impressive Valle del Francés. The trekking will begin with a gentle walk towards the Italian camp. Here, you will start to climb the valley and after an hour and a half of ascent, you will reach the “French Lookout”. Here you will see very closely one of the hanging glaciers of Cerro Paine Grande and, with some luck, you will be able to witness an ice fall (avalanche). With that impressive sight circling in your head you will continue advancing through a forest of lengas, up to the British sector. Get ready, it is probably the only time in your life that you see such a show: the magnificent Valley of the French, floated by its colossal mountains and granite walls whose unique shapes and colours will leave you breathless. The return will be by the same path, passing through the Italian Camp, until reaching the French Sector.

Hiking distance: 6.8 miles (10.94 km)
Hiking time: 3.5-4 hrs

With the spectacular Cuernos del Paine on the left, and the colours of Lake Nordenskjöld on the right, you will walk towards the Central sector. This day the walk will be calmer, there will be no big slopes and the journey will be shorter and faster than the previous days. A few kilometres to reach the Central Sector, you will have left behind the Cuernos to skirt Mount Almirante Nieto (2,670 masl), a massif with a temperamental climate. At night, and as in the rest of your adventure, you can live the relaxed and cosmopolitan atmosphere in the Central Sector; Take a well deserved beer and share with other hikers experiences and anecdotes. If you feel tired after so many days of hard walking, you can stop by the Hotel Las Torres Spa to get a well-deserved massage, or try a roast lamb on the stick (these activities are not included in the program)

Hiking distance: 10.7 miles (17.22 km)
Hiking time: 7 hrs

Today you'll be up early to visit one of the most famous landmarks of the park, the Mirador Base Torres. During the first part you'll walk through the pampas, crossing the Ascencio River and then climb about 3 km until you reach the pass of the winds. Here you will enjoy incredible views of the valley, lakes and glaciers. Continue until you reach the Chilean Refuge and then enter a forest of lengas and reach “La Morrena”, where the hardest part of the trekking begins. After 45 minutes of arduous ascent along a rocky path, you'll reach the spectacular Mirador Base Torres where you can enjoy the majesty of the South Towers (2,850 masl), Central (2,800 masl), and North (2,600 masl). After contemplating the spectacular image, you'll return to the Central Sector where at 7:00 p.m you'll take the bus that will take you back to Puerto Natales.

Hiking distance: 7.5 miles (12.07 km)
Hiking time: 4.5 hrs