The Booking Nightmare
Did you hear already about the famous Torres del Paine National Park, one of the most famous treks in the world? That is what we did for 5 days after arriving in Puerto Natales!
There are two multi-day options — the O and the W — plus day hikes and alternatives to see glaciers. We did 80% of the O, which means circling the Torres del Paine mountains and exiting through what they call the "Q" instead of paying the expensive extra ferry.
The first thing you have to know: it is a very crowded trek, and when you look at the big picture, it is a little sad to see nature commercialised at this level. It is also the most complicated trek in the world to organise. Three different companies manage all the camping sites. You have to deal with each of them individually — often months in advance — to secure a spot. Their websites are far from user-friendly and the prices are far from cheap. So, we gave up planning in advance and decided to go straight to each office in Puerto Natales on arrival.
Once off the ferry, we had just two and a half hours to sort everything. The first company had moved address recently. We found the second, noted campsite availability. Ran to the first (new address). Then to the CONAF office (officially responsible for the park). We were literally running between offices as time ran out.
A young woman at CONAF told us there were the last 2 seats available for the 16th. We were thrilled. Then she said we couldn't book there — we had to go to the other CONAF office, third floor of the bus station. We ran. Another young woman there told us those 2 seats had been given away a few hours earlier. But... five minutes ago we had been told they were available. The previous agent had written the reservation on a paper that was only processed at the end of the day. So you know what we did? We just booked online ahah :-) ! We went back to the other two companies and booked the remaining campsites. What a mess honestly. We were exhausted — but we did it!
The problem was that we had to start the trek directly the next day. It was 18:30 and we still had to buy food, set up the tent, eat, sleep... It was the rush.
Days 1 and 2: Warm Up, Early Starts
We took a bus next morning with plenty of trekkers — and it was not the only bus going to Torres del Paine. We started to feel the big industry behind the beautiful nature. After an hour of driving the majestic mountains began to appear. At the entrance, a twenty-minute queue to stamp tickets, then a shuttle (not free) to the main gate. Or you can walk — your choice.
More stamps on papers, a commitment to respect park rules (we apparently missed the nature-protection video), and finally we could start trekking. It reminded us of the difference between hiking and tramping in New Zealand!
The first day was quite easy, a gentle uphill to Campamento Serón. Three hours, a beautiful view of remote mountains from a hilltop, then forest. Rain, but a nice warm-up. Day 2 we left at 7AM to be alone all day — a very good idea. When you leave at 7AM on this trek, you will be the first one out and have the trail to yourself. We stuck to this early-start rule for the rest of the trek. Destination: Dickson campsite. One hour longer than the previous day but no real elevation gain. The rangers check the Dickson reservation precisely — it is the one reservation that matters.
Day 3: Los Perros and the Glaciers
Day 3 was more interesting — 600 metres of elevation gain to reach Los Perros campsite. A gradual climb from the previous camp, up through the valley, ringed by beautiful mountains for an hour, then right at a bridge for two more hours. With good weather you can see a beautiful glacier. The big surprise at the highest point: Glaciar Los Perros in front of you. A good moment 😉! But very windy — we rushed to the campsite.
From Los Perros there is a 7 km round trip to the Puma Glacier. Augustina was a bit tired, so I walked there with Ben — a very nice guy from the States we had met along the way — for a two-hour detour. Nice glacier. The rangers had said the trail was closed but that was absolutely not true. Very cold night — presumably because we were not far from the glacier.
Day 4: The John Garner Pass at 4:30AM
The day to cross the John Garner pass (1,200 m) to reach the Paso campsite. Since everyone was panicked about a possible closure of the pass due to strong wind and snow, everyone wanted to leave very early. Arrrgggg! So we had to wake up before everyone else — at 4:30AM — to be alone. The trail was buried in snow and we lost some time finding the right footpath. At the top, the wind was intense, but the views of glaciers, white peaks, and the valley below were unique and spectacular. On the summit, Ben offered us a sip of his pisco — how good in those conditions :-) Then we started descending alongside the immense Grey Glacier, which is truly breathtaking. We were tired for the rest of the day. Up too early, breaking trail through snow — tougher than expected.
Day 5: Grey Glacier and the Final Push
We left around 7AM as usual. Beautiful views of the Grey Glacier and lake the whole way to Grey campsite — arrived by 9:30AM. On the way we passed people on viewpoints admiring the glacier from above. Many of them were wearing make-up and perfume, not acknowledging hellos... Ahhhhh, we hate them! These are basically the W trek crowd and we were very happy to have avoided that route.
We continued to Paine Grande — one of the biggest campsites in the park, arriving at 1PM. One hour of uphill, then downhill, but with less spectacular scenery. We set up the tent, ate, and found some of the nice people we had been meeting throughout the trek. We treated ourselves to beers (5,000 pesos each!) and chocolate.
We had a terrible night. A small storm hit with very strong wind that almost made the tent fly away. At 2:30AM we moved into the reception to sleep on the couch. We left at 7AM and covered the 18 km to the park administration offices in 4 hours. We waited an hour for the bus and fell asleep immediately. So tired. Back in Puerto Natales at the excellent Camping Güino, close to the bus station.
Our Verdict
If we did this trek again, we would ask for the climbing permit to explore more alternatives. We would also schedule at least two consecutive days at each main section — we finished every day between noon and 1PM and could have walked more. The reservation system is awful and almost useless. We are fairly convinced you can do most of the O trek with only one or two reservations — the rest you just turn up and pay. And the entrance permit — they check it exactly once, at the park gate. That's it.
So, our final recommendation for Torres del Paine: think twice 😉!
November 13–18, 2018