The full Torres del Paine circuit is an 8 day (minimum) loop. Most folks do the short version: the lower half which forms a "W" on the map. This is typically a 5 day trek with Torres del Paine on one end and Grey Glacier on the other. I'm not going to go into detail about the trek, there are a zillion books and websites already covering this. Instead I'll post a few photos giving a sense of what you see along the "W" and leave an open invitation to questions. If you're planning a trip or need to know anything specific (even Lonely Planet is lacking here) fire away. I'm happy to help.



One comment I will make that the guide books won't tell you is that it's probably the best "scenery/easy walk" ratio on the planet. The trekking is more like a walk in a park than mountain hiking. The difficulty is dictated only by how much you carry. Getting there is not difficult either. Basically, you should get your ass down there. No excuses.

I did this trek in February '07. We (I went with one other friend) started on the east side and walked west.



Leaving the drop off area at Hosteria Las Torres.


About an hour or so on. This is looking back ... we started down below, left of frame.


Torres del Paine. We had perfect weather the whole trip which is incredibly rare this time of year.


2 days from the last photo, we're in the middle of the "W." These are Los Cuernos.


Arriving at Refugio Paine Grande (a.k.a. Refugio Pehoe). We're only stopping for lunch as we're on our way to Refugio Grey this afternoon.


Onward toward Refugio Grey and Grey Glacier.


From the door of our tent at Refugio Grey.


Grey Glacier (yeah, I'm learning about layer masks in PS)


Me fiddling with the D80 while my friend snaps a shot with his fisheye. This is Grey Glacier, btw.


Late afternoon at Refugio Paine Grande (Pehoe). We catch the ferry outta here in the morning.


One last shot on our way out. I love Patagonia in B&W.

Definitely a cool trip. Anybody that likes walking around the globe should hit it up at some point. It's actually a ridiculously popular spot for photog groups ... probably because it's nearly impossible to take a crappy photo.

Nice! Dude, I've seen so many shots from that look-out spot ... where the hell is it?!? Do you remember which point on a map that is? Below Lago Pehoe?

Originally Posted by jacobsen1

Awesome trip, Damn, I'd love to go there.

NSoP International Meet #1?? :P

Originally Posted by jacobsen1

when you straighten your horizon, crop it again before you but the border on it.

I normally do, but was trying some artsy crap to see if I liked it ... not a huge fan of the result, but I left it anyway for this shot.

Originally Posted by thechickencow

This looks like a sweet place to plan a trip with the fiancee someday. Probably pre-kids so we can go for a while. Having not read the guides or anything, what is the camping like there, is it established sites or backcountry stuff?

Camping is super easy. All established sites. Many even have Refugios (huts) so you can stay inside. But that's for wimpy tourists!

Originally Posted by thechickencow

I told my fiancee about this today, she seemed interested. What's the best time of year to go, would we go in the northern hemisphere's winter when its summer there?

The full season is November to early April, but really most people just go in January and February. You don't want to push it as far as edge-of-season goes. Winter is not an option.

Some stuff to keep in mind: the high season is also the windiest. Can also be the wettest. This is what I've read. We had absolute perfect weather for our 13 days in the area. Supposedly that's unusual. This just means you have to pack for all seasons ...

Estimating costs ... there are some hidden fees. Most notably, crossing the Chile border as an American citizen. $150. No way around it. Even if you fly through BA instead of Santiago, you will cross the border near the park entrance (we're talking Torres del Paine, here not every park in Patagonia). If you do fly through Santiago, you'll pay the tax there.

Make reservations in El Calafate BEFORE leaving. Use hostels.com, lonleyplanet or whatever, but make sure you've got a room reserved. We didn't do this and got lucky. I don't recommend trying to start your trip with luck.

I think some people use Puerto Natales (really straining my memory here, that name might be wrong) as a base instead of El Calafate. It's south of Torres del Paine ... we didn't make it down there. And I wouldn't recommend this unless you are planning to do Paine and then head to the southern tip in Ushuaia. If you want to do the standard Patagonia exploration, use El Calafate as home base. You might want to cruise down the PN for a night, but EC is in the middle of what most people go to see (Paine to the south, Moreno Glacier to the west, Fitz-Roy/Cerro Torre to the north)