Please Join Crew Treks on this trip in famous Torres del Paine National Park, and experience one of the most spectacular trekking destinations in the world. The granite massifs of Torres del Paine will leave you breathless as you witness the spellbinding beauty of these peaks from the numerous trails and vantage points. The famous W circuit lets you experience the best of Torres del Paine trekking.
Leader: Nicolas Secul-Native Patagan from Punta Arenas. Nicolas has been a guide in Torres del Paine park for number of years, he also is an accomplished climber and skier. He has summited all three Torres Towers and skied around the entire Torres Massif.
Please note, for anyone booking less than 90 days before trip starts, there might be surcharges for SCL-PUQ flight booking.
Price: $3,400
Day 1 (Oct 31 2023) Depart for Patagonia
Day 2 (Nov 01 2023) Arrive in Santiago, Chile/Overnight/little sightseeing and dinner.
Day 3 (Nov 02 2023) Bike city tour! We will visit several markets and funky and artsy areas of the city. In the evening, we will enjoy Santiago's Best Wine Experience
Day 4 (Nov 03 2023) Fly to Punta Arenas City tour and visit historical sites and enjoy the town.
Day 5 (Nov 04 2023) Early in the morning, we will visit Penguin Colony on Isla Magdalena, this exciting trip is by boat and due to its remoteness it will take us half a day. (please understand, the trip to Penguin Colony is weather dependend and Crew Treks does not have control over the weather and boat operation due to the weather) After lunch in Punta Arenas, we will travel to Puerto Natales (3hrs 30min) and then transfer to hotel. We should have ample time to discover evening life of Puerto Natales.
Accommodations: Hotel
Day 6 (Nov 05 2023) Trek to the Base of Torres Towers
Early morning departure and 2hrs 30min drive to the park entrance. After checking in at ranger station, we begin our hike to the base of Torres Towers. After gradulal hike for about 3hrs, we will reach Refugio Chileno where we will off load most of our belongings. After an hour rest/snack, we will continue along the stream and into picturesque forrest looking almost like a Land of Narnia. As we continue out of the forrest, the trail will steepen and take us into alpine zone and to the Base of Torres Towers. High above we will see 3 sectacular granite towers; Torre Sur 9,350ft, Torre Central 9,186ft Torre Norte 8,530ft and finaly Nido de Condores (eagle's nest) Depending on the weather, we can hang ut here for an hour basking in the sun or quickly take photos and run down the valley and away from wind and snow. Difficulty Level: Medium 7-8hrs
Elevation gain: 2,427 ft Distance: 12miles from Torres Central to Torres Central and 8miles Torres Central to Refugio Chileno
Day 7 (Nov 6 2023) Trek from Refugio Chileno to Refugio Cuernos
After breakfast, we’ll hike down to the Nordenskjold Lake and warm weather, continuing along the lake and over breath taking landscape full of flowers, towering peaks above and countless lakes and tarns below us.
After 3-4hrs of hiking, we will reach the base of Cuernos (a spectacular granite towers) reaching the sky above our favourite camp spot at Refugio Los Cuernos or Domo Frances
Difficulty Level: Easy 4hrs
Elevation gain: 0ft Distance: 8.1 miles Torres Central to Domo Frances, 9miles Chileno to Domo Frances or 7miles from Chileno to Los Cuernos
Day 8 (Nov 07 2023)
Hike from Los Cuernos into French Valley and Refugio Paine Grande
The first 2 hours are up and down along Nordenskjöld Lake. The area is just magnificent with winding trail along the lake and picturesque vistas.; there is this particular place where trail goes on picturesque pebble beach.
Shortly therafter, we reach Italian Camp, we will again leave our heavy packs and continue with light daypacks. The ascent goes for about 1 hour and a half until French Glacier lookout, where you’ll be able to observe its hanging glaciers and opportunities to observe avalanches (caving). After that the trail continues until “Campamento Británico” and in about 20 minutes we will reach the lookout point considered by many as one of the most overwhelming spots in the Circuit: “Mirador Británico”, where we will admire: “Paine Grande”, “Cerro Hoja”, “Cerro Máscara”, “Cerro Catedral”, “Cerro Aleta de Tiburón”, “Cuerno Norte”, etc. On the way down, and once we retrieve our packs, we will hike trough magnificent forest reminiscent of Narnia or Lord of the Rings settings.
Thereafter, we will retrace our steps and continue 
between small lakes to Refugio Paine Grande. After some tea and celebrations of accomplished hard day we will rest at this incredible lodge.
Difficulty Level: Hard 8hrs+
Elevation gain: 2,150ft Distance: 12miles Quernos-French Valley-Paine Grande, 10miles Domo Frances-French Valley-Paine Grande
Day 9 (Nov 08 2023)
After the hardest day of our W Trek, we will have much easier day ahead of us. 30min walk will get us to an incredible views of Lake Grey. As we walk along the lake, we'll be able to see huge ice bergs floating in the lake and shortly vistas of Grey Glacier flowing into the lake. In 4 hours of easy walking, we will reach Refugio Grey. After setteling into our rooms and short break, we'll walk down to lake shore and prepare for kayaking. If the weather cooperates, we'll be able to get close and personal with ice bergs and colosal Glacier Grey flowing into the lake. Please underestand, kayaking on Lake Grey is weather dependant-we can not paddle in strong winds! If we are unable to kayak, we will hike further on the trail over hanging bridges and close to the glacier-a spectacular place in itself.
Overnight at Refugio Grey
Difficulty Level: Easy 4hrs
Elevation gain: 500ft Distance 6.8miles Paine Grande-Refugio Grey
Day 10 (Nov 09 2023)
On our last day in the park, we are scheduled to take a 2pm Grey III ferry and exit the park by private transport. We are taking this late ferry as a back up and to give ourselves a chance to kayak if we are not able to do so upon our arrival at Refugio Grey. Now, if we are successful with kayaking trip on our arrival, then we'll do a short hike the next day.
Once back in Puerto Natales, we will celebrate at one of many breweries in city center!
Accommodation: Hotel in Puerto Natales.
Difficulty Level: Super easy!
Day 11 (Nov 10 2023) After breakfast we will transfer to Punta Arenas Airport and flight back home.
(if not planing to overnight in Santiago, you can book your return flight for the night of Nov 10th)
Crew Treks strongly recommends that you enroll with Global Rescue prior to embarking on this trip. Please click on the link below for details and quotes. The prices are reasonable and the signup process is simple. https://www.globalrescue.com/partner/crewtreks/ We strongly encourage everyone to purchase travel insurance, which covers trip cancellation, interruption, delay, baggage loss or delay, medical expenses, etc. Travel insurance offers the best possible protection if you have a sudden, unexpected illness or injury prior to or when traveling. Here are some useful links: http://www.travelguard.com http://www.travelexinsurance.com/quote/?nc=1
There is no visa requirement Best airport to fly into is Santiago (SCL)
