The W Trek is one of the iconic walks in Patagonia. It’s in Torres del Paine National Park in Chile and one of the main features is the view of the Torres, or the Three Towers. I’d seen lots of photos of them, now was my chance to see them for real.
Buoyed with my success on the hikes in El Chalten, Argentina, where I’d managed around 44 miles in 2 days, I was a bit more confident about the W Trek now, even though I still didn’t really know how difficult it was going to be.
I had read that the hiking times were conservative (we’ll get to that) and that you could end up hanging around a long time in hostels, so I had booked an afternoon bus into Torres del Paine from Puerto Natales which got me in at 2pm. I only had to hike 5.5km to my hostel for the night, no point arriving in the park at the crack of dawn and getting to the hostel at a ridiculously early hour. The bus dropped me off at the park administration where everyone had to get off and register and pay their fee.
It was a bit of a convoluted system where you had to fill out a form saying what trail you were hiking and what amount of time you’d be in the park, then pay your fee and then pass your form to a ranger, instead of it all being done by one person, since all the ranger seemed to do was put the form in a folder!
The Welcome Centre and hostel closest to the park administration buildings were 7km away and I’d tried to get some information about the shuttle that Hotel Torres ran. As usual in Latin America, it’s a completely useless system, where they gave you a WhatsApp number to message for information, I asked about the shuttle times, they told me to email, I emailed and got no reply. Actually that cost them some business, because the National Park Service ran a shuttle that met all the buses and that was less than half the price. I didn’t care about the price. What I did care about was having to hike an extra 7km. It was already after 2pm.
So I got on the Park Service minibus and then had to register at the Welcome Centre. I was a bit concerned because it said the cut off point for the hike to the Torres was 12pm and the cut off time from El Chileno was 3pm. I wasn’t planning on hiking to the Torres today, but would they let me on the trail to get to El Chileno where I was supposed to be sleeping tonight. Thankfully they would. It doesn’t seem to be policed very well for the hike to the Torres either. More about that later.
According to the signs, it was going to take me 2 hours to walk to El Chileno. So I should be there around 4.30pm. It was actually ten past five when I got there and I was the last one to arrive. I was hiking slower than the average hiking times every day. Even though I considered myself to be reasonably fit, it wouldn’t have hurt me to be fitter and done more training and hiking in Europe before I came to South America. Don’t underestimate this trek. You do need to be fit to do it. It’s not an easy stroll.
I’d seen various descriptions of the conditions of the W Trek from pretty easy to difficult. For me personally, it wasn’t difficult in the sense it was steep or treacherous for the most part, but it was seldom flat and it had some challenging sections.
I’d panicked after seeing countless stories about the terrible Patagonian weather. In fact, on the O circuit that a lot of people I’d spoken to had done, you have to go over the John Gardner pass and it seems this pass has a permanent storm cloud over it because everyone who had done the O Trek told me when they went over the pass they had hail, snow or rain. I was not tempted to do the O Trek myself which goes around the back of the park because it was far too long and doing the W Trek was going to be a push for me. Also along the back of the park there are no hostels, you have to camp. No thank you!
Anyway since I’d been warned about how bad the weather can be in Patagonia, strong biting winds, snow, hail storms, rain, plunging temperatures, I had brought far too many layers. Four for my top half, three for my bottom half. I even had an extra for my top half just in case I needed it. I could have just brought my down jacket and forgotten about my waterproof as well. Waterproof trousers over my leggings would have been sufficient without the extra pair of trousers. And I won’t even mention the woolly hat and two pairs of gloves I brought with me…
This is because I was incredibly lucky with the weather during my time hiking the W Trek. I had no bad weather. Some days were more cloudy than others, but no rain storms or snow storms, no hail or howling wind. I couldn’t have had better conditions for hiking the W Trek which meant I got to fully appreciate the scenery. I would never be tempted to do the W Trek again because I doubt I would have the perfect weather conditions a second time. Besides I’ve done it now and there are other places in the world I want to see.
On the first day hiking to El Chileno, the trail was a continuous uphill walk that was a very long slog. I was far too hot climbing the endless hill. The waterproof came off, the down jacket came off, I unzipped my jersey top. I was stuck when it came to the trousers. I could hardly start taking them off on the middle of the trail.
So while this trail wasn’t technically difficult, it was still a slog. It was uphill most of the way to Windy Pass, then it flattened out a bit. It wasn’t windy on Windy Pass either. Like I said, I was incredibly lucky with the weather. After a few more ups and downs, finally El Chileno Hostel, my bed for the night, was in sight.
I booked El Chileno in June 2019, almost as soon as the beds came on sale for the 2020 W Trek. According to my research, it was always fully booked in the high season.
The rooms had 6 beds in them and I was the only one in a top bunk in my room, the other two top bunks were empty. So much for you have to book immediately they come on sale or you won’t get a bed in El Chileno. But never mind. You are supposed to have your accommodation booked in advance, so you do have to plan. If you can do it immediately the beds are released, that’s one less thing to worry about.
The hostel didn’t have any sort of recreational area so people were forced to sit in the dining room, as the bedrooms were also not conducive to relaxation. If I’d been able to book a private room I would have done. But such things didn’t exist in the hostels along the W Trek. There was one place where I could have had my own cabin. Unfortunately the dates didn’t line up and it would have meant me camping one night. I have since discovered that you can book a tent that’s already been put up for you, but even so, that would still be hugely unappealing to me, so I booked hostels for all 5 nights. 5 nights in a hostel I hear you ask? Yes, 5 nights.
I’d paid for a made up bed in the hostels as I had no intention of, first of all, purchasing a sleeping bag, and secondly, having to lug it around with me on the W Trek when my bag was going to be far too heavy anyway and also having to fit it into my other luggage for the entirety of my trip.
So what did I have in my rucksack? I packed as light as possible. I had my 4 layers for my top half which were a lightweight sleeveless top, a jersey zip up jacket, a down jacket for warmth and a waterproof. And a change of knickers for every day. I had a pair of lightweight leggings, a pair of trousers and a pair of waterproof trousers. After the first day, I abandoned the trousers and just put the waterproofs on top of my leggings. I always had the waterproof trousers on. They protected me from water in streams I had to walk through at times and also from the vegetation. The waterproof trousers were my essential piece of clothing.
I had essential toiletries, toothbrush, toothpaste, insect repellent, face cream, suncream, painkillers and disposable contact lenses. I also had a large towel which was essential in the hostels and would have also been very useful if it had rained on the trek. I had sunspecs, camera, mobile phone and I took my iPad. I couldn’t decide if the iPad was an indulgence too far, but it wasn’t. I was so pleased I had taken it with me. It was more than worth the little extra weight. Finally, I had hiking poles, which I couldn’t have managed to do the trek without. All in all, I was very pleased with my packing.
As I mentioned I didn’t take my own sleeping bag. My made up bed in El Chileno consisted of a sleeping bag and a pillow. So no silk duvet and satin sheets then… However, the bedroom was pretty cold, there wasn’t any sort of heat in it, so a sleeping bag was probably sensible.
I went out into the dining room and plugged my phone in to charge up and started typing on my iPad.
Talking of dining, the catering was the one area where I had made a mistake. From all the posts I’d read on the internet it seemed you had 2 choices. You could either take all your food with you which meant carrying it for 5 days or you could order meals at the hostels. So I ordered breakfast and a packed lunch every day. I didn’t order an evening meal because I’m far too picky to eat anything that’s given to me, so I thought it would be a waste of money.
However, this is not your only option. As well as being able to book meals, they have a bar/restaurant where you can order things like pizza and they also sell alcohol, such as Pisco sours. The breakfast and packed lunches were generally of a pretty low standard. I would have been far better off taking a couple of bottles of water, which you could easily refill at every hostel, and a few things to snack on and then eat a pizza or something substantial in the evening. If I could do things over again, that’s what I would definitely do.
A young English couple were chatting in the dining room, so I struck up a conversation with them. They were on the last leg of the O Trek and had camped for the whole hike, including here in El Chileno tonight. They had also had lousy weather on the John Gardner Pass! They had already hiked to see the Torres, but were going back to see them at sunrise. They said they had done the hike in an hour and ten minutes one way because they set off at 3pm, just at the cut off time from El Chileno. I later concluded they must have done this hike on hover boards or have winged feet, because I couldn’t see how anyone could possibly do that hike in just over an hour!
At the same table there was a Canadian lass with a YouTube Channel. She said her channel paid for about a third of her travels and her followers bought her lots of beer. She said she had been travelling for two and a half years and was usually on a long distance trail, in a tent, for about 2 months at a time. 2 months! In a tent! For two and a half years! That is my definition of insanity. She said she did everything at a slow pace. That was exactly the opposite to me who had been the equivalent of two and a half times around the world last year and racked up 51 flights. She said she couldn’t do that, it would be far too exhausting. But travelling like she did would be my idea of hell.
Most people had the idea to get up early and set off some time around 4am or 4.30am to hike to see the Torres at sunrise. That would mean hiking the trail in the dark. I got up with everyone else with the full intention to do the same. I got about 50 metres and turned back. My head light was not sufficiently bright for me to pick out the trail. Also I wouldn’t have made it there for sunrise setting off at that time anyway because it took me 3 hours to do the hike.
I’d still see the Torres (I hoped), early before the crowds got there. But if I tried to hike this trail in the dark I could twist my knee or break my neck or fall in the river and drown or fall in the river and die of hypothermia. I was not prepared to take the risk of any of these things happening to me in order to see the Torres at sunrise. They would still be there two hours later. And the weather forecast was good. The weather was generally better in the morning and more cloudy in the afternoon, so I should be able to see them.
It was interesting though that the rangers had closed off the trail to hike to the Torres and yet so many people were ignoring the sign and hiking in the dark anyway.
I knew the Torres was a difficult hike. So I wasn’t entirely sure I’d make it. I thought it could be impossible for me to complete this hike. But I would try again at first light.
I went back to the now empty bedroom and had a lie down for another hour and then after taking everything I possibly could out of my backpack to leave at the hostel and pick on my return, I started on the hike to view the Torres at just after 6am when I had daylight. The trail was still closed off, but this seemed to be a bit of a nonsense since most of the hostel and the campsite had left about 2 hours earlier, so I ignored it the same as everyone else.
As I progressed on the trail, I realised that turning back and not doing this in the dark had been a very wise move. And when I got to the last kilometre, I concluded doing this in the dark would have been suicide for me. It was difficult enough to pick out the orange markers in the daylight, I just wouldn’t have been able to follow the trail in the dark. You’re going up a stream, you’re hiking on the edge of a mountain over boulders. I would have fallen to my death.
It was a difficult hike. It took me about an hour and a half to do the first 2 kilometres as it was very up and down and tiring. The last kilometre was supposed to take 45 minutes. I mentioned people say that hiking times aren’t accurate. That’s right. But I didn’t find them conservative. This 45 minute kilometre took me an hour and a half!
It is all uphill. You’re basically climbing on boulders to get up. You are sometimes climbing up boulders in a stream. It’s not a deep stream, not even ankle deep or anything, but it’s wet. And that makes the rocks slippery. That was the worst part for me. I met a few people from the hostel on the trail and they said the trail got steeper and got worse. Actually it didn’t. When I was walking on the mountain side over the dry rocks and boulders I found that easier. That was exposed. So if it had been windy it would have been awful. But it was a very pleasant day, so it wasn’t a problem. The stream was the worst bit for me.
After clambering over boulders on the exposed mountain side, I finally rounded a corner. And there they were, what I’d come to Torres del Paine National Park to see, what I’d seen in photos so many times, there were the Torres in all their glory. The 3 Towers!
I’d dreamed of hiking the W Trek and seeing the Torres so many times. I’d doubted I’d ever manage the hike. Even this morning I’d had my doubts. But here I was, finally I was seeing the Torres in real life.
And after a few more metres and I was at the glacial lake. The glacial lake wasn’t a particularly nice colour. It was grey rather than the green that I’ve seen in photos. But that didn’t matter. The Torres were amazing. The 3 towers. The illusion was the central tower was the highest, but in fact, the southern tower was highest. It’s just further away. I was simply enjoying this magnificent sight. The North, South and Central Towers. I was in the Valley of Silence by a glacial lake. The weather was perfect. I stayed for about 45 minutes enjoying the view. Did I have any regrets about not hiking in the dark to see them at sunrise? None whatsoever. It couldn’t have been any more magical for me.
I had actually got to the Torres when most of the people who had come to see them at sunrise had left and the day trippers hadn’t arrived yet. So it was a nice time to be here. Fairly quiet and peaceful. And bright blue sky. A perfect view of the Torres. The earlier you get here though, the better. Not only to avoid the crowds. The later in the day you arrive, the more likely it is to be cloudy. By the time I left just after 10am, the cloud was already coming in and obscuring the view of the Torres. It would be such a shame to do that difficult hike and not be able to see the towers at all. And on some days the weather is so bad, they’re completely hidden. I was very lucky to see them in such ideal conditions. I’d chosen the right day when I made my reservation 9 months ago!
A lot of people say you should hike west to east so you get to see the Torres last as they will be the highlight. The W Trek is a difficult hike. Those who say it’s easy are really fit, seasoned hikers, very young or all three. I anticipated it would be a difficult hike and didn’t know whether the entire W Trek would be beyond my capabilities. So I wanted to do the highlight first, because that would mean I would be more likely to manage it.
If I had to abandon the trek after 2 or 3 days, if I started in the west I would miss the Torres, the thing I most wanted to see. But if I started in the east and had to abandon the trek after 2 or 3 days, I would have seen the Torres. It seemed the logical thing to do to me. I wasn’t setting out to fail, but I was also far from convinced I’d succeed either, so just in case I was going to give myself the best chance of seeing what I most wanted to see on this trip to Patagonia.
After the Torres came the walk back. That was horrible. It was downhill which is generally worse than uphill for me and the stream again was by far the worst part and even worse because I was going down. I passed one idiot as I was going down. He was going up in flip flops! The only thing more stupid than going up in flip flops would have been going up in flip flops in the dark. What a moron! Although I didn’t see any helicopters flying over, so I assume he got down in one piece.
It took me even longer to get down to El Chileno than it had taken me to get up. I stopped off at El Chileno to pick up the rest of my things which I stuffed in my rucksack. I was very grateful that I hadn’t had to carry that on the trail to the Torres. I had my packed lunch and then set off down to Torre Central where I was staying for the night.
I was very pleased I’d made the decision to stay here overnight and give myself an easier day than trying to push on to Los Cuernos. That would have been too much for me. As it was, I was completely exhausted by the time I reached Torre Central at 5pm, after hiking for 11 hours with breaks that probably amounted to a couple of hours in total. I could barely put one foot in front of the other, I had absolutely no energy left.
Torre Central was probably the nicest of the hostels I stayed at. It was large, the room I was in was comfortable with a big window, the dining room was huge. The bathrooms were reasonable. Even the food wasn’t too bad. It was nice to be somewhere halfway comfortable after a long and arduous day of hiking. Definitely the pick of the hostels and a good idea to stay there after the long hike to the Torres.
I was very happy with my decision to stay in El Chileno overnight, hike to the Torres at first light and then go to Torre Central the second night to prepare for the rest of the trek. It worked out ideally for me and allowed me to take things easily enough to give me the best chance at success in completing the W Trek.
Having said that, once at Torre Central I was seriously considering whether I could carry on doing the W Trek or whether to give up. This was the point of no return. If I started the hike tomorrow I would be committing to complete the whole hike.
I had 11km to do tomorrow with no difficult sections like the kilometre up to the Torres. But it wasn’t going to be flat. It was still going to be up and down and tiring. I had until tomorrow to decide whether to carry on. But I knew well before I fell asleep I wasn’t going to be giving up. Tomorrow I would be hiking that 11km as I pressed on to complete the W Trek.
I travelled to Torres del Paine National Park and hiked the W Trek during the first week of February 2020.
To hike the W Trek in Torres del Paine National Park you must book all your accommodation in advance. There are hostels and campsites you can stay at along the route. There are a few free campsites run by the National Park Service. All hostels and the other campsites are run by Fantastico Sur in the east of the park and Vertice Patagonia in the west of the park.
You can get information about hiking in Torres del Paine National Park including the W Trek, the O Trek and the Q Trek, on the Conaf website.
I hiked the W Trek independently. I hiked from East to West starting from Torre Central to El Chileno to hike the eastern stroke of the W first. There are various tours available, but the hike is easy to do on your own without a guide and allows you to go at your own pace. The hike took me 5 days with 4 overnight stays at Refugios in the National Park.
I stayed at Refugio El Chileno for the first night and Refugio Torre Central for the second night on this section of my hike. Both of these refugios are managed by Fantastico Sur. I booked both online via the company’s website. A made up bed in a bunk room sleeping up to 6 people in each hostel cost $116 USD per night in 2020. Rates for 2020/2021 can be found here. I was able to book online from the UK using Paypal to secure the reservation.
For accommodation in the western part of the National Park you can book through Vertice Patagonia. The rates for their hostels were cheaper at $87 USD per night in 2020.
I travelled to Torres del Paine National Park from Puerto Natales with Bus Sur. There are several buses each day departing from Puerto Natales Bus Station. I took the 1200h bus from Puerto Natales to Terminal Laguna Amarga which took 2 hours. I booked my ticket online in advance, but it is possible to book on the day.
Everyone must disembark the bus here if they are hiking from East to West in order to register with CONAF Park Services and pay the National Park fee which was approximately £25 for 5 days.
Minibus shuttles meet the buses at Laguna Amarga and you can take one of these for the 7km to Torre Central where you begin your hike. The minibus costs the equivalent of a couple of pounds.
Read about my continuing hike on the W Trek
The Lazy Writer’s W Trek – Days 3 & 4
The Lazy Writer’s W Trek – Day 5 & Glacier Grey
Read my experiences driving the wild, rugged and remote Carretera Austral.
My Tips for Driving the Carretera Austral
Driving South on the Carretera Austral
Read about my other adventures in Chile
Rafting and Canyoning in Futaleufu
Read about my day hikes in Argentine Patagonia
Down Argentine Way – Los Glaciares
