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Macizo Paine Circuit

Torres del Paine National Park, Chile

This is a page with tips for those who want to hike at Torres del Paine, being a complement to the book The Most Beautiful Trails of Patagonia. In this page you can see some photos and the list of trails that are part of the book. To purchase your book, send your zip code and country to livros@ricardoferes.com or WhatsApp +55 11 99314-3211 and I will send you the total cost, including shipping.

Days: 8
Distance: 123 km / 76 mi
Total ascent: 6,250 m / 20,505 ft
Download tracklog at Wikiloc

Best season
From early October to late April, there are usually no restrictions to do the circuit, but if you want to try to avoid the crowd, do it until early December. Anyway, it is necessary to book the campsites several months in advance.

How to get there
You need to take a plane to Punta Arenas, a bus to Puerto Natales and another bus to the park.

Costs
Entrance of Ch$ 25,000 for adult foreigners and Ch$ 12,500 for foreigners between 12 and 17 years old.

CONAF manages two free campsites but do not count on them in your schedule, as CONAF reservation takes so long to open, that if you wait, you will lose the chance to make reservations at other campsites.

There are 7 overnight places, 4 managed by Fantástico Sur and 3 by Vértice. In all of them you have the option of paying for your tent space, renting a tent or sleeping in the shelter, which will make a huge difference in the cost of your trip. You can also choose to take all your food or eat in the shelters, depending on how much weight you want to carry and how much money you want to spend. Below are the prices only for the camping area, considering that you will bring your own equipment. Be aware that prices are in US dollars.

1. Camp Serón: US$ 32,00
2. Camp Dickson: US$ 9,00
3. Camp Los Perros: US$ 9,00
4. Camp Grey: US$ 9,00
5. Camp Paine Grande: US$ 10,00
6. Camp Cuernos: US$ 32,00
7. Camp Chileno: US$ 32,00. In addition to being expensive, in this campsite is not allowed to use a stove, so you either eat cold food, eat what they sell or ask them to heat water, but they also do not allow you to wash your dishes.

Trails and lookouts outside the circuit
The national park is not limited to circuits O and W, there are some spots that are as beautiful than those found on the circuits, so have a few extra days to visit them. Below are the places I recommend visiting; if possible, rent a car to do this tour, as transportation within Paine is not very easy. If you like to hitchhike and you are alone or with one more person, I believe you will have no problems, I managed whenever I needed to.

1. Mirador del Cóndor – Short trail, with only 2.5 km / 1.5 mi (round trip) and ascent of 240 meters / 787 ft, but with one of the most beautiful views of the entire park. This lookout is right in front of Pehoé Lake and have a stunning view to Macizo Paine, with emphasis to Cuernos del Paine.

2. Camping Pehoé viewpoint and beach – Very close to the beginning of the trail to Mirador del Cóndor is Camping Pehoé, which has a beach in front of it. I recommend that you take the trail to the left of the beach and go to another small beach (only 5 minutes), even more beautiful, and to the lookout after it. The trail has no signs to the lookout but is marked by footsteps and is very short. In fact, I recommend that you spend a few days in this campsite to do the trails while being in a beautiful and centralized location.

3. Mirador Ferrier – The trail to Mirador Ferrier has 6 km / 3.7 mi (round trip) and a total ascent of 620 m / 2,034 ft. The view is outstanding, being able to see, on one side, Grey Lake until Grey Glacier and, on the other side, Pehoé, Nordernskjöld and Sarmiento Lakes, far away. If you do not have a car, ask at the park entrance if there is a bus or shuttle van that goes with a set time to Hotel Lago Grey, where the trail starts.

4. Mirador Cuernos e Salto Grande – Trail with 6 km (round trip) almost flat, except in the end, if you want to go to the top of the hill. However, it is not a must-do, as the mountains of Macizo Paine will be right in front of you. Very close to the beginning of the trail is Salto Grande waterfall, also beautiful.

5. Cascada Paine – A beautiful waterfall and, in the background, the towers that give name to the park. There is no trail as the parking lot is next to the waterfall.

6. Laguna Amarga – Beautiful view of the lagoon and, in the background, Macizo Paine and the towers.

In red are the trails and lookouts described above and, in blue, the O Circuit (Macizo Paine)

Where to eat, sleep and trail marking
The trails of Macizo Paine Circuit are very well marked, only during the crossing of Paso John Gardner it is necessary to be more careful, in case the weather is not very good.

If you want to carry your food, you will save a lot, but if you want to walk light, you can eat in the shelters or buy food to cook.

Day by day
The O Circuit can be divided in two parts: the first, from the beginning until Grey campsite, and the second, from Grey until the end. This final stretch is the famous Sendero W, which is where almost all the great attractions of Circuit O are located. However, of all the views, in my opinion, the most impressive is the one from the top of Paso John Gardner, and being at this point it is a privilege only for those who do the O Circuit.

I put the ascent to the base of Torres on the last day, but if you prefer to do it on the first, it is up to you. In my opinion, as it is quite common to have clouds hiding the towers, I believe it is better to leave the visit for the last day but to arrive a day in advance, so you can go to the towers before starting the circuit, if the weather helps.

Day 1
Entrance – Serón campsite
Distance: 13.7 km / 8.5 mi
Total ascent: 370 m / 1,214 ft

The first day is the easiest, good to get used gradually to the effort, if you are not in your best shape. The landscapes of this day are also not remarkable, taking you little by little to get used to the incredible landscapes that are to come.

Day 2
Serón campsite – Dickson campsite
Distance: 18.4 km / 11.4 mi
Total ascent: 560 m / 1,837 ft

The second day has more beautiful landscapes and takes you to the north side of the park, overlooking the Macizo Paine, Paine Lake and the beautiful Dickson Lake, where you stay overnight.

Day 3
Dickson campsite – Los Perros campsite
Distance: 12 km / 7.4 mi
Total ascent: 565 m / 1,853 ft

The climb to Paso John Gardner begins on the third day, since Los Perros camp is 300 meters higher than Dickson. On this day we always walk in a beautiful forest, but with few points with wide views.

If you are not tired upon arriving at Los Perros, go to the glacier that is close to the campsite.

Day 4
Los Perros campsite – Grey campsite
Distance: 17.7 km / 11 mi
Total ascent: 1,200 m / 3,937 ft

The fourth day begins with the ascent to cross Paso John Gardner. If you have experience in mountaineering and are fit, the climb is not so hard. What is really striking is the view from the Paso, with the immensity of the Southern Patagonian Ice Field, here called Grey Glacier. This is one of the largest ice fields in the world and is the same of Los Glaciares National Park, in El Chaltén and El Calafate.

After the ascent comes a very long descent of approximately 1,100 meters. Just before arriving at Grey campsite, go to the lookout that is on the edge of a peninsula to face the glacier and the icebergs that fall from it.

Day 5
Grey campsite – Paine Grande campsite
Distance: 11.8 km / 7.3 mi
Total ascent: 470 m / 1,542 ft

The fifth day is very easy, so I recommend that, before leaving, go again to the lookout in front of the glacier and, thus, have a new view, with different light, for this impressive landscape.

When you arrive at Paine Grande campsite, leave your equipment and go to the trail that leads to the park administration. You will walk only a few hundred meters, just to go up a little and have the incredible view of Pehoé Lake, the most beautiful in Paine, along with Paine Grande and Cuernos del Paine.

Day 6
Paine Grande campsite – Los Cuernos campsite
Distance: 23.3 km / 14.5 mi
Total ascent: 1,520 m / 4,987 ft

If you have no problems to wake up very early, I recommend watching the sunrise at the lookout I described the day before, it is usually very beautiful!

This is the longest day of the circuit, but to make it easier, a good part of the hike is done without the backpack. This is because, before going up Valle del Francés, you can leave your backpack at Campamento Italiano, a free camping area managed by ​​CONAF, but whose only structure is the bathroom.

Even before halfway to Mirador Británico, the last lookout of the valley, is Mirador Francés, facing a beautiful glacier. This is usually the ending point for many people who make a round trip from Paine Grande campsite.

Day 7
Los Cuernos campsite – Chileno campsite
Distance: 12.3 km / 7.6 mi
Total ascent: 745 m / 2,444 ft

The hike on the seventh day has Paso de los Vientos (Windy Pass) as the most beautiful spot of the day. As the name says, it tends to be quite windy. I saw people sitting on the ground in fear of being thrown down the hill and others giving up and going back, but after this section, the walk becomes much less windy.

Upon arriving at Chileno campsite, if the weather is good, go up to the base of Torres del Paine. In the afternoon the light is not ideal but it is good to guarantee that you will be able to see the towers, since the next morning the weather may be closed.

Day 8
Chileno campsite – Entrance
Distance: 13.8 km / 8.5 mi
Total ascent: 805 m / 2,641 ft

Even if you already went up to the base of the Torres the day before, wake up at dawn and go again, this time to see the sunrise giving the towers a beautiful orange hue.

Then there is only the path to the exit of the circuit and, if you have more days, do not miss the chance to see the points I mentioned at the beginning of this article.

Useful links