Day 1: Bus Natales – Laguna Amarga + Shuttle to Central Sector – Las Torres / Base Torres /Camp Torres
By 6:45AM you must be at the Bus Terminal in Puerto Natales where you will board the 7AM public bus which will take you straight to Torres del Paine National Park.
The route passes lagoons and pampas; accompanied at times by the guanacos (relatives of llamas), grey foxes, flamingos and black-necked swans that call them home.
At Laguna Amarga, the main entrance to the Park, you will show your QR code park entrance which is included in your program, then board a shuttle bound to your Refugio (Las Torres Sector).
Here, you’ll leave your backpack at your accommodation and take your packed lunch (provided during your trek briefing in Puerto Natales held the day prior).
Now you’re ready to begin the Big Circuit Trek’s first highlight: the hike to the Towers lookout. Your first challenge is the ascent to the Towers base lookout point, following the Ascencio River into the Ascencio Valley. Here, take a moment to stop and observe the first glimpses of this gorgeous valley, complete with beech forests, glaciers and waterfalls.
Then, continue uphill and through lush forests before prepare to ascend a gigantic terminal moraine (a ridge formed at a glacier’s end point).
At the top, you’ll be rewarded by the arresting sight of the Towers themselves. At this lookout point 900 meters (2,953 ft.) above sea level, the three granite spires appear to burst dramatically out of the rocky landscape, while at their base a green-blue lagoon provides a counterpoint of stillness. Rest a while, take photos and have lunch.
Once ready, your descent is along the same path, taking you back to Las Torres where dinner will be served in your refugio and where you will rest your first evening.
Day 2: Trek from Camping Las Torres to Serón – Trekking Through Lush Beech Forests
Enjoy breakfast at Refugio and request your packed lunch before setting out for the day.
Your path takes you through a very old forest of beech trees where you may hear woodpeckers or find fresh puma tracks.
Today’s 9 km hike (5.6 miles) is the Circuit’s easiest and takes you along a well-marked, slightly sloping trail. Along the way, an exceptional view of Paine Chico Mountain will accompany you.
Your destination is Serón Campsite, where you’ll set up camp and enjoy a replenishing dinner.
Day 3: Serón to Dickson – Accompanied by Wildflowers & Craggy Peaksx
Depending on the season, today’s leg shows off the Park’s gorgeous floral delights, as orchids, calceolarias, violets, and oxalis flower.
Circling Paine Lake, several impressive mountain views will appear, such as Cerro Escudo and Cerro Cabeza del Indio (in which the profile of an Indian is seen as if carved into the rocks).
At the beginning of the Paine River, you’ll see the curved peak of Cerro Cubo, as well as Lake Dickson (a lake straddling Chile and Argentina).
Tonight, you’ll set up camp at Dickson Campsite.
Day 4: Dickson to Los Perros – Alongside Mountains, Rivers & Glaciers
Today is a day to please your senses, filled with beautiful sights and textures.
Often touted as one of the most beautiful sections of this wilder side of Torres del Paine, you’ll hike through ancient beech forests, wander undulating trails, and follow Los Perros River.
Mountains, waterfalls, and lush vegetation will never be far away, as the trail crosses the river via a suspension bridge and arrives at the base of a second terminal moraine; this time belonging to Glacier Los Perros, a hanging glacier that feeds the crystalline lagoon at its base.
A final half-hour hike takes you to today’s destination, Los Perros Campsite. Tonight’s campsite is the only one along the Circuit without hot showers and standard bathroom facilities such as flushing toilets.
Day 5: Los Perros to Grey via the Famous John Garner Pass
The most strenuous day of the Paine Circuit has arrived, bringing demanding trails and variable weather conditions.
Of course, your efforts will be more than rewarded with some of Torres del Paine’s most heart-stirring landscapes, experienced by very few visitors to Torres del Paine.
You’ll begin along a clear trail through forests, then make your way through a swamp-like section before beginning your ascent to the John Garner Pass. At this Pass, 1,200 meters (3,937 ft.) above sea level, Patagonia’s famous winds are strong, and the views across Grey Glacier and of the Southern Patagonian Ice Field’s still unexplored peaks are astonishing.
The trail now takes you alongside the glacier, ascending and descending through forests of fallen trees and beneath the imposing, almost muscular granite walls of Cordon Olguín. As you come closer to Grey Glacier, you may see an ice calving (where chunks of ice break off a glacier’s edge). Tonight, you’ll recharge at Grey Campsite.
Day 6: Grey to Paine Grande
Your morning begins slowly, resting and stretching around camp. Depending on your energy levels, you can choose from several options this morning.
Walk to the Grey Glacier’s lookout point and watch for ice calvings on its massive walls; complete an ice hike with the aid of crampons; or kayak on Grey Lake, paddling around icebergs and in front of the glacier.
Later, you’ll have lunch at the Refugio and hike to Pehoe Lake. (Ice hike and kayaking expedition at an additional fee, advance booking required, please contact us).
Day 7: Trek the French Valley and Transfer to Puerto Natales
Today’s destination, the French Valley, is a spectacular natural basin surrounded by peaks and hanging glaciers. This is a return hike, so you will be able to leave your pack behind and trek lightly.
You start by walking around Paine Grande, the highest peak in Torres del Paine, through native Patagonian firebush and evergreen beech forests.
At the suspension bridge over the French River, the arresting hanging glacier atop the valley will come into sight. From here, you’ll walk for another hour, ascending 300m (984 ft.) through a dreamlike Japanese garden landscape before arriving at the lookout point (the “Plateau”).
Your reward is a heart-stirring bird’s-eye view of granite peaks and hanging glaciers. To one side, the French Glacier and Paine Grande (3050 m); while to the other, La Espada, La Hoja, La Máscara, and the main and north “horns” of Los Cuernos arch upwards. In the upper section of the Valley, Cerro Catedral and Cerro Fortaleza loom like turrets above the landscape.
Take your time to have lunch at the viewpoint, surrounded by these imposing peaks and open skies. Your return hike is along the same track, and the catamaran will take you back across Pehoe Lake to meet your Bus, that will take you safely back to Puerto Natales.
