TORRES DEL PAINE: W TREK INDEPENDET – 4 DAYS 3 NIGHTS

3 HOURS BY PUBLIC BUS / 30 MINUTES BY SHUTTLE / 8-9 HOURS ROUND-TRIP, 22KM You’ll leave Puerto Natales at 7:00 am, taking a public bus straight to Torres del Paine National Park. The route passes estancias (ranches) and flat pampas, and possibly even ñandus (Patagonian ostrich). At Laguna Amarga, the main entrance to the Park, you’ll pay the entrance fee to the Park, included in your program, and board a shuttle bound for your Refugio. Here, you’ll leave your backpack and take your packed lunch (provided during your trek briefing in Puerto Natales, held day before at 6 pm). You’re ready to begin the W Trek’s first highlight: the hike to the Towers lookout. You’ll ascend, following the Ascencio River into the Ascencio Valley, for about an hour. Here, take a moment to stop and observe the first glimpses of this gorgeous valley, complete with beech forests, glaciers and waterfalls. Continue uphill for another 90 minutes before beginning your ascent of the gigantic terminal moraine, 900 meters above sea level. At the top, you’ll be rewarded by the remarkable sight of the three Towers themselves. Rest a while, take photos and have lunch. Your descent is along the same path, taking you back to the Refugio where dinner will be served. Night at Refugio Las Torres (BL-D).

4-5 HOURS HIKING, 13 KM Enjoy breakfast at your Refugio and request your packed lunch. Starting today’s trek, you’ll arrive at Inge lagoon where chances are you’ll catch condors and other birds of prey circling the skies above you. The well-marked trail ascends 200 meters from the base of Almirante Nieto Mountain (2750 m) and crosses the Bader River to today’s destination, Refugio Los Cuernos or Domes Frances (depending on availability). Here, enjoy a good meal and settle in for the night. Night at Refugio Los Cuernos or Domos Frances, subject to availability (B-BL-D).

8-9 HOUR HIKING, 18 KM Today’s hike is a challenging trek to heart of the Paine massif. The French Valley is a spectacular natural basin surrounded by peaks and hanging glaciers. After breakfast, request your packed lunch and set off on a 2-hour hike through a winding path to the French River (one hour if your accommodation was at the French Domes). At the entrance to the French Valley - a glacial moraine - you’ll scramble over huge boulders and catch the first sight of the hanging glacier atop the valley. From this point, you’ll ascend for an hour through a dreamlike Japanese garden landscape before arriving at the French Valley viewpoint (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. If time and energy levels allow, you can continue hiking for an additional hour through the Valley to the British Camp for yet another spectacular cirque (amphitheater-like formation) of mountains. You’ll descend via the same path until you reach the valley’s entrance, at which point you’ll continue around the south-west side of Paine Grande, Torres del Paine’s highest peak. This final leg passes through native firebush and evergreen beech forests to the shores of Pehoe Lake. Dinner will be served at Refugio Paine Grande. Night at Refugio Paine Grande (B-BL-D).

8 HOURS HIKING, 22 KM / 35 MINUTES BY CATAMARAN / 3 HOURS BY PUBLIC BUS