Hiking the W Trek in Torres del Paine, Chile

Crossing into Chile: The W Trek

The next phase of hiking in Patagonia involved crossing the border into Chile to hike in Torres del Paine National Park. I had originally hoped to complete the longer O Trek circuit, which is approximately 110 to 130 km over 7 to 9 days, looping around the entire park. Due to planning constraints, I opted for the shorter W Trek which covers a portion of the O Trek.

Completed over 4 to 5 days, the W Trek is 70 to 80 km depending on the specific route taken. The trek gets its name from the shape of the route, which forms a “W” across the southern part of Torres del Paine National Park, as you hike in and out of three main valleys. Highlights of the trek include the base of the famous Torres del Paine towers, the French Valley and Grey Glacier.

Not exactly a camper, I was slightly worried about the camping but it turns out the campsites were all great, with excellent facilities. As it turns out, I was so exhausted at the end of each day that I probably would have fallen asleep almost anywhere. Packing did require quite a bit of precision and traveling light. We carried our daypacks and had porters carry up to 5 kg (2.5kg of which is dedicated to your sleeping bag) for us.

Day 1: Base of the Towers (Mirador Las Torres Base)

The first day of hiking in Chile was the most challenging and the most anticipated as were were going the base of Torres del Paine. We had an early morning start, driving an hour from Puerto Natales to the entrance of the park. The trail starts through flat then forested paths before gradually opening up to rocky paths, with the final ascent being quite steep. You arrive at the viewpoint and are rewarded with the beautiful view of the three granite towers rising above the turquoise blue glacial waters of Lago Torres. After taking in the beauty before us, it was then time to head back down to our starting point and drive to Laguna Azul, our campsite for the night.

Hike details:

• Distance: 24 km (15.5 miles)

• Elevation gain: 750m (2,460 ft)

Day 2: Lakes and Bright Skies

Our second day on the W Trek was lighter. We returned to the Torres del Paine Welcome Centre at the entrance of the park. This time, leaving our wet bags with our super porters. We took a different route than the previous day heading South West. Rain was in the forecast but we escaped with some light drizzle, enjoying another sunny day. Throughout the day, we enjoyed beautiful views of the iconic contrasting light and dark grey mountains of Cuernos del Paine (Paine Horns) and the turquoise glacial waters of Lake Nordenskjöld. We hiked 4 to 5 hours before reaching our our campsite at Refugio Los Quernos. Sleeping along the shores of Lake Nordenskjöld, the night cold and windy but the clear skies were lit up with the sparkling of the southern skies.

Hike details:

• Distance: 14km (8.7 miles)

• Elevation gain: 175m (575 ft)

Day 3: French Valley

For Day 3, we were back to some more serious hiking. We started the morning with a beautiful rainbow over Lake Nordenskjöld and hiked into the forests of the French Valley culminating into views of the French Glacier and Paine Grande peak. We crossed stretches of burnt forest - a stark reminder of the 2011 fire caused by a negligent tourist that burned for two months destroying 176 km² (68 sq mi) of the park. While extensive reforestation efforts have involved planting over a million trees, the landscape has yet to recover and continues to show extensive signs of the fire.

After a solid seven hours on the trails, we reached our campsite at Paine Grande Refuge and Camping with our tents rights on the banks of Lake Pehoé.

Hike details:

• Distance: 18km (11 miles)

• Elevation gain: 145m (350 ft)

Day 4: Grey Glacier and the Finish

The final day of the W Trek involved a hike up toward Grey Lake and the lookout point for Grey Glacier. With an early-morning start, we enjoyed the beautiful orange skies and the sun rose. We kept a quick pace during this half-day hike to return to the campsite in time for the boat ride back across Lake Pehoé, leaving the W Trek and trails of Torres del Paine National park behind us.

Hike details:

• Distance: 11km (6.8 miles)

• Elevation gain: 400m (1,315 ft)

Completing the four days and close to 70 kilometres on the W trek, hiking across varied landscapes with amazing views of forests, peaks and turquoise-blue lakes, was an amazing experience. I was especially grateful that we beat the odds of Patagonia weather with sun, clear skies and not much wind each day.