When the idea first came up, completing a thru-hike in Patagonia seemed overwhelming at best, unattainable at worst. After a little research and a lot of help from friends, we found out this dream can become a reality. I am going to take you through the basics you need to travel to Patagonia for a thru-hike in the breathtaking Torres Del Paine National Park.

Traveling to the Patagonia Region

When heading to the Torres Del Paine National Park in the Patagonia region of Chile, most people will fly in to the Presidente Carlos Ibáñez International Airport (PUQ) in Punta Arenas and then take a bus to Puerto Natales. From Santiago, the capital of Chile, the flight to PUQ is about three and a half hours and is very inexpensive. We book our flight a few days before departure and pay $75 (USD) each for a one way. Keep in mind, booking your flights earlier will save you money.

To put this in perspective, when traveling from the USA, Miami to Punta Arenas is a 14-hour trip that includes a 2-hour layover in Santiago.

Want to drive from Santiago, Chile? Don’t, unless you have endless time and patience. According to Google Maps it will take 35 hours in a car and you have to dip into Argentina. Punta Arenas is located at the southern tip of an extremely long Chile.

The airport in Punta Arenas has your basic amenities like food and a small gift shop. Buses will constantly be pulling up taking people every which way. The 3-hour bus ride from Punta Arenas to your home base of Puerto Natales costs about $10 per person. The company we used is called Bus-Sur. At the time of our trip (March 2019) we were required to print out our tickets beforehand.

Gathering Supplies

Punta Arenas is a small town of less than 20,000 and is considered the gateway to Torres Del Paine National Park. Lacking many of the supplies needed for a thru-hike, we rent a camp stove, utensils, and a backpack from our Airbnb hosts, Oscar and Gloria. More on them later. It’s important to know that when hiking in Patagonia you are to follow the strict pack in, pack out policy. If you bring it into the park, you better make sure you also leave with it. The camping spots do not offer any form of trash disposal at all. This means the peel of that banana you eat on day one stays with you for the duration of your hike. Remember this when you are planning your meals.

Food

The multiple grocery stores in the city (Puerto Natales) have everything you need for the hike. These were our staples:

• Nuts, dried fruits, and candy bars for when we need to boost morale.
• Pasta with a few different types of powdered sauces.
• Quinoa salad with feta and tomatoes
  • We made this the day before we left and kept it in our reusable silicone food containers.
• Peanut butter wraps and meat and cheese wraps with tortillas.
  • Also made this the day before we left and kept it in our reusable silicone food containers.
• Oatmeal, coffee, tea.
• Baby food pouches.
  • I wanted some fruit and thought it would be easier to carry empty pouches over a banana peel or apple core.

Gear

The town also has quite a few shops for hiking gear if you do need to buy or rent anything specific. We complete our trek in March, which means the weather was starting to get colder. When we woke up early to start hiking, layers were necessary. Below are the essentials and some items we definitely should have had.

• Items we had or rented
  • Camping stove and propane
  • Basic utensils like a fork, knife, spoon, and pot
  • Backpack (I used my Osprey and it was less than half full)
  • Packable down coat
  • Extra socks and stocking cap
  • Power bank to recharge electronics
  • Rain jacket
  • Gloves
  • Water Bottle
    • Water from the streams of the park is clean and safe to drink. Always remember to fill up on water away from campsites and buildings.

• Items we didn’t have but wish we did
  • Headlight with extra batteries (Rookie mistake)
  • Trekking Poles
  • Waterproof shoes
    • We only had a pair of tennis shoes and luckily didn’t have any rain on our hike. There were some stream crossings and soggy trails that got our feet a little wet.
  • Tent and Sleeping Bag
    • We used the website Fantastico Sur to book campsites. The two camping areas where we spend the night are Central and Frances. We booked a partially-outfitted reservation, which means our reservation included one tent set up on a wooden platform and two sleeping bags. The rate for two nights of camping for both of us was $168 USD.

Torres Del Paine Circuits

There are a multiple trails and a few circuits available in Torres Del Paine. The W Circuit is the shortest and most popular. It’s about 80 km or 50 miles. It covers a lot of the hotspots in the park. Grey Glacier, Frances Valley, and the famous Torres (towers). The route can also be busy especially when going to the Torres. People normally take 3-5 days to complete this route and you can go in either direction.

The O Circuit is the second longest thru-hike available at the park and it overlaps the W. It is 110 km or 68 miles. Most do it in 6-9 days. This trek allows you to get away from the heavier crowds at the park. It is noteworthy that this is only supposed to be hiked in a counter-clockwise direction.

The Q Trek travels the same route as the O, with an additional day of hiking south of Refugio Paine Grande along Lago Pehoé. Not many hikers feel the need to make their O a Q. Unlike the W, I don’t believe there is an opportunity to have sleeping bags and a tent set up for you on the two other circuits, so you’ll have to bring your own.

Getting in and out of the Park

To get into the Torres Del Paine National Park, you can catch a bus from Puerto Natales. Once in the park, you will need your passport to purchase your ticket to the park. With your ticket in hand, you’ll hop on or hire another shuttle to take you to the start of your trek. We go to Camping Central, which was the start of our adventure on the W-Circuit. Your starting location may vary depending on if you’re doing the W, O or Q, and if you’re hiking clockwise or counter-clockwise. Not on a budget? Just rent a car and drive to the park from Puerto Arenas or Puerto Natales! And while you’re spending money, skip the low-budget accommodations and stay at one of the handful of hotels located inside the park. This will give you the most flexibility.

When we were done with our W trek on Day 3, we end at Camping Pehoé. We take the catamaran across the lake from Camping Pehoé to Refugio Pudeto. The catamaran is first come, first serve, so make sure you plan to arrive well in advance of the afternoon departure on your last day of hiking. We were able to purchase a bus ticket from Refugio Pudeto to Puerto Natales in advance.

Additional Tips and Tricks

• Not excited about lugging that heavy backpack around between campgrounds? You can pay full board at most of the campsites, which will include all meals in addition to the platform tent and sleeping bag.
• Each campsite we stayed at had hot showers (at certain times of the day) and bathrooms. There are also some lodges where you can enjoy a refreshing alcoholic beverage. Most also had food service.
• There are many other ways to see the park. You can take a guided tour or even go out on horseback. For those who have a fear of tents, there are a few hotels located inside the park, but prepare to pay for that luxury.
• When at your campsite, be sure to hang all of your food from a tree or else the mice will find you! Trust us, we know.
• This one is not really a tip or a trick… more of a fun fact. It is estimated that there are 50 wild pumas in Torres Del Paine National park. Yes, we saw one and it was a little too close for comfort.

Have any questions? We’d love to help. Just ask in the comment section.