Practical advice for hiking the W-trek in Patagonia

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Hiking the W-Trek, East to West, Torres del Paine

Friday 27th - Monday 30th January 2023


1. Practicalities of organising the trip:
- Puerto Natales to Torres del Paine national park ; Bus Sur ; they run lots of buses but book at least a few days ahead as it was busy ; you can do this online: https://www.bussur.com ; took 2hours and COSTS 10usd pp
- Torres del Paine national park (Laguna Amarga) ; here you’ll get off the bus and need to show your pre-bought pass (you cannot just buy it there anymore and they won’t let you in without it) ; you can buy online: https://www.conaf.cl/parques/parque-nacional-torres-del-paine/ ; it’s a good idea to have a screen shot of it as there is no signal to load up emails ; COSTS 35usd pp
- Torres del Paine national park entrance to the Central Hostel and start of the W-trek; a 7km walk OR a shuttle bus (more like a coach) you can hop on for the 20minute ride ; may only run in peak season ; COSTS 4usd pp - cash only.
- Then you walk! Splitting it how you feel comfortable; we did 4days/3nights and so went straight up to Torres del Paine viewpoint then down to Chileno for the first night (9.75miles, 3114ft elevation, 4hr45), then to Frances (10.5miles, 1761ft elevation, 4hr25), then up the French valley and back down and onto Paine Grande (13.85miles, 2547ft elevation, 6hr), then along to Grey glacier viewpoint and back to Paine Grande (15miles, 2782ft elevation, 5hr50) to catch the ferry and bus back to Puerto Natales.
- The ferry from Paine Grande is a catamaran and you cannot book it ahead ; It runs regularly, (17:00 or 18:30pm) takes around 40mins and COSTS 30usd pp - cash only
- Then bus from Pudeto back to Puerto Natales ; again it’s better to have it booked ahead and use Bus Sur ; takes 2hours and COSTS 10usd pp
- A possible alternative we did not do but heard of, is to get to Grey Hostel and then take a ferry from there; this is a longer and more expensive ferry but means you don’t have to walk back on yourself; may only run in peak season ; you can then catch Bus Sur from that ferry point back to Puerto Natales (via the other stop at Pudeto).

2. Hostels:
- You do need to book ahead but maybe not as crazy early as people say, if you can be a little flexible with dates and type of accommodation ; we booked at the start of January for the end of January (maybe we were just lucky)
- There are the hostel dorms, fully equipped tents (with sleeping bag and mat which is what we did and all were ok), empty tents for your own gear, or just a space for your own tent and gear but whichever you choose you need to have a reservation for it ; the places and standard vary but generally good ; all have free access to drinking water and hot water, and free toilets if you are staying there ; if you’re trying to be independent, be aware we felt they made it difficult, with some places having no real shelter to cook or places to wash dishes ; Paine grande was definitely the best for campers (wild camping is not permitted)
- BOOKING HOSTELS was complicated ; there is maybe a website that combines the two companies who run the hostels on the W-trek but we never got it working ; so we booked directly on the individual companies website (having gone through it all to check all of them were available for the dates we’d be there)
- If you book through an agency please check where they have you staying as we met a few people having to double back / walk extra as they had been booked into the same place for two nights rather than the next place.
- Central, Chileno, Cuerno and Frances are run by Las Torres (Fantastico) : https://www.fantasticosur.com/web/
- Paine Grande and Grey are run by Vertice : https://www.vertice.travel
- Italiano is shut (as are other smaller ones that used to run for free / cheap) d there is still water and toilets here and many left their bags there (unattended) to walk up the valley and back.
- PRICES vary and will no doubt change with different times of year and when you book, but we paid 60-70usd pppn for a fully equipped tent, and 60-80usd pppn for full board.

3. Food and Water:
- Free drinking water at all the hostel stops ; we saw others using rivers and streams with no filters in but that’s independent judgement ; if you’re happy to carry up to 2l then you shouldn’t need to.
- Hostels offer full board, or just dinner / packed lunch / breakfast but you need to prebook these when you book your accommodation ; make sure they know any dietary things beforehand ; veggie food was pretty good.
- Or you can just buy something when you are there from their basic menu (bear in mind the kitchen was often shut between 12:30-14:30 and after 17:30pm)
- Hostels also had a small tuck shop for snacks
- It is expensive - up to 8usd for one beer - takes card or cash

4. The trail:
- Is relatively easy if you are used to walking on hiking trails for some distance.
- Is clear, maintained and signed (mostly) BUT don’t believe the distances / timings as they often optimistic
- Says it has no technical parts which is true in a hiking trail sense, but it is all quite loose rocks and stones, rooty at points, and with the section from Chileno up to the Torres del Paine being definitely more technical then some people realise; it is rocky and steep and we used hands for stability when stepping up and down at some parts of it.
- Hiking poles are not essential but help ; average was 7usd pppd for rentals from Puerto Natales, but a great little Hostal (Yagan House) rents for just 4usd pppd and are open later (until 11pm) for when you need to return them the night you get back.
- Is busy! Mostly just that first section, being the part where lots of people come just for the day, and whilst it means you cannot loose the trail, it makes for some waiting time and awkward passings at points.
- Is windy! Gusts are frequent and can push you over so be extra careful on those edge points ; the weather really does mix from a hot sun to misty rain throughout the trek but it is almost always windy, so have layers on you always ; particularly at the Torres del Paine viewpoint and up the French and Grey valley, as the wind is strong and cold.
- Is beautiful! Enjoy!

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