TORRES DEL PAINE NATIONAL PARK

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

Duration: 5-10 days, depending on which trek you choose and how much you want to hike each day — and more than likely, depending on which campsites you can reserve. 7-8 days is standard for the O Trek.

When to go: The trekking season is from November to March, but the experience can differ quite a bit from month to month. We’ve outlined a few pros and cons below for each:

• November is the early season, so there are fewer visitors in general. Your chances of seeing wildlife like pumas and guanacos are increased due to the guanaco breeding season and absence of crowds. The main downside is that November is quite windy.

• December and January are the high season for visitors, so you’ll need to book well ahead of time. Fortunately, it’s the warmest time to visit in the middle of the South American summer.

• February is also warm, with less chance of rain, wind, and crowds, which makes it an excellent time to visit for trekking.

• March is cooler with a higher chance of variable weather conditions, but it’s much easier to book on short notice, which is why we visited in March. We met people on the trail who booked variations of the W and O trek as little as two weeks ahead of time — but they paid more for whatever accommodation happened to still be available, and many people ended up hiking extremely long days to reach the only available campsites.

Accommodations + facilities:  The accommodations along the O Trek are AWESOME as far as campsites go. Each night, you will stay at refugios in either your own tent, a tent rented on site, or in dormitories inside. All of the refugios have bathrooms with showers available (Refugio Los Perros is the only one with no hot water whatsoever, though it can also be unreliable at some of the other campgrounds). In addition, all of the refugios have restaurants, where you can opt to buy your meals, as well as convenience stores, where you can buy nonperishables, camping supplies, and cold drinks (a cold Powerade hit better than I ever thought possible on this trek). All the refugios are run by one of two companies: Fantástico Sur or Vértice Patagonia.

If you are cooking your meals, each refugio also has a designated indoor or covered cooking area — doesn’t sound that exciting, but especially in bad weather or the cold, these are SO clutch. It’s worth noting that while all the refugios are, in our opinions, very nice, they do vary in size and what exactly they offer. Whether you camp or stay in the dorms, you have full access to all the indoor facilities for no additional cost. See below under “Reservation System” for details on how to book the refugios.

Food + water: You can handle your food for the trek in a variety of way; as mentioned above, each refugio has a restaurant, so you can opt to eat breakfast and dinner there and take a packed lunch they prepare for your day of hiking. You can also prepare and carry your food for the whole trek with you, and/or buy ingredient refills along the way at the convenience store. Of course, you can also do a mix of bringing and buying. We ended up carrying food for every day except for the last dinner, when we had a celebratory meal in our final refugio’s restaurant. The food at the refugios is great, but definitely expensive, so if you’re on a tight budget, we’d recommend carrying as much food as you can from the start.

Water-wise, things are pretty easy. Every refugio has designated spots to fill up water from. You can fill up water from almost any stream in the park (using best judgement to avoid water downstream of campsites), and the campsites also have easy taps/pipes from safely upriver to fill up bottles. We didn’t bring a water filter and had no issues.

Guide or no guide: No guide needed. The trail is extremely straightforward and well-marked, and the refugios all have employees who can answer any questions. That being said, there are plenty of trips offered for those who would prefer to go with a guide.

Difficulty: 8 days of trekking was fairly difficult for the newer hikers in our group, but the people who trained in the months leading up (casually, hiking once a week with a mid-weight backpack) did just fine. With the exception of John Garner Pass, most of the trek had little elevation gain while carrying a weighted pack. The two “notches” of the W, which represent the lookout points to Francés Glacier and Las Torres, include dramatic elevation gain but are usually completed as half-day hikes, so trekkers can leave their heavy packs behind at the base. A moderately challenging trek can become miserable or even dangerous in the rain and wind, however, so it’s important to bring proper gear to keep yourself dry and warm.

Make sure you have: Rain gear, enough socks, and layers! Weather in Patagonia can change in an instant, so be prepared for intense sun, winds stronger than you’ve ever experienced, rain-alternating-with-hail, and more.

Primary costs: Our O Trek cost per person NOT including food was $235 and is broken down below:

• Park Entry Fee: $49

• Bus Ticket (each way): $13

• Ferry Ticket (each way): $30

• Tent space at Fantástico Sur Campsites (Francés, Chileno, Central, Cuernos, Serón): $37 for one person or $50 for two people

• Tent space at Vértice Patagonia Campsites (Dickson, Los Perros, Grey, Las Torres): $10

• Booking Patagonia Fee: $30