Self-Guided W Trek: 5 Days in Torres del Paine, Chile

Your self-guided W Trek starts at the Puerto Natales bus terminal at 6:45 AM for the 7 AM public bus into the park. The road crosses estancias and open Patagonian plains. When you arrive at Laguna Amarga, the park’s main entrance, present your booking’s digital park-entry QR code before boarding the shuttle to the Welcome Center.

From there, walk to Refugio Central, leave your bag, and start the hike into the Ascencio Valley. The trail climbs to the Windy Pass, an exposed section with strong gusts where you follow the app’s instructions. Just past it, Refugio Chileno is the last stop with bathrooms, food for sale, and internet.

The trail then enters a lenga forest and crosses small streams to a lookout below the hardest part of the day: a steep climb up a huge terminal moraine. At the top, the Towers rise above their glacial lake. Return the same way to Central for a welcome drink and dinner.

Meals included: Box lunch / Welcome drink / Dinner

With luck, you set off under a pink and orange Patagonian sunrise. The trail heads west toward the base of the Cuernos del Paine (twin peaks of black granite shaped like horns) past Laguna Inge and along the shore of Lake Nordenskjöld. Watch the sky for condors.

The well-marked path climbs about 200 m from the base of Cerro Almirante Nieto and crosses the Bader River before it reaches Los Cuernos. The whole route is in your offline app, so you always know where you are. This is the shortest day of the W Trek east to west—a good one to rest your legs.

Meals included: Breakfast / Box lunch / Dinner

Walk into the heart of the Paine Massif. Following a winding trail toward the French River, you will reach the threshold of the French Valley, where a steady one-hour ascent reveals your initial view of the hanging glacier soaring overhead.

Keep climbing to Le Plateau, the valley’s viewpoint, and have lunch surrounded by Cerro Catedral and Cerro Fortaleza. Later, come back down the same trail and continue to Paine Grande on the shore of Lake Pehoé, where the refugio has internet and a bar.

Meals included: Breakfast / Box lunch / Dinner

The morning climb leads to Laguna de los Patos, with views of parts of the Southern Patagonian Ice Field. The trail then crosses forests and rivers, where steamer ducks paddle, to the Grey Glacier viewpoint. Eat lunch with the glacier at your feet and, with luck, watch blocks of ice break off its walls.

If you want more, book a half-day kayak trip among the floating icebergs for this afternoon or tomorrow morning. Book it in advance, together with your trek.

Meals included: Breakfast / Box lunch / Dinner

The morning is yours. Strap on crampons for an ice hike on Grey Glacier, paddle among icebergs on Lake Grey, or walk to the hanging bridges for a view of the glacier from above. Hikers without a guide may go only as far as the second bridge.

Since catching the final catamaran crossing on Lake Pehoé is essential, be sure to coordinate your schedule closely with the refugio team. The walk back to Paine Grande looks out on Paine Grande mountain and the granite walls of the Olguín Range. After the crossing, a bus takes you back to Puerto Natales, where the self-guided W Trek comes to an end.

Meals included: Breakfast / Box lunch