What is the W Trek?

The W Trek is found in southern Patagonia in Chile. This three-to-six-day hike passes through Torres del Paine National Park, which lies in an area between the Magellanic subpolar forests and the Patagonian Steppes. The route takes you past glaciers, mountains, lakes, and rivers, and depending on which side you begin, ends at the spectacular Mirador Los Torres. I definitely recommend the W Trek if you have limited time in Patagonia. Those with more days can hike the full O Circuit which lasts around nine to 10 days.

How do you get there?

Most people start off from the small Chilean town of Puerto Natales. You can first fly into Santiago, Chile, or Buenos Aires, Argentina, which offer international flights and then take a short flight to Puerto Natales. We flew from Buenos Aires to the Argentinean town of El Calafate and then took a five-hour bus to Puerto Natales, where we bought supplies and prepped for the hike. Next, we took a bus to Torres del Paine and rode a ferry to our first campground: Camping Paine Grande.

How do you make reservations?

The reservation system for Torres del Paine is extremely tricky and will give even the most seasoned traveler a massive headache. However, with patience, you should be able to secure a reservation. The easiest thing to do is contact the two companies who handle the campsites directly via WhatsApp. Another good resource that we used is this site.

I would not recommend paying for a guide or a tourist package. Instead, make reservations with Las Torres for these campsites: Centro, Chileno, Cuernos, Francés, and Serón. You will book with another company called Vertice for Camping Paine Grande, Camping Refugio Gray, Camping Dickson, and Los Perros. The best thing to do is use the Patagonia booking tool that I linked above to decide your route, and then contact Las Torres and Vertice Travel through WhatsApp and book with them directly. The only time you may need a guide is during the Patagonian winter, when parts of the park are not accessible without a guide.

Step-by-step tips for making W Trek reservations

Step 1: Determine your route, West to East or East to West. We did West to East, ending at Mirador Los Torres.

Step 2: Decide how many days you will hike: around 3 to 6. We did three nights, four days. You can spend more time at specific campgrounds if you’d like.

Step 3: Decide if you will bring your own camping gear or use the campgrounds’. We rented tents and sleeping mats but brought our sleeping bags.

Step 4: Choose if you will reserve meals or bring your own food. We brought our own food.

Step 5: Use the Booking Patagonia tool to plan your route. Check to see if the free government sites are open for the season.

Step 6: Once you know your campsites, contact the people at Las Torres and Vertice Travel. You will probably have the best luck if you use WhatsApp, but you can also email or call them.

Step 7: Book the campsites with the companies directly. You can also use the Booking Patagonia tool, but it will have added fees.

Step 8: You can use the BP tool or the visit the CONAF website to reserve your park entrance; this is separate from your camping reservations.

Step 9: You can also buy bus tickets to the park ahead of time. And then buy tickets from the park back to wherever you’re staying. I recommend using Busbud to find the tickets. This is helpful as sometimes tickets sell out during high season.

Step 10: If you take the ferry from the park entrance at Pudeto to Paine Grande, bring some cash to pay: around $30-50. You cannot reserve this ahead of time. When we went, they accepted both Chilean pesos and USD.

What to pack

The main thing to understand about Torres del Paine National Park is that the weather is volatile and will change at the drop of a hat. It’s important to pack for multiple types of weather and wear layers. Wind, rain, sleet, snow, and extreme heat are possibilities, sometimes all within one afternoon.

Clothing

• Long-sleeve sun shirt
• Short-sleeve shirts
• Hiking pants or leggings
• Underwear
• Hiking socks (thick, durable, water-resistant)
• Warm socks for sleeping
• Clean shirt and pants just for sleeping
• Waterproof rain jacket
• Windbreaker (optional but be aware there will be a lot of wind)
• Hat and gloves
• Hiking shoes or trail running shoes that are broken in
• Sandals or slip-ons for after your hikes
• Long underwear or long johns
• Sunglasses
• Hat/ cap for sun
• Warm insulated jacket
• Scarf or buff

Pack Essentials

How many liters you need for your pack depends on if you’re brining your own camping gear or not. I used a 35L backpack because I used the camping gear that was at the campsites and only needed to bring clothing and food. Other people recommend 50-65L, although I think this may be overkill.

• Hiking backpack
• Waterproof trash bags or something to cover your pack. Trash bags are actually better than backpack covers because they are less likely to blow off from the wind.
• Trekking poles. You will end up wanting these, especially to protect your knees.
• Water bottle or bladder. Some people said to bring water purification tablets or a filter, but we didn’t need one.
• Day pack/ smaller backpack: get a small one that rolls up into your larger backpack.
• Small dry bag (optional to keep electronics dry from rain)

Toiletries

• Soap (non-toxic, biodegradable)
• Shampoo/ conditioner (non-toxic, biodegradable)
• Quick dry towel (this will always come in handy, no matter where you travel)
• Toothbrush/ toothpaste
• Ear plugs
• Baby wipes
• SUNBLOCK (essential, do not forget this)
• Insect repellent (optional, we didn’t need it)
• Moleskin and bandaids (extremely important for blisters)
• Advil/ Ibuprofen (we didn’t need it but good to have)
• Hand sanitizer
• Toilet paper
• Chapstick

Electronics

• Headlamp + batteries (essential)
• Portable power bank
• Chargers
• Universal adapter
• Phone or camera + gear

Other

• Map (the route is straightforward, and it’s pretty difficult to get lost, however, it helps to check your route.)
• Mini-lock + key for campsite lockers
• Your camping reservations (we never needed to show them, but just in case)
• Passports/ ID and something to keep them dry (you do not want a wet passport as it may inhibit your ability to travel in the future)
• Credit/ debit card and cash ( you need cash for the ferry ride; most campsites take card but it helps to have cash.)

Camping Gear (optional)

You have the option of bringing your own tent or renting a tent at the different campsites. We rented tents, however, this option is more expensive than bringing your own. But, it does save you added weight and allows you to bring just a carry-on bag when flying to South America.

• Tent with rainfly
• Sleeping bag that is warm enough for lower temperatures
• Sleeping mat
• Bowl + spork
• Small camp stove with gas or butane
• Inflatable pillow
• Lighter

Food

Bringing food is optional as the camping grounds offer meals, but I would at least pack snacks for the long days of hiking between campsites. We didn’t buy meals, but people who did said they were fairly basic. Also, if you want to get a very early morning start, breakfast may not be served until later.

Here’s what we brought:

• We bought a pizza the night before and ate it for lunch the first day (highly recommend this)
• Tortillas for wraps
• Cheese for the first few days
• Peanut butter
• Avocado
• Bananas
• Apples
• Oatmeal
• Noodles
• Cookies
• Granola bars
• Nuts

We didn’t bring a camp stove, but other hikers were nice enough to share their hot water with us for our noodles and oatmeal. We had oatmeal for breakfast, wraps for lunch, and noodles for dinner. We ate the fruit and nuts for snacks during the day, and packed some granola bars. My hiking partner is vegetarian so we stayed away from meat products, but I would recommend tuna for protein. If you have access to hot water, you can also bring dehydrated meals.

When to go

The best time to go is during Patagonia summer, from January to February. However, going during the winter or autumn months has its own element of magic and will be less crowded. Be aware that if you do go during the winter, you may need a guide and some of the trails and campgrounds could be closed. Although we went during the height of the summer season, the park really wasn’t that crowded if you compare it with other famous hikes. There were many hours of time when I didn’t see another soul beside my hiking partner.

Final thoughts

Hiking the W Trek was a massive highlight of my six-month trip to South America. Summiting that last peak at sunrise to see the two towers at Mirador Los Torres will forever stand out as one of the greatest days of my life. Although the route can be challenging at times, it is accessible even for beginning hikers. With patience and persistence, you will overcome the reservation system, volatile changes in weather, and long, exhausting days of hiking to experience the beauty and awe that Patagonia has to offer.