The W Trek Route Schedule and Complete Guide to Torres Del Paine National Park: 5 Days 4 Nights- An itinerary for the W Trek Hike in Torres Del Paine in the Patagonia region of Chile. The guide will answer all your questions on how to book, where to stay, what to pack, how difficult and what to expect and see along the W Trek. Deciding if you should camp or stay in refugios along the W Trek? This guide will answer what we did and why.

What is the W Trek?

The W Trek is a 74 to 80 kilometer hike in the Torres Del Paine National Park in the Patagonia region. Torres Del Paine National Park is located in both Chile and Argentina. The W Trek is in the region of the park that is in Chile. It is called the W Trek because the trail takes you in the shape of the letter W. This trek takes you to many iconic views in the Torres Del Paine National Park, blue lakes, mountains, rivers, glaciers, waterfalls and more!

The hike is a through hike, being that you start and end at different points. The W Trek hike can be completed many different ways, but a huge appeal to many (and me) is that food and accommodation is set up along the trail. So it is optional to carry your own shelter and food.

Can You Go Without A Guide?

Yes! It is quite easy to go without a guide. The trail is very clearly marked and very easy to navigate. Some people decide for a guide to help inform them about the park and help set a hiking pace. In the winter months it is actually required to have a guide. But if you are planning for spring, summer or fall no guide is needed.

When To Go?

December to March is the prime season to go for the warmest weather. But with that great weather is crazy winds, so be prepared for any type of weather wherever you go. December and January may be the most crowded months as many people have time off for the holidays, and it is considered Patagonia’s summer months. We went in December and never felt like it was overly crowded. Only for the first day as many people just hike to The Three Towers as a day hike. April will be fall, and might make a spectacular view with warm colors as that is the peak of their fall season.

What To Pack?

We went in December, which is considered their summer. I listed everything we packed and their uses in my What To Pack For The W Trek post. If going in the winter, I would check out this W Trek Winter Packing List as well. Now my list is for using their accommodation and meals, if not using their services sleeping gear and cooking tools are needed as well.

Do I Need To Bring My Own Food?

Again, they do provide this for you at a price. The price seems high but to me I believed it was very worth it as I did not only have to carry my own meals for 5 days but the heavy cooking gear that goes with that. I covered a lot of prices about food on my W Trek Tips and Tricks page. We did bring our own favorite granola bars, jerky sticks and snacks, but besides that that is all we brought. We used their services for breakfast, lunch and dinner, all booked through Chile Nativo.

I did enjoy that you could buy adult beverages and other snacks at the refugios, it was nice to have a cool drink overlooking the mountains and glaciers at the end of a long hiking day.

Other FAQs

If I didn’t answer your questions yet I cover a lot of basic W Trek questions in my post FAQS, Tips and Tricks About The W Trek Hike. I have tons more of information there about general questions, how to train, what the food was like, the beds in the refugios, price of drinks and more.

How To Book Accommodations?

Booking the W Trek accommodation is one of the hardest parts of the trail. There are different companies for refugios and campsites, so booking them might mean going to different sites during different times to get your route booked completely. I listed which refugios and their websites in which we stayed below throughout my itinerary.

Refugio and Camping Companies

Camping and bringing your own food will be the cheapest route but do keep in mind that if you don’t want to camp or bring your own food that the price of food and stay reflects the remote and sought after location. Know that the convenience of not having to carry a tent, bedding food, and cooking equipment comes with a cost.

**You will mostly likely need to book accommodations for before and after the W Trek, most stay in that closest town, Puerto Natales. We wished to stay at the same place in Puerto Natales before and after the hike, but that didn’t work out for us. But we did stay in two great places before and after the W Trek. I would highly recommend both of these!

Hotel Vendaval (great restaurant next door, we ate there twice!)

Factoria Patagonia

Booking.com

Why Book With Chile Nativo?

We traveled over the Christmas and New Years holidays to South America. This is a popular travel time as many people get extra days off work and it is also the peak of the Patagonia summer. This makes booking refugios and camping spots more competitive. Pay attention to when each company opens up their availability if wanting to book, we thought we were on top of it but we missed out. Chile Nativo came to our rescue, we first thought this would be a lot more money booking with a tour company, but when we totaled it out it was a very good deal compared to what we planned on spending. They took care of everything, which made the trip a whole lot easier, less stressful and more enjoyable.

Chile Nativo had everything taken care of. We met with them the day before our hike, where they gave us all of our tickets, all of the transportation, park tickets, refugio, cabin, bunk, and meal tickets. All in order of when we would need them. They gave us times, addresses for transportation and even went through the trek with us giving us some tips of how long it should take, difficulty in certain sections and more.

If you are hesitant and confused on booking the trek yourself definitely reach out to Chile Nativo!

The night before we had a 20 minutes briefing with Chile Nativo, going through our tickets, routes and tips. They also gave us a bagged lunch for the next day’s hike. Suggested that we request an early breakfast from our hotel the next morning as we had a super early start. And was even kind enough to store our luggage to be taken to our hotel when we came back. It could not have been easier.

Our Itinerary for 5 Days 4 Nights

Schedule Overview

Here is a short layout of our trek, read below for more details of the hike.

Day 1:

Bus Transfer from Puerto Natales to Torres del Paine (2 hour drive)
Drop your backpacks off at Central Refugio
Hike 22km round trip to Three towers base and back to Central Refugio to stay the night.

Day 2:

Hike 4 to 5 hours to Refugio Los Cuernos.

Day 3:

Hike 5 km to camp Italiano Ranger Station, leave bags
1.5 hours to the French Valley lookout, the Britanico Lookout and, then back to Italiano ranger station ( 3-4 hours total)
Hike with bags to Refugio Paine Grande, 7.5km

Day 4:

Hike 11 Km with bags to Refugio Grey
Leave bags, and hike to Glacier Lagoon and the two Hanging Bridges (2-3 hours)
Hike back to stay for the night at Refugio Grey

Day 5:

Hike back to Refugio Paine Grande, 11 km
Get on boat, then bus to head back to Puerto Natales

Detailed Schedule

Day 1: Three Towers

Transportation

Our first day started with our transportation from Puerto Natales to the Torres Del Paine National Park. So getting up early we walked to the Rodoviario Puerto Natales Bus Station to get on our pre booked bus. The bus ride to the park was about 1.5 hours.

Entering Torres Del Paine National Park

There are three steps before you can enter the park. First, is watching a short video on the history, conservation, rules and tips of the park. Second, you will need to sign a waiver. And last, you will need to show them your ticket (already booked with Chile Nativo for us). After that you can take a park bus for about a 15 minutes to get to the official entrance.

This bus ride will drop you off in your last checkpoint. Here you will need to either show them that you have a day pass or show that you have reservations to stay in the park.

Drop Bags Off

Since we were going to pass our first night’s refugio we decided to drop off our heavier bags and use our fold-able day pack to make our load lighter. I highly suggest this for today’s hike as it will have the biggest incline of the entire hike. So we checked in and they stored our bags in the storage room. Now you are ready to officially start the hike!

The Hike to The Three Towers

Route: Entrance, to the Three Towers, back to Central Refugio

Distance: 22 kilometers round trip (13.7 miles)

Time: 6-7hrs (add in additional time at the top, we took about an hour extra)

Where To Stay

We stayed at Torres Central Refugio.

They also have campsites for tents there. Another close option would be EcoCamp Patagonia or if looking for a more plush option this is the only area with a hotel, Hotel Las Torres. If wanting not as long as a hike for day one you can stay and camp at Chileno Refugio, although the Refugio Torres Central has much nicer accommodations.

The Hike

The trail will start down a small path and will quickly go straight up. The first part of this trail was probably the most frustrating. It started to incline immediately through a very rocky area. Because this is the most popular part of the hike it was very crowded, lots of tour groups on day trips. This made it very hard to pass on this part of the trail. Once past this section all was good.

Windy Pass

The first very scenic section of this hike in the Windy Pass. This area will overlook a river valley. Lots of greenery, flowing river and mountain tops while you go on the trail along the mountain edge.

Chileno Campsite/Refugio

Next pass will be across the river and right by the Chileno Refugio and campsite. This area does have spigots if you need a refill on water, restaurants and restrooms.

Back On The Trail

The next long section will be through some wooded areas. Using bridges to pass over streams. And one last overlook, with restrooms and rest areas before the last final accent.

The Three Towers

One of the hardest parts of the trail is the final accent to The Three Towers, Mirador Las Torres. This takes most people 45 minutes to an hour for this uphill climb. It is very rocky and sometimes even sandy. We hit it at a very sunny part of the day, requiring some water stops and a sunscreen stop.

At last, the final and most famous site in the park. The Three Towers (Mirador Base Las Torres), we spent about an 1- 1.5 hours at the top. Resting our legs, eating our packed lunch, some photos and taking in the view. This place is majestic, I would suggest hiking a little bit more to the side to avoid the crowd and getting close to the water.

The hike back to the refugio is the same on the way up. This is an out and back hike.

It took us about 3.5 hours to hike up, an hour at the top and 3 hours to hike down.

Dinner

Back at the refugio we showerd, changed our clothes and got a pre dinner drink before a time slot for dinner at Central Refugio. They also had some board and card games we played with new friends after dinner.

Day 2: To Los Cuernos

Route: From Central Refugio to Los Cuernos Cabins/Refugio

Distance: 13 kilometers one-way hike (8 miles)

Time: 4-5 hours

Where To Stay

We stayed at Los Cuernos. Stay in cabins if you can they are absolutely so much fun, and peaceful. A nice change from the bunk beds in the refugios. But they are more expensive, so if not wanting to they do have standard refugios bunk beds as well.

They also have camping there. Another close option would be Camping Francés or Camping Italiano, both camping only.

The Hike

After breakfast we picked up our bags and got on to the trail. Today most of the day will be walking around lake Lago Nordenskjold. It is a pretty mellow trail along the lake. Lake on one side and mountains on the other. This is one of the shorter hikes along the route. Which found itself very nice after one of the hardest days that day before.

You will pass some streams coming off of the mountains, some with bridges and some without.

My favorite part of the hike was nearing the end. It was overcast most of the day but the sun came out and the blue waters really started to shine and be vibrant. And we also spotted our coolest stay of the hike, our cabins nestled in the mountain side.

Los Cuernos

If you can stay here I advise to spend the extra money to stay in these cabins. They were connected to a refugio, so we still got to use the showers, bar and meals as the rest of the hike. After dinner we brought our beers back and watched the sun go down from our little porch. I also heard there is a hot tub for cabin guests but never saw one or looked too much for it.

Day 3: The French Valley

Route: From Los Cuernos to French Vallery (additional hike to Britanico), to Refugio Paine Grande

Distance: 18 kilometers (11.2 miles)

Time: 8-9 hours

Where To Stay

We stayed at Refugio Paine Grande.

They also have camping, and you are able to rent tents there. There are not many other refugios or camping options in this area.

The Hike

Italiano Ranger Station

We tried to get another early start after breakfast this day as we had another long day ahead of us. This day was both mine and my husband’s favorite day of the W Trek. It starts along the lake Lago Nordenskjold, with more magnificent views of the mountains on the other side. Eventually you will cut up through the wood to the ranger station.

The first leg of this hike will be 5 kilometers to the Italiano Ranger Station/Camp from Los Cuernos. This is a point along the route in which you can leave your bags again. They have some area outside the camp designated to this. Everyone along this route is here to hike, so I never felt unsafe along this trail, but out of precaution we still took our passports, tech and personal items in our packable backpack.

You definitely want to leave your large packs when you can, makes hiking sooo much easier.

French Valley

From the Ranger Station the next major stop will be to the French Valley viewpoint. This is a stunning area. But to get here will be a walk along the river weaving in and out the wooded areas. Many stay here for lunch as it is a spectacular view. A 360 degree view of lakes, mountains, rivers and glaciers. This section of the trail should take you 45-60 minutes.

Britanico Lookout

Britanico Lookout is an optional add-on for the W Trek. We decided to take it, because we were there and why not? It will add on a few additional kilometers, or about 40-60 minutes to your hike. But well worth it. And not a very hard hike as well. After passing French Valley you will again walk along some rushing streams and wooded areas. Then through some rocky widespread area where you will be completely surrounded by the famous mountains in Patagonia, you can even spot the back of The Three Towers from here. Another jot through the woods and up to Britanico Lookout. We chose to eat lunch here before it started sprinkling and we headed back down. The return route to the same back to The Italiano Ranger Station to pick up our bags.

To Refugio Paine Grande

The next leg of this hike is 7.5 kilometers to our stay at Refugio Paine Grande for the night. Here we passed some very windy areas along Lake Skottsberg. The wind was so strong it was picking up the wave off of the lake. Take some time along this route to look back at the mountains and scenery, they were some of my favorites views. Eventually the hike will level out and you will see Lago Pehoe super blue lake in the distance will be Paine Grande nestled right next to the lake. Stunning views from this refugio.

Day 4: Glacier Grey

Route: Refugio Paine Grande to to Refugio Grey (additional hike to Hanging Bridges)

Distance: 11 kilometers (6.8 mile), plus optional route to hanging bridges round trip

Time: 4 hours, plus 2-3 hours for hanging bridges

Where to Stay

We stayed at Refugio Grey

They also have camping spots and tents to rent there. No other refugio and camping options along this route.

The Hike

Route: Refugio Grey to Refugio Paine Grande

Distance: 11 kilometers (6.8 miles)

Time: 4 hours

Today we hiked to our last refugio to stay along the W Trek, Refugio Grey. This refugio is named after the glacier it sits by, Glacier Grey. One of the most massive glaciers that I have seen in my life. We saw a lot in Norway and Iceland too! But this one went as far as we could see.

To get there you will first walk through some meadow areas out of Paine Grande Refugio. This hike will eventually spit you out to complete the rest of the hike mostly on rocky paths along Lake Grey to the glacier.

As you get closer you will see blue glacier pieces floating on the lake, one that have broken off of the glacier.

This hike was fairly easy, we took is kind of slow being our last day. The hardest part of this trail it as you get closer to the glacier one of the section is rocky and runs through a small stream. Use good footing and take it slow and all should be fine to get through it.

Refugio Grey

At last you will arrive at this charming build, Refugio Grey. This is the only stay we did stay in a tent. We were pleased to see that the tents are all ready set up, we just needed to check in and get out bedding. They let you choose your tent, add a tag to it. So we picked ours our set our bags down and went to my favorite part of today’s hike

Glacier Lagoon

This is a very short and easy walk from the refugio, so if anything I highly suggest hiking here. We brought our lunch to enjoy here. Absolutely gorgeous.

Hanging Bridges

The hike to the two hanging bridges should take you 2-3 hours. There are two hanging bridges, I suggest going to the second one and it has much better views over the glacier. Even walking a tad past the second bridge from some designated overlook platforms.

Hike back to stay for the night at Refugio Grey

We hurried back to shower and change before dinner. Today was our last day on the trail, so we made sure we got a few drinks overlooking the mountains, played some games and chatted with new friends. Definitely a great last night on the trail.

Day 5: Hike to Paine Grande and Transfer Back

Route: Refugio Grey to Refugio Paine Grande

Distance: 11 kilometers (6.8 miles)

Time: 4 hours

The Hike

The hike today is just taking the 11 kilometer hike that you took the day before. You will be going back to Paine Grande to get on the bus back to town. This day it took a lot shorter amount of time than the day before, as it seemed more downhill. And we also didn’t stop for pictures and viewpoints as we saw them the day before. We arrived early to Paine Grande and just missed the first boat option, so we got some drinks and played some card games until the next one.

The Transport Back to Puerto Natales

The Boat

At Paine Grande you can either take the boat back to catamaran dock station or walk to the dock. This route will add on many more kilometers. Most hikers take the boat.

During the summer the boat runs 4 times a day. When we were there it ran at 9:35, 11:35, 17:00 and 18:35. You will pay on board or show your ticket (which Chile Navito provided for us) and it is on a first come first served. So once we saw a line forming we got it in. The boat was a beautiful ride, taking us along the blue waters and getting some last final views of the Torres Del Paine mountains.

The Bus to the Entrance

The boat will drop you off at the catamaran dock. Here you will need to hop on the bus back to the main entrance of the park. This is only a 15 minute drive bus ride.