DURATION
8 nights
LOCATION
Chile
ANNUAL LEAVE
7 days off work
SEASON
Nov-Apr
GROUP SIZE
Up to 6 people
MEETING POINT
Puerto Natales
ACCOMMODATION
Classic
Hotel · Wild camping · Campsite
DIFFICULTY
Challenging
You'll be in the wild for a full week of long-distance trekking, so a good level of fitness and previous hiking experience is recommended
Beyond the trails of the classic W Trek lies the hidden Valle Bader – tackle its remote paths to discover astonishing vistas
Marvel at the beauty of Serrano Glacier and the immense ice wall of Glacier Grey in the Southern Patagonian Ice Field
Tread lightly in small groups to reach the iconic Torres del Paine viewpoint, wild camping in remote spots along the way
Day 1
Welcome to Puerto Natales!
Make your way to Puerto Natales and settle into your hotel before heading off to meet your guide and the rest of your team. Get to know each other over dinner, then get some rest before the adventure really starts.
Day 2
Voyage to Torres del Paine National Park
Hiking
8 hrs · 14km · 200m up · 180m down
Take a spectacular back route approach to Torres del Paine National Park by embarking on a boat journey on the Ultima Esperanza (Last Hope) Fjord with views of Balmaceda and Serrano glaciers, arriving at the small jetty at Puerto Toro where the hiking begins. Trek along an off-the-beaten-track trail to Lago Bruch, where there is a wonderfully remote campsite.
Day 3
Trek to Río Serrano
Hiking
9hrs · 14km · 270m up · 240m down
Embark on a long and rewarding trek through this quiet and rarely-seen area of the National Park, which involves some river crossings and is accompanied by views of the iconic Torres del Paine massif in the distance. You'll arrive at Río Serrano sector, where you'll find your next overnight camp backed by vistas of majestic peaks.
Day 4
Glacier Grey
Jump in a vehicle this morning and drive north from Río Serrano up to Lago Grey, where you'll take to the turquoise waters once more on a boat journey that takes you up close to the towering ice walls and magnificent blue icebergs of Glacier Grey - a unique experience! Disembark at Refugio Grey, where you'll camp for the night. There will be an optional walk through the forest and across multiple suspension bridges to look out over the expansive glacier.
Day 5
Hit the W Trek to Lake Pehoe
Hiking
4hrs · 11km · 210m up · 210m down
Today you'll tackle part of the famous W Trek route, hikng towards Paine Grande and camping on the shore of crystalline Lake Pehoe. There is another optional walk this afternoon around the lakeside, where you can look back at the spectacular massif. If you'd rather rest up, you can just relax and sample some delicious Chilean wine at the bar.
Day 6
The stunning Bader Valley
Hiking
8 hrs · 18km · 400m up
Today you'll head towards the Bader Valley, passing Lake Nordenskjold along the way, and veering off the main trail to where few travellers venture. The Bader Valley is the hidden valley of Torres del Paine, only accessible with a qualified guide, located between Almirante Nieto and the monstrous peaks of the Cuernos ('horns'). Trekking here is a bit more challenging during the ascent and descent of this valley, especially if there are strong winds, but you are rewarded with astonishing views. There will be a few rivers that you'll need to cross by hopping over rocks. Catch glimpses of glaciers and mountaintops before you finally reach your camping spot in this remote and beautiful place – tonight you'll be wild camping next to the very basic climbers' basecamp.
Day 7
Trek along Lago Nordenskjold to Torre Central
Hiking
6 hrs · 12km
Explore some more of the remote Bader Valley today, before descending back along the trail to rejoin the W Trek route. Follow the shoreline of Lago Nordenskjold, with its beautiful glacial waters, to the Torre Central campsite, where you'll spend the night.
Day 8
The Towers
Hiking
9 hrs · 18km · 900m up · 900m down
Saving the most iconic part of the Torres del Paine until last, today is a long day of trekking involving an ascent to the Base of the Towers viewpoint. You'll hike up Asencio Valley to Refugio Chileno for a lunch stop, before continuing through the dense lenga forest and then a final rocky ascent for views of the iconic towers that give the park its name – Las Torres. These imposing granite peaks rise over 2,500m into the air. Take photos and breathe it all in, before hiking down the Asencio Valley along the same route and back to Camping Torre Central. From here, you'll say goodbye to the National Park and drive back to Puerto Natales.
Day 9
Goodbyes
Check out after breakfast, when the trip comes to an end. Continue your adventures in Patagonia, or transfer back to Punta Arenas Airport for the journey home.
Included
Guides
Expert, local, English-speaking guide
Accommodation
6 nights camping and 2 nights B&B small hotel
Meals
8 Breakfasts, 7 Lunches, 6 Dinners
Transfers
To and from Puerto Natales, and all travel within the national park
Equipment
All your camping equipment
Permits
All park entrance fees
Not Included
Travel to and from the start point
Flights to and from the meeting point
Travel insurance
Tips for your guides
Some meals as described
Visas where required
Day 1
Hotel · Twin share
Breakfast
Lunch
Dinner
Day 2
Wild camping · Solo tent
Breakfast
Lunch
Dinner
Day 3 – Day 5
Campsite · Solo tent
Breakfast
Lunch
Dinner
Day 6
Wild camping · Solo tent
Breakfast
Lunch
Dinner
Day 7
Campsite · Solo tent
Breakfast
Lunch
Dinner
Day 8
Hotel · Twin share
Breakfast
Lunch
Dinner
Day 9
Breakfast
Lunch
Dinner
What is the food like?
During the trek, your chef will serve up surprisingly lavish meals at the wilderness camps, while in the managed camps you may find a few extra delicacies thrown in for good measure. As a rough idea, for breakfast you can expect corn tortillas, granola, tea, coffee, chocolate milk, bacon, eggs, yoghurt and bread. A packed lunch will be provided each day, typically containing chocolate, dried fruit and nuts, a cereal bar, fruit and a sandwich. For dinner, expect a combination of soup, beef chop suey with rice/legumes, smoked meat (or a vegetarian alternative), brownies with chocolate sauce or fruit with cream. All dietary requirements can be catered for - just make this known to your host on booking.
What is the accommodation like?
Puerto Natales
Whilst in Puerto Natales you'll stay in a small boutique hotel (such as Hotel Big Sur or similar), in the heart of the town and close to all amenities.
Torres del Paine National Park
You'll camp in stunning locations across the National Park. Tents and sleeping mats are provided and your porters will pitch camp ready for your arrival each day. Facilities depend on the section of the park, with Lago Bruch and Bader Valley overnights being wild camping experiences. Bader Valley in particular involves a very basic overnight, pitching tents next to a climbers' base. All other campsites on the 'W' stretch have toilets and showers. Sleeping arrangements will be decided during the pre-trip meeting and you can decide who you want to share with or, if you prefer your own tent, that's fine as well.
Upgrades
If you're looking for your own space, private room and hotel upgrades are available - please enquire when booking.
The Area
Logistics
Starts
Puerto Natales
18:00 on Day 1
Ends
Your accommodation in Puerto Natales
Late morning on Day 9
Transfers
Head to Puerto Natales, check into your accommodation and meet your guide and the rest of the group at your host's office in the centre of town (you will be sent the address of both your accommodation and the guide's office as part of your pre-trip info pack). At the end of the trip, you will be dropped back at your accommodation. Breakfast is included, so check out when you like the following morning to head home, or continue your travels in Chile. If you would like to book additional nights in Puerto Natales, see the Optional Extras section for prices.
Travel options
The best way to reach Puerto Natales is by plane from Santiago to Punta Arenas and then taking one of the convenient buses that run regularly from the airport (3hrs). Alternatively, you can travel from Buenos Aires to El Calafate – from here, two buses a day run to Puerto Natales (5-6hrs, with an Argentina to Chile border crossing). Your host can arrange transport as an optional extra, just enquire when booking.
Enjoy 12.5% Off Outdoor Gear
In need of a few more items? All bookings receive a 12.5% discount to use at Cotswold Outdoor, Snow + Rock and Runner's Need.
What's included?
- Tents and sleeping mats
What's available to hire?
- Sleeping bag
What do I need to bring?
- Windproof and waterproof jacket - Gore Tex or similar
- Fleece or pile coat
- Quick-dry long sleeve t-shirt
- Quick-dry short sleeve t-shirt
- Winter hat
- Light gloves
- Quick-dry hiking socks
- Quick-dry, lightweight long underwear bottoms
- Quick-dry/breathable windproof trousers
- Waterproof trousers
- Quick-dry/breathable shorts
- Light trekking boots (broken in)
- Pyjamas/something to sleep in
- Sleeping bag (-5°C for November-March trips; -15°C for April-October trips)
- Toiletries
- Water bottle (1 litre)
- Sunglasses, sunscreen and chapstick with sun protection
- Sports watch
- Insect repellent
- Trekking poles
- Backpack (big enough for all your personal things, you will be carrying it)
- Shower shoes/flip flops
- Earplugs
- Headlamp/flashlight
- Camera
- Dry bags or heavy-duty bin liners, to keep kit dry inside your bag
Sleeping Bag Hire
Payable Before Departure
Sleeping Bag Hire
… Per Person
Additional night accommodation in Puerto Natales (Double / Twin)
Payable Before Departure
Additional night accommodation in Puerto Natales (Double / Twin)
… Per Night
Additional night accommodation in Puerto Natales (Single)
Payable Before Departure
Additional night accommodation in Puerto Natales (Single)
… Per Night
Private Room Upgrade
Payable Before Departure
Private Room Upgrade
…
El Calafate to/from Puerto Natales one way
Payable Before Departure
El Calafate to/from Puerto Natales one way
… Per Person
Punta Arenas to/from Puerto Natales one way
Payable Before Departure
Punta Arenas to/from Puerto Natales one way
… Per Person
I've been home for just over a week and I'm still absolutely buzzing about this fantastic trip! The scenery is spectacular, the hiking was so fun, the terrain/views changed every day and the campsites were really quirky and cool. I particularly loved the walk up to Bader Valley (just beware this is quite a bit steeper/more difficult than the itinerary makes out, even without wind!) and the night camping there - it felt like we were being let in on a secret that the hikers down below weren't privy to! I also have to mention our wonderful local guides, Christian and Andreas. Their knowledge of the area - from Geological info to the names of birds and trees - and their passion & respect for the Park made the experience all the more special. And Christian was also kind enough to arrange perfect weather for us haha! Overall, this was a great way to experience less-visited areas as well as getting to walk most of the W-Trek, so gives a great mix of remote and the cameraderie of the long-distance trail. Higjly recommend!
Lago Brush was great!
The guides were fantastic, as was the organisation. Even in the wild camps, the quality of food was very good.
The Bader Valley was my highlight, it was really worth the climb and I really enjoyed the hike up the Valley the next day.
We've crunched the numbers to work out the total carbon footprint of this trip, and plant enough trees to suck 2x as much back out the atmosphere.
What's the number?
It works out on average at 163kg of CO2 emissions per person, including all local transport, accommodation, food, activities, guides, staff and office operations.
The only thing it doesn’t include right now is flights and travel to the destination. We do make an overall estimate across all our customers separately, but as we don’t book flights, have customers from all corners of the world, and no way of reliably knowing their travel plans, we simply can’t include an individual number in the figure on display here. We’ve got a goal for 2023 to fix that, so that when you book, there is a way to measure and mitigate the carbon emitted by your flight too.
But what does the number mean?
Yep, hard to picture eh? To give you an idea:
- Driving 1000miles/1609km would be approx. 281kg of CO2 in an average car (or 140.5kg per person if there was 2 of you in it).
- A return economy class flight London - New York would be approx. 1,619kg (1.66 tonnes) per person.
- 10 trees in a temperate forest are estimated to remove approx. 250kg of CO2 from the air in a period of 5-10 years.
What are we doing about it?
Our trips are relatively low-carbon by design, and we're working with all our hosts to develop long term carbon reduction plans. For every person booked with us since 2016 we’re planting enough trees to suck at least 2x more carbon out the atmosphere than is emitted by their trips. All native trees, as part of amazing projects that are re-foresting degraded land, tackling the biodiversity crisis and supporting local communities at the same time. We go further than that too, also funding re-wilding projects worldwide to help protect important keystone species from extinction. See the reforestation and re-wilding schemes we support. See our carbon action plan.
Want to know more?
Amazingly, no international travel company has ever publicly published their carbon measurements before, as far as we know. We believe that must change, quickly. So we’re openly sharing the method we used in the hope that other companies will be able to more easily follow suit and build on what we've done so far. You'll find it all here.
Whilst the trekking is not technically difficult, you'll be out in the wild for seven days covering a good distance each day. There will also be some steep sections, so this trip is designed for hikers who are in good physical condition and have some previous multi-day trekking experience. You will also be carrying your own sleeping bag and clothing, so you should feel comfortable carrying approx 7-9kg across uneven terrain. The strong winds and changeable weather in southern Chile add to the challenge of this trip.
Yes, you will have to carry all of your own personal belongings during the trek. There will be local porters to carry the camping equipment and food.
Sure can! Over 50% of our travellers travel solo, it’s a great way to meet like-minded people.
You will have to carry your own drinking water, and your guide will ensure that you have access to drinking water and know where to fill up each day. Each campsite has water taps and there are points along the treks where you can fill up from streams. Should you want to use a water filter, then you may wish to read our guide to water filters here.
The weather in southern Patagonia is famously changeable, and this region can frequently experience very strong winds and gusts of wind as well as fast-changing conditions. Come prepared for a bit of everything! Departures are scheduled throughout Chile's summer months (Oct-Apr) which are also the drier months, but you should come prepared for some rain showers as a possibility. Temperatures in the mid-summer can reach 20°C in the daytime and drop to around 5°C at nighttime. The early (Oct) and late (March-April) season departures have lower typical temperatures. It is possible that weather conditions could impact the running order of the itinerary, and the guide may decide to make changes with your safety and enjoyment in mind.
Tips are not included in the trip cost. These are entirely at your discretion but there is an expectation to tip for good service. Your guide will help with advice, however, we'd suggest 5 to 10 USD per day per staff member (porter or guide).
Of course, you are free to tip more or less, and the amount should be reflective of your perception of service and quality - a tip is not compulsory and should only be given when you receive excellent service.
The highest ascent is the trek to the famous Base of the Towers, climbing from the starting point at 100m to a maximum height of 900m above sea level over the course of 4 hours.
For some of the hikes there will be the opportunity to leave some kit at camp, but on most you will be carrying your bag all day. Excess luggage can be left in Puerto Natales at the start of the trip.
We recommend checking out the country specific information here and also talking to a travel nurse.
For current advice about travelling in Chile, have a read of the UK Foreign Office pages here.
Our recommended travel insurance provider is Campbell Irvine.
Travel insurance is compulsory on all of our adventures. Your insurance should include adequate protection for overseas medical treatment, evacuation/repatriation, your baggage and equipment and the specific activities involved on your adventure.
Your insurance policy should also include specific Covid-19 cover, including cancellation and curtailment cover if you, your travel companion or a close relative are diagnosed with Covid-19.
We fully endorse Campbell Irvine as their insurance offers all of the above, so get in touch with them or call on 020 7938 1734 to get your insurance sorted. We suggest that you book travel insurance as soon as you book your adventure, just to cover you for any last minute life changes. We know you’re an active lot and injuries do happen!
We automatically convert prices from the local currency that a host receives to your chosen currency. We update our exchange rates on a daily basis so this does mean that prices displayed on the site are subject to currency fluctuations, which is why you may see them change over time.
If you wish to change the currency you pay in, head to the bottom of the page.
All of our group adventures are specially designed for adults to enjoy (18+) as we want these adventures to bring together outdoorsy people who are truly like-minded. Children can be accommodated on some private departures.
You're in good company. Our adventures are typically made up of a mix of solo travellers and small groups of two or three friends who simply love adventure, pushing themselves and meeting awesome like-minded people. See here for more info about our lovely bunch of Much Better Adventurers.
Want to book a private trip? Just tap ‘Private Group’ in the dates and prices tab.
Your trip is led by carefully curated local hosts and expert guides. See here for more info about the guides we work with.
Full Financial Protection
Your money is safe. Every booking is fully financially protected through ABTOT.
Pay In Installments
You can choose to pay for this trip in as many installments as you like, with no interest or fees.
