It was our very first date that I told John of my dream to go hiking in Patagonia one day. Forward to our first year of marriage, we wasted no time in making this bucket list trip a reality! The W-Trek exceeded all our expectations for Patagonia. Researching and planning our Patagonia itinerary was one of the most logistic heavy trips we have ever planned. Because of this, we have included lots of helpful travel planning tips!
The first thing we definitely knew we HAD to do was hike the famous W-Trek in Torres del Paine National Park (on the Chilean side of Patagonia). And wow, we are so glad we did! This was the absolute highlight of our Patagonia trip, and truly has changed our perspective on adventure travel for years to come. If traveling to Patagonia, do not miss the W-Trek!
We did the W-Trek from West-to-East (which I would totally recommend). This is a 50+ miles trek that we did over 5 days. We decided to bring our own tents and camping supplies, but opted for the full board meal plan. If you do no want to bring your own camping supplies, there is an option to reserve a pre-setup tent or select a dormitory style lodging at each refugio. We highly recommend the full board meal plan regardless. We were so pleasantly surprised with how tasty the meals were. There is nothing better than rewarding oneself with a hot meal after a long day of hiking! Some meals are buffet-style, while others are plated dinners, and served on family-style dining tables. We loved meeting hikers along the way and sharing stories with people from all around the world.
After the W-Trek, we ventured to the Argentinian side of Patagonia. Patagonia is way bigger than we initially expected, so choosing a select few places was challenging, but ultimately we were so happy with where we ended up exploring. We visited the cutest mountain town of El Chalten, and did day hikes around Los Glaciares National Park.
Patagonia truly needs to be on everyone’s must-see places! The sense of adventure, beautiful landscapes, vibrant culture, and delicious food, already has us plotting another trip back.
When to visit Patagonia?
The most popular time to complete the W-Trek is between December to February in order to (hopefully) get the most reliable weather with the most sunshine and least amount of rain and wind. We decided to visit in January. Not only did we experience a very memorable New Years Eve, but we also lucked out on incredible weather!
Quick Facts:
- Location: Torres del Paine National Park, Chile
- Distance: 50 miles
- Total elevation gain: 8,956 feet
- Days to complete: 5 days
- Difficulty: relative easy to moderate
- Best time to visit: December to February
- Accommodation options: backpack, pre-set tents, dormitory style
W-Trek Itinerary
There was a ton of research that went into planning and coordinating this trek. We realized quickly that when planning accommodation on the trek, it is important to reserve in advance. We booked our refugios as soon as the reservations became available, usually around June each year, which was about six months prior to our trip.
We chose to do the Trek West-to-East which allowed us to leave the famous towers for our last day. We really enjoyed this route and would recommend this direction as it saved the best for last. Check out our All Trails map to see our exact route.
Day 1: hike Pudeto to Refugio Grey (6.8 miles); stay at Refugio Grey
To start the trek, we took a bus from Puerto Natales to Torres del Paine National Park. The first stop was at Laguna Amarga, where we got off the bus, showed our park entrance ticket, and hopped on another bus to Pudeto. From here, we got on a catamaran to Refugio Paine Grande. (The catamaran is cash only). We stopped at Paine Grande for a quick snack before heading off on the hike to Refugio Grey. This hike distance was about 6.8 miles.
Our first night on the W-Trek was at Refugio Grey. This was probably our second favorite of all the refugios we stayed at. The dining hall and bar area was quaint, with mountain views all the way around. We immediately discovered our obsession with the “blue patagonia beer” as we called it. We liked it so much that we ended each day with one!
Day 2: hike Refugio Grey to Grey lookout & suspension bridges, then hike to Paine Grande (12.8 miles); stay at Paine Grande
The next morning, we enjoyed a hot breakfast and then set off day hiking to get closer views of Glacier Grey. We definitely recommend checking out the lookout spot, and then continue onward to see the two suspension bridges. We turned around at the lookout just past the second bridge. The roundtrip mileage was 6 miles to get back to Refugio Grey. We ate lunch at the refugio, and then started the 6.8 mile hike back to Paine Grande. This hiking day totaled about 12.8 miles.
We made it to Paine Grande and immediately celebrated with another blue beer and a glass of carmenere red wine. The little upstairs bar area at Paine Grande had such a great view!
Day 3: hike Paine Grande to Mirador Britanico, then hike to Cuernos (16 miles); stay at Cuernos
The next day, we seriously had to mentally prepare ourselves for day 3 of hiking. This was the longest of our hiking days (16 miles!), but honestly our absolute favorite.
We started the day with an early wake up and were first in line for breakfast. Breakfast at Paine Grande is first come, first serve, so we recommend getting there early! We then set out for Mirador Francis and Mirador Britanico. We first stopped at Italino to drop off our big packs, then switched to a day pack to bring to the lookout. Mirador Britanico is so so incredibly worth it! Do not miss it. Yes, it is such a long day, but truly an incredible lookout! The powerful feeling of being surrounded by these incredible rock faces is unlike anything. We brought our lunch and soaked in this view – it was hard to leave!
From here we mustered up the energy to make it to Cuernos. These last few miles truly felt like the hardest of the whole trek. But to make things easier, the views were absolutely stunning! In just one day, we saw lush green valleys, snowy glaciers, ragged rocky cliff faces, beaches, waterfalls; beyond beautiful.
Eventually we made it to Cuernos and wow were we happy to take off the hiking boots! Cuernos was hands down our favorite refugio. The camp is situated with views of the waterfall on one side, and the turquoise blue lake on the other. Not to mention the camp sites are on platforms which made for a very restful night’s sleep. Dinner was also a highlight. We enjoyed a plated meal, with salad, soup, and almond crusted salmon, and dessert.
Day 4: hike Cuernos to Chileano (7.8 miles); stay at Chileano
After waking up feeling super well rested, we enjoyed a slow morning soaking up the views of Cuernos. We then headed off to Chileano which was about 7.8 miles. This was the shortest, and easiest, of our hiking days which was a well received reprieve. We made it to Chileano early, played cards, and checked into our pre-set tent platform. We opted to stay in the pre-set tent here because it was the only option available at Chileano when we originally booked, but we welcomed the luxury for our last night!
Day 5: hike Chileano to Mirador Base Las Torres, back to Chileano, then hike to Central to catch the bus (10.2 miles)
We agreed that seeing the sunrise at the towers was a must! So we woke up at about 3:30am and started the hike up to the towers (Mirador Torres del Paine). It was cold up there, so we bundled up with extra jackets and brought our jet-boil to make coffee/tea while we watched the sunrise. Watching the sunrise over the lake, surrounded by the massive towers, was a memory we will forever cherish. We hiked back down to Chileano, had breakfast, and then hiked down to Central to catch our bus back to Puerto Natales. This hiking day totalled 10.2 miles.
W-Trek Recap
Day 1: hike Pudeto to Refugio Grey (6.8 miles); stay at Refugio Grey
Day 2: hike Refugio Grey to Mirador Grey lookout and suspension bridges, then hike to Paine Grande (12.8 miles); stay at Paine Grande
Day 3: hike Paine Grande to Mirador Britanico, then hike to Cuernos (16 miles); stay at Cuernos which was our absolute favorite!!
Day 4: hike Cuernos to Chileano (7.8 miles); stay at Chileano
Day 5: hike Chileano to Mirador Base Las Torres, back to Chileano, then hike to Central to catch the bus (10.2 miles)
Tips for booking the W-trek
Don’t be afraid of doing a self-guided trek! Sure, there are tons of guided tour groups, but with a little bit of planning ahead, we do not think it is necessary. The benefits of hiking on your own, at your own pace, is a luxury that is worth the extra effort.
We recommend using the Booking Patagonia website for great day by day trek routes. Once you have the route planned and decided on which refugios you wish to stay at, it is time to book. To book Refugio Grey and Paine Grande, reserve through Vertice. To book Refugio Cuernos and Chileano, reserve through Las Torres. We booked separately through these companies, but there is also an option to book together through booking patagonia. The biggest advice is to book in advance! Reservations are open in June and we booked immediately for our trip in January.
Recommendations for Puerto Natales
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- Holaste for coffee
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- Lunch at Cafe Artimana for authentic Chilean food with great meats and soups. They are cash only.
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- Base Camp Pizzeria. Pizza tastes that much better after the long trek!
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- Dinner at Santolla for some fancy seafood before starting the trek. They are known for their king crab and it did not disappoint! We also tasted the local guanaco, which is an animal closely related to the llama and native to Chile. Highly recommend this restaurant. They don’t take reservations so get there as soon as they open because they get busy.
- Dinner at Kaiken was one of our favorite meals of the entire trip! The pasta was phenomenal, and that’s saying a lot from pasta lovers ourselves. I still dream of the lamb ravioli in a red wine sauce. We also discovered our love for carmenere wine that Chile is known for.
El Chalten
After the W-trek we returned back to Puerto Natales. The next morning we started the journey from Puerto Natales to El Chalten. We decided to bus for ease and to save a bit of money. We used Bus Bud, and felt that the bus system was super easy to navigate. It takes longer, because you have to switch buses in El Calafate, but it was nice to just relax on the bus for a few hours, catch up on sleep, and look through all the photos and videos from the W-Trek. The bus stop at El Calafate has a great lunch spot, Calafate Brownies.
El Chalten is such a quaint town nestled amongst the mountains of Los Glaciares National Park. Our time in El Chalten mostly consists of food! These were some highlights:
Breakfast / coffee:
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- La Esquina: We went there three times in three days and enjoyed our first yerba mate experience
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- Paisa: great coffee, John was so excited to finally get a pour-over
Food:
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- Lito, which was also a highlight of dinner from the trip. This is a very quaint restaurant, hand-built by the owner. We had the best steak and pesto pasta – still drooling just thinking about it!
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- Maffia: great homemade pastas. We enjoyed a nutella ravioli for dessert
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- The Asadores: traditional Argentinian meat
Drinks:
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- Zorro for a fun brewery
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- Fresco: brewery with great empanadas and a fun vibe
Hiking in los glaciares national park
There are some great day hikes that leave directly from the town of El Chalten. One day we did part of the famous Fitz Roy hike. Also known as the Laguna de los Tres hike. We hiked about 4 miles in and stopped at this hidden waterfall. It has an incredible view of the mountain! We were feeling a little hiked out from the past few days, so we decided to turn around here. The full hike is about 14 miles roundtrip.
For our last full day in Patagonia, we ended with a 10 mile hike to Laguna Torre. This was a fairly easy and flat hike with great views of the impressive mountain peak of Laguna Torre. We were amazed to see the icebergs still floating on the lake.
We then started our journey back to Puerto Natales via bus to eventually fly home to California
