Chile Patagonia W-Route Hiking

Itinerary

• Day01

  Arrive in Punta Arenas

  Arrive at the airport in Punta Arenas, Chile, and meet your group leader to transfer to the hotel. In the early evening, gather with the group for a briefing on the adventure ahead. Enjoy a welcome dinner tonight.

  • Accommodation: Hotel Cabo de Hornos
  • Meals: Dinner
• Day02

  Scenic Drive to Torres del Paine National Park

  After breakfast, travel across the Patagonian plains to the quiet fishing town of Puerto Natales on the shores of Seno Ultima Esperanza (Last Hope Sound). Stretch your legs a bit and have lunch before continuing on to Torres del Paine National Park and taking in your first spectacular views of the Paine Massif (weather permitting). There is also a very good chance of seeing guanacos - small cousins to the camel and llama - on the way to the park.

  • Accommodation: Hotel Las Torres
  • Transportation: 6-hour hour private van transfer
  • Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
• Day03

  Explore Majestic Torres del Paine

  Get an early start for an all-day hike to the Torres del Paine lookout. Follow the Asencio River over a low pass into the Ascencio Valley, passing through beautiful beech forests, talus-covered slopes, and boulders. Arrive at a spectacular viewpoint that is one of the most scenic spots in the world, where the towers rise majestically before you and a glacial lake is visible below. Enjoy a packed lunch en route before hiking back to the hotel.

  • Accommodation: Hotel Las Torres
  • Activity: 9 hours/11.5 miles hiking with 2,500' elevation gain
  • Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
• Day04

  Hike below Cuernos del Paine

  Begin your trek deep into the park, hiking at a relaxed pace along the north shore of Lago Nordenskjold to Los Cuernos, following the Paso Los Cuernos trail beneath the jagged Cuernos del Paine. The views are magnificent, including your first sighting of the Southern Patagonia Ice Field. Stay in cozy cabins right next to a waterfall on the most isolated spot of our journey - an excellent staging area for tomorrow's hike to the French Valley.

  • Accommodation: Cabañas de los Cuernos
  • Activity: 5 hours/7 miles hiking with 1,400' elevation gain
  • Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
• Day05

  Hike through French Valley

  Hike into the French Valley, one of the most spectacular cirques in the Paine Range. Walk below the glaciers that descend from the massif's highest summit and marvel at the gray granite peaks of the Cuernos del Paine, topped with fantastical black slate "horns." Two hiking options are available today, weather permitting: We can take an 11-mile hike back to camp, or continue up to the mirador (viewpoint) above Camp Británico for one of the most impressive views in the park.

  • Accommodation: Paine Grande Mountain Shelter
  • Activity: 8 hours/11 miles hiking with 1,200' elevation gain or 10-12 hours/15 miles with 2,000' elevation gain
  • Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
• Day06

  Take a Boat to Grey Glacier

  Arise early and hike along the Paine Grande Mountain towards the face of stunning Grey Glacier, at the southern end of the Southern Patagonia Ice Field. Enjoy a packed lunch en route before boarding a catamaran that takes us close to the front of the glacier and then down to the southern shore of the Lago Grey (Grey Lake), where our hotel for the night is located.

  • Accommodation: Hotel Lago Grey
  • Activity: 4 hours/7.5 miles hiking with 800' elevation gain
  • Transportation: 45-minute catamaran & 2-hour private van transfer
  • Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
• Day07

  Depart from Punta Arenas

  After an early breakfast, return to Punta Arenas by private van to meet with your afternoon flight to Santiago and continue to your next destination.

  • Transportation: 6-hour private van transfer
  • Meals: Breakfast