This superb Patagonia trek guarantees you to enjoy in depth the Torres del Paine National Park, trekking on its three more spectacular valleys that form the famous Paine W trek: Ascensio river Valley to see Las Torres (Paine Towers), Del Frances Valley to see Cuernos del Paine (Paine Horns) and Paine Grande and the Grey Glacier Valley to see the big ice chunks on Grey Lake. Stunning mountains, lakes and forests, and a variety of wildlife are offered in this classical and very popular Patagonia travel adventure. It's a must for those who love trekking and outdoor lifestyle, designed to allow you to trek extensively the main trails of the Park. We use campsites to stay inside the Torres del Paine National Park, where we transport all the necessary equipment. We do not go above 1500 meters /4920 ft. In fact it’s one of the strong points of this trip, you can trek wonderful mountains trails without have to reach high altitude, so there are no oxygen problems. Nevertheless, the strong winds which periodically affect Patagonia during the summer months can make walking much more strenuous.
This is a regular activity but with a minimum of 3 passengers.

Departures 2019/2020 & Prices:

    9 days - 8 nights

    Season: October to April

    Starts at: El Calafate Airport (FTE). The Meeting Point for the Group on Day 1 is 7 PM at El Calafate.
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    Ends at: El Calafate Airport (FTE).

Itinerary
Day 1: El Calafate Airport – El Calafate
We receive you at El Calafate Airport, and transfer to El Calafate town, where at 7 PM the group will have a meeting at Hostel del Glaciar Pioneros at Pioneros St. 251. You will meet our Guide, talk about the details of our trip and enjoy your welcome dinner together with your travel partners.
Lodging at Hostel Room with private bathroom
Included meals: dinner (D)

Day 2: El Calafate – Torres del Paine
Early start for a 6 Hs. drive to our camp in Paine. We drive across the steppe, still following by parts the legendary route 40, to get around Sierra de los Baguales, an impressive range in between Calafate and Paine. We cross the Argentinean Chilean border at Cancha Carrera/ Cerro Castillo. After the border crossing, we start our final sprint to Paine National Park, World Heritage by the UNESCO (United Nations Education, Science and Culture Organization). Approaching the Park, we start to see the different mountains that feature the area: Paine Grande, the Horns, Admiral Nieto and the Towers. We enter the Park by Porteria Laguna Amarga. A rich wildlife: guanacos, lesser rheas, condors and all types of wetland and buzzard birds, will be available for our eyes and cameras.
Lodging at Camping Las Torres Full Camp in double tent (with sanitary services)
Included meals : breakfast (B)

Day 3: Torres –Ascensio river Valley
This day is dedicated to one of the most classical and amazing treks of the Park: the trail toward the Paine Towers. After breakfast, starting from our camp we cross the Ascensio river through a hanging bridge and begin the ascent walk on the Almirante Nieto Mount path, going by the border of Ascencio river. We hike up a steep slope for one hour, to get inside the Ascensio river valley, a narrow “V” shape alpine valley coming from inside the Paine massif. After one hour we go into the valley, until a gentle downhill leads us to Chileno Refuge, a cozy and comfortable mountain lodge. The trail slopes down into an impressive beech forest along the riverside where you get unforgettable landscapes. We reach Las Torres Base Camp where the mountaineers wait, sometimes for months, the appropriate weather conditions to climb the Torres. We take a final climb through the boulders of the moraine, it's one hour to reach the Las Towers viewpoint: an amazing natural amphitheater at the bottom of the vertical granite towers with a glacier-fed lagoon and the three towers rising vertically 1000 mts from the glacier and reaching 2800 meters height above sea level. The lack of breath will be either because the climb and the sight. We go back to our camp on the same way we came. Walking time: 7 to 8 Hs.
Lodging at Camping Las Torres Full Camp in double tent (with sanitary services)
Included meals : breakfast (B), box lunch (BL) and dinner (D)

Day 4: Las Torres – Los Cuernos Refuge
Today we start from Las Torres campsite the two days Nordenskjold crossing, that lead us to the Full Camp at Refugio Pehoe, with one night spent at Los Cuernos Refuge. The so called “Nordenskjöld lake traverse” or “Traverse of the Horns”. Before breakfast we prepare our backpack with only the belongings needed for the next two days traverse: some clothes, the box lunch, the camera and our sleeping bag. We pack the rest of the luggage that will be transfer by our bus to the Refugio Pehoe Full Camp, where we will find it again. We walk by the Nordenskjold lake north shore, at the foot of Admiral Nieto and the Horns. Three hours later we will be arriving to Los Cuernos Refuge.
Lodging at Los Cuernos Refuge with shared room and bathroom
Included meals : breakfast (B), box lunch (BL) and dinner (D)

Day 5: Frances Valley – Pehoe Refuge
We start our trek early in the morning,walking to the Italian Camp, gate to the French valley, arriving two hours later at the start of Del Frances Valley. It’s a beautiful valley descending from the massif to the Nordenskjold Lake, outflanked by the imposing Mount Paine Grande, (3050 meters height) on the west side. We remount the valley until the upper viewpoints, surrounded by the most impressive peaks of the massif at the entrance of a unique cirque surrounded by granite spires that feature the high valley: Hoja (Blade), Máscara (Mask), Espada (Sword), Catedral (Cathedral), Aleta de Tiburón (Shark Fin), the magnificent Fortaleza (The Fortress) and Paine Grande. The forest and the suspended Glaciers producing continuous ice and snow fallings give a spectacular frame to this walk. We return back to Italian camp, descending the valley until reach the Skottberg Lake and finally to lake Pehoe, arriving at our Full Camp at Refugio Pehoe at the end of the day, where our luggage will be waiting for us. We trek 9 Hs. this demanding day.
Lodging at Refugio Pehoe Full Camp in double tent (with sanitary services)
Included meals: breakfast (B), box lunch (BL) and dinner (D)

Day 6: Grey Glacier Valley – Pehoe Refuge
Another unforgettable day dedicated to the Grey Glacier, impressive glacier with 300 square kilometers of surface (115 square miles) and 25 kilometers long (16 miles). It overflows from the Patagonia Ice Field falling into Grey Lake. The Glacier produces enormous amount of blue icebergs that sail over the lake pushed by the wind towards the south, given the characteristic feature to this lake. Lake Grey trail leads from Pehoe Valley across ridges to reach Grey valley. The trail skirts the lake, going up and down the westerns slopes of Paine Grande, offering some of the most impressive sights of the Park, leading us to a wonderful viewpoint where we can appreciate the whole lake, the glacier and the mountains that emerge from the west of the Ice Field. From the high sections of the trail, many different viewpoints allow us to see the south end of the lake where the blue icebergs gather, the mountains rising far in the distance above glaciers Grey and Tyndall, and of course lake and glacier Grey. Two more hours walking and we arrive to another viewpoint just in front of the Glacier. All the trek is done between Andean bushes and lengas forest, at the shadow of the ice blocks that drape the Paine Grande Mount. We come back along the same trail, crossing bogs, shrublands and forest. At the end of the day we return to our Full Camp at Refugio Pehoe area. We walk this day about 8 Hs.
Lodging at Refugio Pehoe Full Camp in double tent (with sanitary services)
Included meals: breakfast (B), box lunch (BL) and dinner (D)

Day 7: Pehoe Lake Navigation - Salto Grande - Camping Pehoe
We have breakfast later than usual to recover from the last two-day efforts and spend the morning at leisure in our camp to get some relax. By noon, with our luggage packed, we cross Pehoe Lake on a boat towards Port Pudeto, where we continue a short drive to our Full Camp located at Camping Pehoe. After having lunch at the campsite we visit Salto Grande and walk a 45 minutes trail to get the Nordenskjold Lake beaches, where we have a wonderful view of Del Frances valley and the entire path we have walked the days before.
Lodging at Camping Pehoe Full Camp in double tent (with sanitary services)
Included meals: breakfast (B), box lunch (BL) and dinner (D)

Day 8: Grey Lake - Camping Pehoe
We use this day to visit the west side of the Park. We pass an easy trail by the Grey Lake south shore, plenty of icebergs, and ascending to the Ferrier viewpoint with wide landscapes over the entire Park.
Lodging at Camping Pehoe Full Camp in double tent (with sanitary services)
Included meals: breakfast (B), box lunch (BL) and dinner (D)

Day 9: Torres del Paine – Puerto Natales - El Calafate
In the morning we start our land transfer from Torres del Paine crossing the border with Argentina back to El Calafate. We arrive to El Calafate where another person will be waiting for us and transfer us to the Hostel. The rest of the day is at your own to visit town.
Lodging at Hostel room with private bathroom
Included meals: breakfast (B)

Day 10: El Calafate - El Calafate Airport
After breakfast we transfer to El Calafate Airport where we end our services.
Included meals: breakfast (B)

Included services: Bilingual (Spanish – English) tour leader, trekking/mountain guide, 2 nights hostel with private bathroom, 6 nights full camping (igloo tents double base, dinner tents with table, benches and kitchenware, cooking tent), 1 night mountain refuge, 9 breakfast (B), 7 box lunch (BL) and 7 dinners (D), Land Transfer El Calafate –Torres del Paine – El Calafate and the local transfers inside Paine National Park, during the trip we combine private and regular buses, Pehoe Lake boat crossing navigation. More information

Not included services: international and domestic flights, airport taxes, transfers in Buenos Aires, nights in Buenos Aires, drinks, foods not detailed, tickets entrance to 1 National Park (5/10 u$d), medical covering, tips, services not detailed in the program. More information

List of suggested personal equipment:
• Backpack, 60 /70 lts
• Sleeping bag, feathers or synthetic, for -10ºC
• Sleeping mattress (therm-a-rest type) or Insulating mattress (foam pad)
• Trekking shoes or boots
• Thermal underwear
• Trekking pants
• Fleece
• Breathable parka and over pants
• Gaiters
• Gloves
• Thermal socks
• The necessary spare cloth
• Wool hat
• Sun hat
• Sun glasses
• Sun screen (UV is very strong during the southern spring, from september thru december)
• Personal items
• Lamp
• Trekking poles (recommended, if you are used to them)
• Water bottle
• Photo camera & batteries
• Personal medication
• Personal documents (passport & visa if needed) to cross the Argentina and Chile border.
• Garbage bags (we Leave No Trace)

Weather in Patagonia is unpredictable. Not very cold, but it is usually windy. The best advice is to dress in the classic 4 mountaineering layers.