> The famous W-Trek in comfort
> Stay in fully equipped tents at the refugios
> Experience Patagonia at its very best
The full W Trek is an excellent way to discover Torres del Paine National Park. Each night, you will stay in comfortable tents with sleeping gear provided, allowing you to enjoy the adventure without carrying heavy camping equipment. Along the way, you will visit the three iconic highlights that make up the W: the famous Torres viewpoint in the Ascencio Valley, the hanging glaciers and dramatic landscapes of the French Valley, and the spectacular Grey Glacier at the end of the Grey Valley.
IMPORTANT
> Availability: This trek is subject to accommodation and permit availability in Torres del Paine National Park. Your booking is only guaranteed once it has been officially confirmed by the local trekking operator.
> Payment: Full payment must be made at least 70 days before the start date.
> Cancellation: The standard Bookatrekking.com cancellation policy does not apply to this trek. If you need to cancel your booking, you are not eligible for a refund of your deposit. Cancellations made within 70 days of departure are non-refundable (special cancellation conditions may apply, see below*).
* Special Christmas & New Year Departure Cancellations: For treks taking place between December 15th and January 5th, special cancellation and refund conditions apply. When a refund is applicable, cancellations must be submitted at least 90 days before the start date. Cancellations made within 90 days of departure are non-refundable.
Starting from Puerto Natales at 7:00 AM, we drive all the way to Torres del Paine National Park. We will drive through open pampas and huge ranches (estancias), and chances are we will be able to observe one of the most typical animals in this area, the ñandu, (rare South American ostrich). We will follow an unpaved road heading to Refugio Las Torres to spend our first night. Upon entering the park we will have excellent photographic and birding opportunities as we drive alongside lagoons frequented by Chilean flamencos and black-necked swans. After leaving your backpack at the Refugio, we start the trek to the base of the Towers, following the Ascencio River to enter the Ascencio Valley. The walk will be uphill for one hour before stopping to observe the first glimpses of the valley surrounded by unbelievable beech forests, glaciers and waterfalls. We’ll continue through the valley for another hour and a half before ascending a huge terminal moraine to a lookout (900 M), excellent for picture taking. This amazing view will be accompanied by lunch to add to the enjoyment. After being awed by the towers we’ll start the descent, following the same path back to the hut. Dinner will be served in the Refugio.
We will start early morning to enjoy, weather permitting, a magnificent dawn filled with orange-pink colors. As we leave the campground we will arrive at Inge lagoon. Chances are, on this path, we may see the flight of an Andean condor or eagles hunting hares or small rodents. We follow a well mark trail ascending around (200 M) from the base of Almirante Nieto Mountain (2750 M), crossing the Bader River to arrive at Refugio Los Cuernos where we will stay overnight.
We will start our day with a 2-hour walk going to an undulating path until reaching the French River for our first glimpses of the hanging glacier. Then we will ascend (300 M) for one hour through a surreal Japanese garden landscape, crossing beech forests, to reach the French valley viewpoint gifting us with a magnificent view of both mountains and lakes. We will lunch here with good possibilities of seeing avalanches from the hanging glacier or simply observe the west side of the Cuernos (2600 M), Espada (2400 M) and Fortaleza (2800 M). Our way back will be the same until we reach the entrance of the valley where we will continue on a different path around the South-West side of Paine Grande, the highest peak in the Park, through native forests of Chilean fire bush and evergreen beech (Nothofagus Bethuloides), up to the shore of the Pehoe Lake.
We will begin the early morning with our hike to the Grey Glacier. Initially ascending 200mts up a winding narrow path leading us to Laguna Negra, a place where we will observe the first glimpses of the South Patagonia Ice Field with its many unclimbed mountains. We will advance through forests and rivers, with possible sightings of spectacle and flying steamer ducks, up to the glacier viewpoint. We will have lunch at this place to see, if we are lucky enough, ice calving from the huge glacier wall.
Right after lunch we start an exciting adventure by boat. We will navigate for a while in front of the glacier in the hope of seeing icebergs calve. Our return journey offers views of Paine Grande with its impressive ice mushrooms and we sail through icebergs of different tones of blue. Then we will take a transfer back to Puerto Natales.
