Patagonia W Trek Hut to Hut

You’ve officially arrived at the edge of the world—welcome! Take a moment to soak it in, rest up, and get ready to dive into adventure. Your Explorer Chick guide will be waiting to greet you at your host hotel and whisk you away to your delicious Welcome Dinner.

Accommodation: Hotel in Puerto Natales
Meals: D

After fueling up on breakfast, we’ll make tracks at 7am via our SHE-nanigan Shuttle. The wild and sprawling beauty of Torres del Paine National Park is calling and we are answering more eagerly than a lovesick teen.

Along the way, we’ll pass traditional Patagonia Estancias (huge ranches) and flat pampas grassland. Have your camera ready – ñandu (Patagonian ostrich), Chilean flamingos and black-necked swans are likely to be preening in the grasses and lagoons!

We’ll be staying in Refugio hiking hostels throughout the park, and you’ll have time to drop your pack and take a quick pee break before beginning the W Trek’s first highlight: the journey to the three Towers lookout. Sounds totally Middle-Earthy and we are HERE for it.

The trek begins with an ascent, following the Ascencio River into the Ascencio Valley.

After about an hour, we’ll stop to witness the valley’s obscene beauty unfolding into rich beech forests, glaciers and waterfalls. Past this lookout point, we continue uphill through lush forests before ascending a gigantic terminal moraine (the ridge formed at a glacier’s end point) where we’ll be rewarded by a frameable view of the three Towers.

We’ll pause here, 2950 feet above sea level, resting, photo-snapping, giggling and downing our lunch. We descend along the same path to return to our Refugio where dinner, hot chocolate and ice-cold beer await.

Transfer Time from Puerto Natales to TDP: 2 hours
Hiking: 13 miles. 3,330’ gain. 8-9 hours

Accommodation: Refugio Torre Central
Meals: B-L-D

If it pleases the weather gods, we’ll wake to the rich oranges and pinks of a Patagonian dawn. Today we’re hiking to Los Cuernos lookout, where black twin granite peaks curve into the sky like horns. Go Toros!

We’ll make our way via Inge Lagoon, crunching earth below soaring condors and other birds of prey. Every moment we pump our legs and swing our arms is a reminder we are very much alive and very much guests of this wild, wild place.

Our trail ascends 600′ from the base of Almirante Nieto Mountain (9000′) and crosses the Bader River to Refugio Los Cuernos. Home sweet home for the night. Time to reward our bellies and rest our muscles as we play Never Have I Ever.

Hiking: 7 miles. 820′ gain. 4-5 hours

Accommodation: Refugio Los Cuernos
Meals: B-L-D

It’s mega legs day, Explorer Chick! We’ll depart our Refugio to ascend for an hour through a dreamlike Japanese garden landscape before arriving at the French Valley viewpoint aka the “Plateau”. Our reward is a heart-stirring Condor’s view of MORE granite peaks and hanging glaciers. To one side, the French Glacier and Paine Grande (3050 m). To the other, La Espada, La Hoja, La Máscara and the main and north “horns” of Los Cuernos arching into the sky.

There are so many summits to spy here, it feels like attendance day in homeroom. Cerro Catedral? Here! Cerro Fortaleza? Here! These peaks loom like turrets above the landscape, and you’ll start to wonder if all the GOOD tectonic plates decided to migrate here.

We’ll scarf our lunches at the viewpoint, surrounded by imposing peaks and open sky. Depending on the weather conditions and group vibe, we can continue to the Britanico Lookout which offers impressive 360 degree views.

We return the same way we came to tuck into a well-deserved dinner at our cozy Refugio.

Hiking: 10 miles. 1,900’ gain. 8-9 hours

Accommodation: Refugio Paine Grande
Meals: B-L-D

We’re early-birding it today to crush an ascent over the winding path that takes us to Laguna Negra. Here, we’ll see sections of the massive Southern Patagonian Ice Field, a geological phenomenon that is home to many unexplored peaks. YOU’RE GOING WHERE FEW HAVE GONE BEFORE!

The first hour of our hike starts easy and intensifies as we continue to scramble up and down constant elevation changes. We continue on to Grey Glacier’s lookout point, passing lush forests and rivers that are home to curious foxes and spectacled steamer ducks.

We’ll have lunch at the lookout with the mammoth Grey Glacier at our feet. Keep your phones handy – glacial ice could calve at any moment and drop into the freezing waters.

After arriving at the Refugio, we’ll do a leg assessment. Tired but willing? Your endurance will be rewarded with a spectacular hike to 2 suspension bridges that hang over a rocky gorge. If we time it right, we could catch the sun setting behind Grey Glacier as we stand suspended above the world, surrounded by forest. Not even Virgin River has views like these, Amiga.

We’ll head back the way we came to our last Refugio stay and enjoy a Pisco sour and a hot shower before crashing for the night.

Hiking: 9 miles. 900’ gain. 6-7 hours

Accommodation: Refugio Grey
Meals: B-L-D

Today starts easy with a free morning to stretch, relax and listen to our fave true crime podcasts. After blessing our bellies with delicious breakfast, we will head out for kayaking on Grey Lake.

Awaken new strength in your arms as you paddle through floes of ice that have descended from Glacier Grey, the namesake of these waters. These icebergs are scattered throughout the lake and have been sculpted into incredible shapes by the wind and sun, before being pushed to the shores of the lake.

After our paddle session, we’ll set off by boat across Grey Lake to the massive facade of Grey Glacier. We’ll stay here for a while to observe the wall’s textures, lines and colors while watching for ice calving. We will also feast on our lunches – no hangry glacier viewing allowed. On our return journey we’ll see the wind-sculpted “ice mushrooms” atop the massive peaks of Paine Grande as we sail past blue-hued icebergs. Once we step onto dry land, we’ll hike 20 minutes along Grey Beach to meet our private transfer which takes us back to Puerto Natales where our Farewell Dinner is waiting. We’re not crying, someone is just chopping onions.

Kayaking: 3 hours
Boat Ride: 2 hours
Private Transfer from Grey Lake to Puerto Natales: 2 hours

Accommodation: Hotel in Puerto Natales
Meals: B-L-D

*To kayak, you must be under 250 pounds

Enjoy one last breakfast together before parting ways. We’ll share heartfelt goodbyes, squeeze in a few extra hugs, and maybe linger a little longer than planned. For anyone leaving today, we’ll provide a final chauffeur in the SHE-nanigan Shuttle to the Puerto Natales airport.

You can schedule your departure anytime today.

Transfer Time from Hotel to Puerto Natales Airport: 10 mins
Meals: B

Explorer Chick reserves the option to modify trip itineraries at the discretion of your adventure leader as necessary due to weather, conditions, illness, injury, group dynamics, safety, or other unforeseen incidents.