CONTENTS
Map key
Overview map
Torres del Paine National Park
Location of routes
Introduction
Geography and geology
Climate
Wildlife and plants
History and culture
Early exploration and mountaineering
Getting to Chile
Transport within Chile
Agencies and tour operators
Visas and arrival
Accommodation
Language
Food and drink
Money and costs
Keeping in touch
Safety
About this guide
Trekking in Torres del Paine National Park
Refugios, campsites and hotels
Booking ahead
Transport to and around the park
Maps
Equipment
Low-impact trekking
What to do in an emergency
Torres del Paine National Park, Chile
Walk 1 Torres del Paine circuit (the ‘O’)
Stage 1 Refugio Paine Grande–Campamento Italiano
Stage 2 Campamento Italiano–Valle Francés (return)
Stage 3 Campamento Italiano–Refugio Las Torres
Stage 4 Refugio Las Torres–El Chileno
Stage 5 El Chileno–Mirador Las Torres (return)
Stage 6 El Chileno–Campamento Japonés (return)
Stage 7 El Chileno–Refugio Las Torres
Stage 8 Refugio Las Torres–Campamento Serón
Stage 9 Campamento Serón–Refugio Dickson
Stage 10 Refugio Dickson–Campamento Los Perros
Stage 11 Campamento Los Perros–Campamento Paso
Stage 12 Campamento Paso–Refugio Grey
Stage 13 Refugio Grey–Refugio Paine Grande
Stage 14 Refugio Paine Grande–CONAF Administración (the ‘Q’, optional)
Walk 2 Torres del Paine Half-Circuit (the ‘W’)
Stage 1 Refugio Las Torres–Mirador Las Torres (return)
Stage 2 Refugio Las Torres–Campamento Italiano
Stage 3 Campamento Italiano–Valle Francés (return)
Stage 4 Campamento Italiano–Refugio Grey
Stage 5 Refugio Grey–Refugio Paine Grande
Walk 3 Salto Grande and Mirador Los Cuernos
Walk 4 Puente Weber
Walk 5 Mirador Lago Toro and Laguna Verde
Walk 6 Mirador Cóndor
Walk 7 Río Pingo and Mirador Zapata
Stage 1 Guardería Lago Grey–Campamento Zapata
Stage 2 Campamento Zapata–Mirador Zapata (return)
Stage 3 Campamento Zapata–Guardería Lago Grey
Other walks within the national park
Laguna Amarga–Portería Sarmiento
Laguna Azul and trail to Lago Dickson
Excursions from Puerto Natales
Excursion 1 Cueva del Milodón
Excursion 2 Balmaceda and Serrano glaciers (Bernardo O’Higgins National Park)
Excursion 3 Sierra Baguales
Los Glaciares National Park, Argentina
Excursion from El Calafate
Excursion 4 Perito Moreno glacier
Walk 8 Cerro Fitz Roy (El Chaltén) and Cerro Torre
Stage 1 El Chaltén–Campamento Agostini
Stage 2 Campamento Agostini–Campamento Poincenot
Stage 3 Campamento Poincenot–Laguna de los Tres (return)
Stage 4 Campamento Poincenot–Laguna Piedas Blancas (return)
Stage 5 Campamento Poincenot–El Chaltén
Appendix A Route summary table
Appendix B Gateway towns and cities
Appendix C Accommodation within Torres del Paine National Park
Appendix D Language notes and glossary
Appendix E Contacts and online resources
Appendix F Further reading
Maps
The map ‘CONAF Parque Nacional Torres del Paine’, given free when you show you’ve paid your entry fee and booked your accommodation at Laguna Amarga or the administration office (CONAF Administración) by Lago Toro, is perfectly adequate for trekking in the national park (and is the recommended map for routes in this guide within the park). There is no scale, annoyingly (although it works out at roughly 1:130,000), but it has almost as much detail as any of the slightly larger maps listed below (including 250m contour lines), and has the advantage of being smaller and lighter. The fact that it is produced by CONAF should also mean that it’s the most accurate available – although this is not always entirely so. It is worth pointing out that this is not necessarily the map you’ll see, enlarged, at the reception desk of some huts.
Also widely available is ‘Torres del Paine Trekking Map’ (Mapas sheet 13, 1:100,000, 25m contour lines), which covers a larger area than the CONAF map, from the Balmaceda glacier and the head of Seno Ultima Esperanza in the south to Lago Dickson in the north. This is on balance the best map commercially available, and if you feel the need to buy a larger and slightly more detailed map than the free CONAF one, this is the one to go for. The ‘Torres del Paine Trekking Map’ (Zagier & Urruty, 1:80,000) is simply a larger and bulkier version – in this case, a satellite view with some contour lines. A useful map for planning other excursions in the area is ‘Puerto Natales Calafate’ (Mapas sheet 21, 1:500,000), which includes the whole area from Puerto Natales to El Calafate. The Mapas sheets have various bits of fairly useful information on the back. None of these maps (including the CONAF one) is without its inaccuracies, however – including non-existent hosterías and campsites, and questionable hiking trails.
Chile is also covered by a series of military maps (IGM).
Good map shops in the UK include The Map Shop (15 High Street, Upton Upon Severn; tel 01684 593 146; www.themapshop.co.uk) and Stanfords (12–14 Long Acre, London; tel 020 7836 1321; www.stanfords.co.uk).
Flooded trail between Refugio Las Torres and Campamento Serón (Walk 1)