W Trek itinerary: three valleys, a lake, a catamaran – and whether four days are enough

Four or five days: what the number means

Five days means four nights in the park and each valley on its own day: Base Torres, the lakeside trail to Cuernos, the French Valley to Paine Grande, Grey, the way back to the catamaran. Tangol Classic does it that way; Bamba sleeps twice at Central and does Base Torres on day two, which relaxes the first day and loads the last. Four days comes in two forms. Say Hueque and Ecotours stay two nights in the Francés sector, walk the valley without luggage and pack Francés–Paine Grande–Grey lookout–Paine Grande into the last day: 19 km, six to eight hours, then the 6:30 pm catamaran and the bus, arriving in Natales around 9 pm. Tangol Express turns it around: after Base Torres by bus and catamaran to the western side, night at Grey, back to Paine Grande, the French Valley as a day walk – but the trail along Lago Nordenskjöld is dropped entirely. Three days is Howlanders' star shape: the same three valleys as day hikes with catamaran, without the connecting trail.

What you should not cut: the day for the French Valley up to the Británico lookout, when the weather allows it. The express itineraries manage it because you leave the pack at Italiano; if you only go to the Francés lookout, you get half the view.

The stages

Six sections as they appear in the itineraries – five for the W, one for the O loop. Altitudes from the operator data (Say Hueque: Grey day 43 to 313 m; Tangol: John Gardner Pass 1,200 m) and from the usual map figures for Base Torres and Británico, rounded.

Day 1 · Puerto Natales → Laguna Amarga → Base Torres · Bus 2 h · ≈ 20 km · 8 h hin und zurück

The first day is the hardest: bus at seven, ticket check, then 900 m of ascent to the lagoon – and all the way back.

All packages start at the Puerto Natales bus terminal. Two hours to the Laguna Amarga gate, registration with CONAF, a video on park rules, shuttle to the Welcome Center at Estancia Cerro Paine. From there the trail climbs the Río Ascencio valley to Refugio Chileno, through lenga forest to the moraine and over the boulders to the lookout: three towers above a turquoise lagoon. Six packages walk it on day one with the full pack (Tangol, Bamba, Say Hueque, Ecotours), Howlanders and W Circuit Patagonia with a guide and daypack, Tusker only on day nine.

870mBase Torres

What differs here◐Night after: Torre Central (Tangol, Say Hueque, Ecotours, Bamba) · Pehoé camp (Howlanders, W Circuit Patagonia)

Day 2 · Torre Central → Lago Nordenskjöld → Los Cuernos / Francés · 12–13,5 km · 4–5 h

The easy day along the lake, past the Cuernos – and the first question: Cuernos or Francés?

Along the shore of Lago Nordenskjöld, below Almirante Nieto with its hanging glaciers, until the Cuernos del Paine stand above the trail. Tangol Classic sleeps at Refugio Los Cuernos, Say Hueque, Ecotours and Bamba an hour further in the Francés sector – which shortens the next day into the valley. Tangol's Express version skips this section entirely and takes bus and catamaran to the western side.

150mLos Cuernos / Francés

What differs here◐Los Cuernos: Tangol Classic · Francés: Say Hueque, Ecotours, Bamba · not on the route: Tangol Express, Howlanders

Day 3 · Italiano → Mirador Francés → Mirador Británico → Paine Grande · ≈ 20 km · 8–10 h mit Aufstieg ins Tal

Leave the pack with the ranger, climb into the valley, hear the glacier thunder. Going as far as Británico takes the whole day.

From Camp Italiano on the Río Francés the climb is without luggage: first to the Francés lookout with the hanging glacier of Paine Grande opposite, then through forest and boulder field to the Británico lookout in the granite cirque – Cerro Catedral, Hoja, Máscara, Espada, Aleta de Tiburón. Back to Italiano and on along Lago Skottsberg to Paine Grande (Tangol Classic) or back to Francés (Say Hueque, Ecotours). Howlanders does the valley as a day walk from the catamaran; Tangol Express on the last day from Paine Grande.

800mPaine Grande

What differs here◐Night after: Paine Grande (Tangol Classic, Bamba) · Francés (Say Hueque, Ecotours) · Pehoé camp (Howlanders)

Day 4 · Paine Grande → Laguna Los Patos → Mirador Grey → Refugio Grey · 11 km · 3,5 h einfach

The wind comes off the ice field. At the end of the day you stand above a glacier that belongs to the Southern Patagonian Ice Field.

From the valley behind Paine Grande via Laguna Los Patos to the first lookout over Lago Grey with its icebergs, then on to Refugio Grey. Those who sleep here (Tangol Classic, Tangol Express) have the evening for the suspension bridges above the glacier. Say Hueque and Ecotours walk on day four from Francés to the Grey lookout and back to Paine Grande – 19 km, six to eight hours, then the 6:30 pm catamaran. Howlanders reaches the lookout as a day walk.

313mRefugio Grey

What differs here◐Night at Grey: Tangol Classic, Tangol Express (day 2), Tangol O, Tusker · Grey only as a lookout: Say Hueque, Ecotours, Bamba, Howlanders

Day 5 · Grey → Paine Grande → Katamaran Pudeto → Puerto Natales · 11 km · 3,5 h · Katamaran 30 min · Bus 2 h

Thirty minutes across Lago Pehoé, the Cuernos behind you. The catamaran is the only link – miss it and you stay.

The same way back to Paine Grande, then the Hielos Patagónicos catamaran to Pudeto and the bus to Puerto Natales, arriving in the evening. Four packages list the catamaran (Say Hueque, Ecotours, Tangol Express, Howlanders), Tangol Classic has it as an “option” in the itinerary, Bamba only in the title of the last day. On the O loop it is not needed: Tangol O continues via Cuernos and Torre Central and ends on foot at the Welcome Center after Base Torres.

50mPuerto Natales

What differs here✓Catamaran included: Say Hueque, Ecotours, Tangol Express, Howlanders?Tangol Classic (“option”), Bamba (title only), Tusker

The O loop · Serón → Dickson → Los Perros → Paso John Gardner → Grey · + 4 Tage · ≈ 55 km · Passtag 11 h

Behind the massif it is quiet: three days of lenga forest and river valleys, then the pass – and below you the ice field as far as you can see.

The O loop starts at the Welcome Center anticlockwise: 13 km to Camp Serón, 18 along the Río Paine to Refugio Dickson, 11 to Camp Los Perros with its glacier. On day four the John Gardner Pass at around 1,200 m, the highest point in the park for hikers, with the view of Grey Glacier from above, then a long descent over the suspension bridges to Refugio Grey. From there it is the W in reverse. Tangol offers the loop self-guided in eight days, Tusker guided in ten with a boat trip and lodge in between. Serón and Los Perros are tent-only sites – even in the lodge option.

1,200mGrey

What differs here◐Tangol O: 8 days self-guided, camping 4,287 / lodge USD 4,969 · Tusker: 10 days guided, USD 8,600, with reservation

The route in stages: altitudes and itineraries from the operator data, photos illustrate the places. The boxes show where the four compared offers differ at the same spot.

Day-by-day itineraries of the products

Four itineraries from the Viator data: the classic W in five days (Tangol), the express W with two nights in the Francés (Say Hueque), the guided star shape (Howlanders) and the O loop (Tangol).

Stops and walking times from the operator's Viator product data, edited for length. Maps and figures illustrate the route and are not for navigation.

East or west: the direction and the catamaran

All packages here go east to west: Base Torres first, Grey last, catamaran at the end. The reason is the bus – in the morning it stops first at Laguna Amarga, and if you get off there you are at the Welcome Center by ten and can do Base Torres the same day. West to east you stay on the bus to Pudeto, take the catamaran in the late morning and start at Grey; then at the end you have the shuttle from the Welcome Center to Laguna Amarga. Both work; the advantage of west to east is that the towers come last and on the final day you are not tied to the catamaran timetable. Tangol Express is a mix: Base Torres on day one, then by bus and catamaran to Grey.

The Hielos Patagónicos catamaran is the only link between Pudeto on the road and Paine Grande on the W. In high season it runs several times a day; the itineraries name 10:30 and 11:30 out and 17:30 and 18:30 back; fewer in the shoulder season. Advance sale for the season from August; if it is not in your package, buy it beforehand or at the jetty if there is room – in strong wind it does not sail, and then you stay at Paine Grande or walk the road.

W or O: what the loop adds

The O loop circles the massif: from the Welcome Center north via Serón and the Río Paine valley to Refugio Dickson on its lake, then up to Camp Los Perros below its glacier and over the John Gardner Pass at around 1,200 m down to Grey – from there it is the W from west to east. Four extra days, around 55 km, a pass with wind and often snow, three nights with only tents and simpler food (Serón and Los Perros have no hut; Tangol supplies ration packs there). CONAF allows the loop anticlockwise only, and the campsites behind the massif are scarcer than on the W.

Who takes the loop: people with eight days and camping experience who want the quiet behind the massif and the view from the pass over the Southern Patagonian Ice Field. Tangol offers it self-guided for USD 4,287 in a tent and 4,969 with a lodge where there is one, November to March. Tusker walks it guided in ten days with a boat trip across Lago Grey, a lodge on the Río Serrano and hotel nights – USD 8,600, with a reservation because the inclusions list names only meals. If you walk the W in four to five days you see the three valleys; if you walk the O you also see the back – and need twice as long.

Best time: month by month

Assessments from operator texts and climate, not a weather forecast. The packages here run October to April; Say Hueque without 21–31 December, Tangol O only November to March.

Questions about the route

Sources and check status