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Torres del Paine National Park ‘O’ Trek & El Chalten – 13 Days

Torres del Paine National Park ‘O’ Trek & El Chalten – 13 Days

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~~$2799~~

$2673

Torres del Paine National Park ‘O’ Trek & El Chalten – 13 Days

2 Days Starting in Puerto Natales, Natales, Magallanes and Chilean Antarctica, Chile and ending in Santiago, Santiago Metropolitan Region, Chile

Visiting: Puerto Natales, Torres del Paine National Park, Dickson Glacier, Los Perros, Grey Glacier, Lake Pehoé, Vallée del Francés, Nordenskjöld Lake, Mont Almirante Nieto, Mirador Base Las Torres, El Chaltén, Cerro Torre, Torre Lagoon, 라구나 데 로스 트레스, Laguna Capri, El Calafate, Santiago

Tour operator:

Unu Raymi Tour Operator & Lodges

Tour code:

Torres13

Guide Type:

Fully Guided

Group size:

13 - 12

Physical rating:

Medium, Medium to High.

Age range:

18-65

Special diets catered:

Vegetarians, Vegans, Gluten and Dairy Free

Tour operated in:

English

From:

$2799

$2673 (USD) Exclusive Tourhub Members Discount: -$126

NB: Prices correct on 17-May-2024 but subject to change.

Tour Overview

Torres del Paine National Park and El Chalten offer some of the most spectacular parts of the Patagonia region and the southern Andes. This itinerary will cover the striking pointed peaks and massive glaciers of the Paine Massif and Southern Patagonia Ice Field; along what is popularly known as the “O” route based on its circuit shape. In just under a couple of weeks; you will trek through almost 100 km+ of trails and stay at a variety of lodges, shelters (refugios) or camping for the overnights. Thus; this tour is best suited for trekkers with hiking experience; or physically-fit adventurers who are willing to practice hiking trails with demanding conditions. Crowds of trekkers/travellers are more prevalent during the high season; which also overlaps with pleasant summer weather in the Southern Hemisphere. First of all; arriving in Torres del Paine; the tour of the Paine Massif, where nature invites you to challenge your body and mind. For 8 intense days you will be amazed by the granite towers that give the park its name, the legendary Francés Valley, or the striking Grey Glacier seen from the John Garner mountain pass where the ice blends into the clouds on the horizon. An experience that will take your breath way. Following on; from Torres del Paine; you’ll then transfer to El Chalten. The variety of views from steppe to the forest; from huge glacier moraines to colourful lakes and the views makes this itinerary a unique and fantastic way to explore the best of the National park.

Highlights

Explore famous landmark sites such as Las Torres, Glacier Grey, Las Cuernos, Dickson Glacier.
Spend just over a week discovering the awe and stunning scenery of Torres del Paine.
Encounter numerous flora and fauna, including grazing wild guanaco.
Climb the John Gardner Pass for a section of the park that is rarely visited.

Itinerary

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Day 1 : Transport To The Parque Nacional Torres Del Paine And Trekking To Camping Serón

Location: Puerto Natales, Torres del Paine National Park

Accommodation: Camp

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

The day before you start your adventure, you will arrive in Puerto Natales. You have to be at 6.30 in the morning at the Rodoviario de Puerto Natales (bus station; Spain 1455), to take the bus leaving at 7:00 am to the Torres del Paine National Park (PNTP). Your entrance to the park will be through the Laguna Amarga Lodge, where you will show your ticket and then take the approach bus to the Welcome Center of the Cerro Paine Reserve where you can enjoy the impressive silhouettes of the Torres del Paine and the Almirante Nieto Massif . Once there, start your first trekking. This will lead you through a huge forest of lichens called “old man’s beard”. Once you have crossed the forest you will contemplate in the distance an extensive valley covered by margaritas flanked by the Paine River on the right, who will accompany you during the second half of your trek until you reach the Serón campsite, where you will dine and stay

Day 2 : Trekking To The Dickson Glacier

Location: Dickson Glacier

Accommodation: Camp

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

This will be a long and unforgettable day of trekking. The first part of the trail will take you up and down, surrounding the hillsides of Cerro Paine where you will feel the strength of the wind. There, you will begin to descend to continue bordering Lake Paine, which on clear days works as a mirror of the summits that surround it. If the weather is in your favor, you will be able to see the northeast summit of the Paine Massif, including silhouettes and peculiar shapes such as “Cabeza del Indio”, “Escudo”, “Cube” and Dickson. The night will be in the Dickson Sector, located next to the glacial lake at the edge of the Southern Ice Field that gives it its name to the sector.

Day 3 : Trekking To Los Perros

Location: Los Perros

Accommodation: Camp

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Today you will begin to move towards the south west. Along the way you will see the Dickson glacier falling into the lake of the same name. You will enter a beautiful lenga forest, where you will see Magellanic woodpeckers beating the lengas. In the middle of the forest you will find a clearing. Stop there to look forward and backward, because in front of you and behind you you can see glaciers, awesome! Further on, you will also pass through the Los Perros glacier, with incredible views towards its lake. Half an hour after the walk, you will arrive at Camp Los Perros, located in a quiet and ancient forest. In the Perros Sector the food service consists of rations of the trek, there is no restaurant service.

Day 4 : Trekking To Sector Grey

Location: Grey Glacier

Accommodation: Camp

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

It is likely that today is the most exhausting and at the same time most spectacular day of your trip. Attention: there will be slippery roads, swampy terrain and steep climbs and descents. The departure from Los Perros must be very early. The first part of the way is through a swampy land and then start a steep and long climb to the windy Paso John Garner. Once up, the overwhelming view will make you feel very small. In front of you will have one of the huge tongues of the Southern Ice Field, full of cracks and ice of the strangest nuances of blue and green. A landscape in which you do not know where the glacier ends and where the clouds begin. Once you catch your breath, start the long descent between rocks, to continue skirting the Grey Glacier, which will accompany you all the way to Lake Grey. A few kilometers after arriving at the site “El Paso”, you will cross two impressive suspension bridges over 50 meters long that pass over huge gorges with a fantastic view of the Grey glacier, an image that is hard to forget. Tonight we will stay in Sector Gray

Day 5 : Trekking To Sector Francés

Location: Lake Pehoé

Accommodation: Camp

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

The first part of the road will be between many ups and downs. Crossing forests of ñirres, cohigues and notros, and with the majestic Cerro Paine Grande (the highest summit of the Massif with 3050 masl) and its hanging glaciers on your left, you will reach the Paine Grande Refuge. There you can stop for a while to have lunch and enjoy the amazing view from the place to the Cuernos del Paine. Then, you will continue your way towards the French Sector now with horns in front, Lake Pehoé on your right and another face of Cerro Paine Grande on your left. After a quiet but long walk you will reach the French Sector where you will dine and sleep.

Day 6 : Valle Del Francés

Location: Vallée del Francés

Accommodation: Camp

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

This day you will visit another of the most emblematic and magical places of the Park, the impressive Valle del Francés. The trekking will begin with a gentle walk towards the Italian camp. Here, you will start to climb the valley and after an hour and a half of ascent, you will reach the “French Lookout”. Here you will see very closely one of the hanging glaciers of Cerro Paine Grande and, with some luck, you will be able to witness an ice fall (avalanche). With that impressive sight circling in your head you will continue advancing through a forest of lengas, up to the British sector. Get ready, it is probably the only time in your life that you see such a show: the magnificent Valley of the French, floated by its colossal mountains and granite walls whose unique shapes and colors will leave you breathless. The return will be by the same path, passing through the Italian Camp, until reaching the French Sector.

Day 7 : Sector Central

Location: Nordenskjöld Lake, Mont Almirante Nieto

Accommodation: Camp

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

With the spectacular Cuernos del Paine on the left, and the colors of Lake Nordenskjöld on the right, you will walk towards the Central sector. This day the walk will be calmer, there will be no big slopes and the journey will be shorter and faster than the previous days. A few kilometers to reach the Central Sector, you will have left behind the Cuernos to skirt Mount Almirante Nieto (2,670 masl), a massif with a temperamental climate. At night, and as in the rest of your adventure, you can live the relaxed and cosmopolitan atmosphere in the Central Sector; Take a well deserved beer and share with other hikers experiences and anecdotes. If you feel tired after so many days of hard walking, you can stop by the Hotel Las Torres Spa to get a well-deserved massage, or try a roast lamb on the stick (these activities are not included in the program)

Day 8 : Trekking Base Torres

Location: Mirador Base Las Torres, Puerto Natales

Accommodation: Hotel

Accommodation Name: Hotel IF

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch

Today you’ll be up early to visit one of the most famous landmarks of the park, the Mirador Base Torres. During the first part you’ll walk through the pampas, crossing the Ascencio River and then climb about 3 km until you reach the ‘paso del vientos‘. Here you’ll enjoy incredible views of the valley, lakes and glaciers that surround. Continuing until you reach the Chilean Refuge and then enter a forest of lengas and reach “La Morrena”, where the hardest part of the trekking begins. After 45 minutes of arduous ascent along a rocky path, you’ll reach the spectacular Mirador Base Torres where you can enjoy the majesty of the South Towers (2,850 masl), Central (2,800 masl), and North (2,600 masl). After contemplating the spectacular scenery, you’ll return to the Central Sector where at 7:00 p.m you’ll take the bus that will take you back to Puerto Natales..

Day 9 : Bus To El Chalten

Location: El Chaltén

Accommodation Name: Don Ios Cerros

Meals Included: No Meals

Bus to El Chalten (10 hrs)
Change at El Calafate for El Chalten

Day 10 : El Chalten – Laguna Torres

Location: Cerro Torre, Torre Lagoon

Accommodation: Camp

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

This is a warm up day but the views are already breath taking, starting with the Cerro Torre view point that reveals the chain of mountains in a clear sky. Within around 3 hours you will arrive at the Campamento de Agostini where you will camp tonight. There are icebergs ported by the wind on the shore of the Laguna Torres, making this place a living dramatic theatre. Allow around 1h to explore the Laguna.

Day 11 : Laguna Torres – Laguna De Los Tres

Location: 라구나 데 로스 트레스

Accommodation: Camp

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Today you’ll be up early this morning as there is quite a lot to see. After checking Laguna Torres one last time, you’ll hike towards Campamento Poincenot. Passing along Laguna Hija and Madre and you will get your first glimpse of the day over Fitz Roy. Upon reaching camp, you’ll have a bite for lunch. After the break, packing a small day pack with clothes, water and a snack you’ll make your way towards Laguna de los tres. You will pass a small campsite reserved for climbers, after the slope gets steeper. Note that the trail is exposed to the elements -winds, snow-, checking the situation before leaving. After a climb of 400m, you’ll reach the fantastic Laguna de los tres, with its turquoise water, at the foot of Fitz Roy. Magical and so impressive. There are also the emerald waters of Laguna Sucia on the west side.

Day 12 : Laguna De Las Piedras Blancas – Laguna Capri – El Chalten

Location: El Chaltén, Laguna Capri

Accommodation: Camp

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch

This morning you will start with a short hike. Bringing a day pack and following the Rio Blanco to reach the glacier and Laguna de las Piedras Blancas, it is a peaceful place as few hikers make it a visit, preferring their more famous neighbours. Leaving the campsite on the return from the lagunas and heading back towards El Chalten. After another 1h30 of trekking, you´ll reach the Laguna Capri, and its campsite a bit less crowded. If you have extra time available it is possible to extend the experience by camping here also and returning back to town the following morning.

Day 13 : Bus From El Chalten To El Calafate (3H)

Location: El Calafate, Santiago

Meals Included: Breakfast

Domestic flight to Santiago.

What's Included

Accommodation

As detailed in the itinerary section.
Fully Guided

Professional bilingual guide
Meals

As detailed in the itinerary section.

What's Not Included

Additional Services

Not Included.
Insurance

Not Included.
International Travel

Not Included.

Check out our Q&As

Are the local guides on the tour English speaking?

Yes.
What is the maximum group size?

15 People at max.
What is the fitness level required to do this tour?

Medium to High.
Will there be an escort accompanying this tour?

Yes. Professional bilingual guide.
How long has the tour company been trading?

For 3 years

Will the accommodation included meet local health and safety regulations?

Always
What documents will I receive before I travel?

This depends on the type of tour you've booked. If there is paperwork to be sent (i.e. domestic flights etc.) we will forward these to you ahead of time.
Can I join the tour once it has departed?

It can be possible in instances, a lot depends on the type of tour being run and it's accessibility
Am I contributing to any charity by booking the tour?

We don't fund charities directly but we work with local communities where we can to support them and provide resources whenever possible. We utilise local resources with all of our trips so in that respect you are contributing to the local economy and the welfare of it's people.
What Ethical Travel credentials does the tour company have?

At Unu Raymi Expeditions; we’ll always keep our commitment to deliver the best customised experience created from your own personal & group requirements. We’ll provide as many available options for planning your ideal trip; operating & incorporating many off-the-beaten path experiences for your trip or expedition. Before your trip begins we’ll work with you to ensure you are fully prepared and ha
Do you operate a “single share” option and how does it work?

Yes, if you wold like to share facilities with someone this can be organised
What policies are in place for Covid-19?

We are working with the latest protocols issued by the Ministerio de Salud (Ministry of Health) to ensure our operations are safe and compliant for the future. All hygiene standards that are being developed will be adhered to in compliance with state legislation and protocols.
What happens if I need to change my holiday date once I’ve booked?

We have the flexibility to alter trips as necessary if there are travel restrictions in place. For all other changes please refer to our terms and conditions.
Who will be my travelling companions on the tour?

This will depend if you have booked a private or group tour

Reviews from travellers on this tour

Charles Cole UK

O Circuit Trek

20-Jan-2024

My son and I did the 'O' circuit of Torres del Paine which Unu Raymi managed to arrange for us at short notice. It was a fantastic 7-day trip with stunning scenery. What made it special for us was we had a guide (Ivan) and porter (Hugo) who taught us so much about the land the flora and fauna and the history of Chile and. Patagonia. We also met many people doing the same route as us worldwide. I highly recommend Unu Raymi to anyone who would like to visit Patagonia

Father & Son

Pam & Kelly Foyster USA

O Circuit Trek

20-Jan-2024

The staff are AMAZING. I thought we were joining a group but on a private trek! The guide was professional highly qualified incredibly helpful and hyper-focused on our safety and enjoyment the entire time. Our porter did not speak English but was also overqualified (highly skilled climber) for this job and great to be around. We even had a cook (what?!?!) which blew us away because we thought we would be eating in refugios (there is excellent food service even in the tent-only areas. His cooking spoiled us completely and there was always more than enough to eat.

Born to Trek

Brett Schlesinger (USA) USA

O Circuit Trek

20-Jan-2024

This was a trip I will never forget! James @ Unu Raymi was incredibly helpful in preparing me & answering my questions and organizing the trip. He went out of his way to schedule the trek between two other organized expeditions to satisfy my desire to travel.

Trek Hound

Angela Yip UK

O Circuit Trek & El Chalt�n

20-Jan-2024

Although the organization was a bit messy it was eventually a great experience in Patagonia. James has been helpful when there are any unclarity or questions. The 'O' trek and El Chalten have so much to give. The guides are fantastic. They do all they can to make sure I'm safe but also they're a lot of fun!

Trekkeroo!

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Monday - Tuesday

May 20, 2024 - May 21, 2024

~~$2799~~ $2673 (USD)