Detailed Itinerary
Day 0: Meeting day
Briefing with the guide at our Expedition office at - 5pm.
Gear check and itinerary review.
Day 1: Puerto Natales - Campsite Grey.
In the morning, your private transportation will take you to the first stop of the day. The spectacular Natural monument Milodon Cave. This location is the site of 3 natural caves where the remains of the very large Patagonian land sloth was found and has now been turned into a very important scientific and paleontological site, with a visitor center. We walk for 45 min through the main cave while the guide explains all the details of the caves and the area. Afterwards we will proceed with our journey to the National Park Torres del Paine and will continue to the catamaran GREY III that will take us for approximately 2 hours over Lago Grey to Campsite Grey. During this catamaran ride we will get the chance to get very close to the three faces of Glacier grey and to see many icebergs that have carved of the glacier wall. We will be dropped of at a beach that is about 10 min away from our campsite.
Day 2: Campsite Grey – Grey Glacier Lookout – Campsite Paine Grande.
On our second day, we start a half-day hike up to a viewpoint high up on the hill. During this hike, we will cross two hanging bridges to get to an encompassing view over Glacier Grey. We will be able to do this section of the hike with a light daypack. Coming back to camp, we will pick up our backpacks and start our hike the 11 km back to Paine Grande, where we will stay for the night. This campground is known for its amazing views and strong gusts of wind that can make camping an altogether more challenging experience.
Day 3: Campsite Paine Grande – Valle Francés – Campsite Francés.
On this day, we make our way to the beautiful Valle del Francés. Starting our walk to Campsite Italiano over rolling hills we will arrive at the ranger station at the foot of the valley. here we drop down our big backpacks and prepare our small daypacks for the hike up into the valley. There are 2 viewpoints to hike to; to get to the first viewpoint called Francés, it will take us 1 hour of hiking up some steep parts of the valley. From this viewpoint, you can enjoy the view of the hanging glacier coming down from the largest mountain in the park, the Paine Grande mountain. From here, it is another hour and a half to get to the second viewpoint, Británico. This next part of the trail is in the forest, very relaxing with boulder fields here and there and an amazing 360° open view around you. After having taken your picture while standing on the rock formation at the end of the valley, we turn around and get back to Campsite Italiano. Here we pick up our backpacks again and finish the day with another half an hour hike to our campground for the night, Francés.
Day 4: Campsite Francés – Bader Valley – Campsite / Refugio Los Cuernos.
From Camping Francés, we only walk for an hour and a half to Refugio Cuernos. Here we drop our unnecessary gear and proceed only with a lightweight backpack. Today we are going to enter the ¨Valle Bader¨. This valley you can only enter with a certified guide due to the difficult trail that gets you very close to the granite walls, formed 12.6 million years ago. This is a day without the crowds and amazing high mountain views. Walking up into the valley, we will get an exceptional view of the southern area of the National park. We walk so far up that you get the feeling as if the mountains are hovering over you. Ending the hike at a small lake where we will have lunch. We will follow the same trail back to campsite Los Cuernos, where we stay overnight.
Day 5: Campsite Los Cuernos – Campsite / Refugio Chileno.
Today will bring us to the ¨Ascencio Valley. We will cross the Patagonian steppe, cover steep inclines and descents with views overlooking Lago Nordenskjold and up against the impressive walls of the Cuernos formation and the Almirante Nieto Mountain. Around every corner, you will find a different perspective of the Patagonian landscape. After a few hours of hiking, we get to the ¨shortcut¨, a trail that will take us up to the Ascencio Valley where we will find Refugio Chileno next to the river, our campsite for the night.
Day 6: Base Torres hike – Puerto Natales.
This is the day we will have an early start to hike up to the 'Torres' and see the famous golden glow while sunrise. From Refugio Chileno we start walking in the dark through the Magellanic forests for an hour until getting to Camp Torres. Here with a bit more day light we will have to start climbing our way up for 45 min to get to the 'Mirador' where we will be able to see the three towers standing in front of the glacial lake. After having enjoyed the spectacle at the towers, we will make our way back down to the base of the Valley, at the Hotel Las Torres. This marks the end of our trekking. Here we take our private transportation to Laguna Amarga, the entrance of the national park, and back to Puerto Natales.
Departure from/ return Puerto Natales