The towers that give the park its name are three columns of granite left standing by the ice, hidden from the road at the head of a valley. Seeing them takes a long day on foot. These three nights in the park build up to it: a first walk to read the geography of the massif, then the full hike to the base of the towers.
Day 1 · Torres del Paine
Highlight · First sight of the park, reached from Puerto Natales or across the border from El Calafate.
Arrival in the park, from Puerto Natales or across the border from El Calafate.
Night · Torres del Paine
Day 2 · Laguna Escondida
Highlight · A natural lookout over the whole massif, up in the Sierra Chacabuco.
Walk · Laguna Escondida · 4 h
A walk up the Sierra Chacabuco through thick vegetation to Laguna Escondida, a natural lookout over the whole massif.
Night · Torres del Paine
Day 3 · The base of the towers
Highlight · The moraine at the foot of the Torres del Paine, after the climb through lenga forest.
Walk · Base of the Towers · 8–9 h
The big day: on foot through three landscapes, steppe, forest and mountain. The trail climbs a valley of lenga forest and crosses wooden bridges over streams that fall from the hanging glaciers of Monte Almirante Nieto, to the moraine at the foot of the Torres del Paine. The hike is guided in a small group of two to twelve walkers from around the world, with a box lunch on the trail.
Night · Torres del Paine
Day 4 · Torres del Paine
Highlight · A last morning under the massif before leaving the park.
A last morning in the park before leaving.
