Torres del Paine National Park Travel Guide

Travel to Torres del Paine National Park - Chile’s most spectacular scenery

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Sitting in the centre of a barren, flat and dreary landscape is a view to die for. Rising up from nowhere is the Paine Massif, a mountain whose main body has two towering peaks – the horns’ both over 2600m tall.

The enormous hulk of rock is cut into by two valleys, the Valle Ascencio and the Valle del Francés. On the western edge is the Glaciar Grey, more than 7km wide and stretching back into the 10,000 square kilometres of ice field known as the Campo de Hielo Sur – the largest ice field outside of the polar regions.

The Valle Ascencio hides three Torres del Paine (Paine Towers), Torre Monzino at 2600m, Torre Central at 2800m and Torre D’Agostini at 2850m. Guarding the entrance to the Valle del Frances, a valley that is perhaps the most beautiful in the park surrounded but a towering wall of broken mountains, are the Cuernos del Paine, incredible dark rocky peaks that take your breath away.

Visitors come from all over the world to hike in this national park, and hiking is the only way to take in the staggering scenery. Two extremely popular hikes exist. The first is the traditional Circuit that those with more time choose. Taking at least a week to complete it gives you far more opportunity to absorb the incredible surroundings and takes you through a greater number of jaw-dropping locations. The second is the W trail, which takes you directly to the towers, the star attractions, in a more intense, but far shorter, crisscrossing journey through the park.

Attractions in Torres del Paine National Park

In the Torres del Paine National Park, you can experience the Cuernos del Paine – strange dark smooth peaks that look unearthly; Valle del Frances – a stunning valley cutting through the Torres Veneta the Paine Massif; Glaciar Grey – a huge glacier 7km wide emanating from the Campo de Hielo Sur and the beginnings of Campo de Hielo Sur – the largest ice field outside of the polar regions.

Activities in Torres del Paine National Park

Two main hikes, the Circuit and the W take you to the park’s star attractions.
A series of day-long walks take you off the beaten track to lagoons and rivers.
 

Relaxing

Put your feet up inside the dining room of one of the cozy lodges around Torres del Paine, enjoy a glass of fine Chilean wine and tuck into a hearty local meal.

Getting Around

You can catch a bus from Puerto Natales, but outside its limited timetable, transport can be difficult to get hold of, unless you are part of an organised tour.

Torres del Paine National Park Reviews