It doesn’t matter if you are doing the popular W or O circuits or going on smaller trips, planning a visit to Torres del Paine can be a hard nut to crack.
First, the park is quite far from the nearest towns; secondly, the transport within the park can be complicated, accommodation very expensive and online information confusing.
Before getting into what exactly we did during our three days in Torres del Paine, I would like to elaborate shortly on the means of transport we used during all three days since this information may be crucial for some people:
As mentioned in the Argentina and Chile post, probably the easiest option to get to Torres del Paine without a car, is to take a bus from Puerto Natales. There are two main companies that can take you there and help you move within the park – Bus Sur and Transporte Gomez.
We used Bus Sur.
Here is the list of the bus stops within the park with their schedules:
https://www.bussur.com/torres-del-paine/
(Actually, I believe this was one of the most useful websites I found during the research for our Torres del Paine trip. You are welcome :)).
SO WHAT DID WE DO IN TORRES DEL PAINE?
We didn’t want to do the W trek since we were short on time and my physical condition was not ideal, so we decided to do three individual trips (staying 2 nights in the park).
MIRADOR DE LOS CUERNOS, LAGO AND GREY GLACIER and MIRADOR LAS TORRES.
MIRADOR DE LOS CUERNOS
Mirador de los Cuernos overlooking the mountain in the shape of horns (los Cuernos) is considered one of the most beautiful viewpoints in the Torres del Paine park.
The closest bus stop is the Pudeto stop at the breathtaking Lake Pehoé (one of the most beautiful lakes in the park) serving as well as the stop for the catamaran to Paine Grande.
The bus stop is located next to a small café where you can use toilets and get coffee, beer, soup, panini and other snacks.
The Mirador de los Cuernos is situated around a 90-minute walk from the café; the hike is not physically demanding and can be done by almost everyone, children included. The terrain is nice, following a tourist trail with a very modest incline.
Just a few minutes’ walk from the café you can find the beautiful Salto Grande waterfall.
From the Pudeto stop you can take a bus to another location in the park (since the Mirador de los Cuernos won’t take you more than three hours, you will have enough time), or get accommodation nearby. We were staying in the hotel called Hostería Pehoé. From outside, the hotel looks fabulous since it is located on an island in the middle of the lake and is accessible using a tiny bridge only.
From inside, the reception and restaurant are quite nice, the rooms are comparable to a two-star hotel (or even less) in Europe (at least the one where we stayed).
Hostería Pehoé is situated a little less than one hour walking from the café at Pudeto but also a bus can take you to the hotel, you just need to agree with the Bus Sur drivers stopping at the café. Not all the buses will go in that direction but the ones that do don’t have any problem stopping at the Hostería (for a small fee).
Even when it is not an official bus stop, you can take a bus from the Hostería as well, you just need to stand next to the road and wave at the driver. It is better when you check upfront with some of the drivers to find out the exact times when some of the buses will be passing along (or you can guess the time based on the schedule for the other bus stops).
For our stay in Hostería Pehoé we paid 250 USD for the room/night.
The link to the webpage of Hosteriá Pehoé: https://www.hosteriapehoe.cl/
If you have enough time or are looking for a short trip, there is also one Mirador located just one hour walking from the hotel – Mirador de los condores.
GREY GLACIER
After visiting MIRADOR DE LOS CUERNOS and sleeping in Hostería Pehoé, we took Bus Sur from the Hostería to LAGO GREY where we hopped on a cruise to the GREY GLACIER.
The cruise costs 80 USD per person and can be booked here:
https://www.lagogrey.com/en/navigation/
The bus stop is located next to the Lago Grey Hotel where you need to change your vouchers for tickets. To get to the boat you will need to walk for a few minutes through a forest. The beginning of the forest trail isn’t right next to the hotel but around a 10-minute drive away. On the way there the Bus Sur driver took us and on the way back a nice Costa Rican couple offered us a lift.
The Lago Grey Hotel is quite an experience in itself. The reception and restaurant are ultra-modern with a huge glass window offering amazing views of the lake. It is worth getting a coffee there.
MIRADOR DE LAS TORRES
During our third day in Torres del Paine we visited the famous MIRADOR DE LAS TORRES.
From Lago Grey we took the Bus Sur bus to Laguna Amarga. We were spending the night in the Refugio Central hostel, where we got by a shuttle from Laguna. Usually there are vans coming to Refugio Norte and Central waiting for arrivals of Bus Sur buses to Laguna Amarga. Mostly they are white vans and drivers of Bus Sur should be able to direct you towards them. To get back from the hostel, you can also take the van (they will tell you the exact departure time at the hostel; it was 7 pm in our case).
Regarding the trip to Mirador de las Torres, from Refugio Central to MIRADOR DE LAS TORRES and back it is a full day’s hike. Except for the last hour, which is a steep struggle through difficult terrain, I would consider the hike as having moderate difficulty. It is long and a lot of it is uphill, but the terrain is nice, and it is not dangerous. The last hour isn’t dangerous either (no scary bluff you could fall from) but the terrain is mostly rocks which are difficult to walk through and the incline is quite high. The strong wind can be quite annoying as well.
Refugio Chileno is located in the middle of the trail. You can have a break there, use the bathroom and buy some refreshments. Note that you shouldn’t leave Refugio Chileno for your trip to Mirador de las Torres later than at 2pm to still complete the hike during daylight.
The link to book beds in Refugio Central is here https://lastorres.com/refugios/refugio-central/
