1. Advance Reservations are Required for All Your Campsites (W and Circuit)
You need to have all your campsite reservations in place before you enter the park. “You need to show reservations at each campsite in order to stay. This is being enforced. There are limited campsites so making your reservation is essential. (Overcrowding last year caused camp latrines to collapse and many people got sick. Due to this, multiple campsites are now permanently closed.)”
2. There is an 80 Person Per Day Limit on the Circuit Trek (and it can only be done counterclockwise).
This is passively regulated by the campsite reservation system (that is, if you have all your campsite reservations you are part of the 80 people per day allowed). This is being strictly enforced! There is a guard house (Gaurdería Coirón) on the backside operated by CONAF and and you’ll be asked to show proof of your reservations to proceed. Note: We have received reports of trekkers without reservations being sent back.
Per CONAF: “If you are unable to book in all the camps you want to visit, you must adapt your itinerary according to the camps you could get. Consider that there are two other camping and shelter providers where you can book: Fantastico Sur* and Vertice*. We remind you that if you do not have the corresponding reservations you will not be able to access the mountain trails and you should plan other visit options, as there will be control points where you must show the voucher or confirmation email of your reservation.“
*Note: Can’t get a site on Vertice/Fantastico? Switch to ‘book in chilean pesos‘ – yes it switches to Spanish, but google translate can help you out.
4. There are now cutoff/closing times for most trails
The back page of the Official 2017 Park Trekking Map now has cutoff times listed for many trails—that is you need to start hiking before that time to reach your destination. This is now strictly enforced.
5. The Park now accepts credit cards for the entry fee
Paying by cash is much faster, but unless you are in a car, you’ll need to wait for the rest of your bus to pay before it leaves. We have reports of trekkers waiting almost two hours at the park entry station for their bus of hikers to pay by credit card, get their pass and get back on the bus.
That information supersedes anything you read below. Leave a comment if you have further updates on the changes.
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wildlife includes condor, guanaco, fox, & nandu (rhea)
chance to see a puma … though we just missed seeing one 😦
no need to filter water
it’s a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve
close to the excellent Fitz Roy trek
Considerations
If you can’t get reservations, consider skipping Paine and spending more time in El Chalten instead: Huemul Route and around Fitz Roy
book months in advance!.
forest fires sometimes close the National Park 😦
plan for horrible weather.Bring warm, dry clothes.
rain, sleet, even snow
winds over 100km (62mi) / hour are common
tents break due to wind. Backpack covers blow off and are NEVER recovered!
summer average temperature is 11C (52F)
summer highs maximum of 24C (75 F)
summer lows drop to 0C (33F) plus wind chill
hypothermia, however, is not a big risk during the summer hiking season
days are long in Patagonia during their summer — it is light until at least 10PM
hiking is possible any month though you will be considered loco if you go off-season
most hikers carry their own heavy packs. Porters and pack animals are not much used in Paine aside from “horse treks”.
Carrying a huge pack for up to 10 days is what convinces many hikers to do the “W” instead of the Circuit
tenting is far easier to organize than trying to get a space in the crowded huts (refugios). Still, in January & early February first-come, first-served campsites are crowded
two main accommodation options in the Park:
Campgrounds offering tenting and (sometimes) bunk beds
accommodations run by the 2 private companies range from $10 per person per night for camping to over $75 per person per night for a bed and meals in the refugios. The government (CONAF) camps are free
some refugios are now requiring people to purchase meals even if you tent (Chileno and Los Cuernos required full board meals in 2017-2018)
Paine is expensive. You might spend US$50 on dinner at a refugio, six times as much as for the same meal outside the Park. Carry either plenty of food … or plenty of Chilean pesos.
meals, food, drink and supplies are available in the Park but they are very expensive. Carry as much with you as you can. Buy the rest as you go.
closest ATMs are in Puerto Natales. There are no Automatic Teller Machines in Torres del Paine Park.
tenting is relatively inexpensive compared with food
consider budgeting for an optional boat tour of Lago Grey
rental gear, if needed, can be hired in Puerto Natales
Claire Barber (2023) total booking cost$507 for 2 people and 7 nights of camping. This did not include groceries, food, park pass, or travel to, or accommodations in, Puerto Natales.
We talked to about 20 groups who booked for Paine in 2019. Almost everyone told us you are locked into whatever itinerary you can get booked. But two told us that if you have even just one campsite booked for one night … that it’s possible to continue hiking by making last minute requests at each campground as you go. Don’t count on it. If the campsite is full you’ll be turfed.
Routes
There are two main multi-day routes:
Paine Circuit 100km (62mi), recommended 9 days, 8 nights
the “W”, recommended 5 days, 4 nights
One little used alternative is called the Brush Variant.
the “W” (in red) is far more popular than the Circuit though we like the full Circuit better.
click for larger version
Trekking Guides
Everyone reports that getting their campsites booked independently was difficult and complicated. Nobody is happy with the process.
But we had one strong recommendation for Dittmar Adventures out of Puerto Natales. They can book you for $1,165 W or $2,375 circuit. Or book and guide you for $1,200 W or $2,440 circuit. If you can afford it, this is the easiest way to go.
Those prices are 2019 per person/based on a minimum of 4 people in the group. Ask if you can join one of their groups.
This section is for those who would like to do Paine independently.
Paine is far from Santiago, the capital of Chile. And far from Buenos Aires.
the Park is in Patagonia about 51 degrees south
many hikers fly LanChile from Santiago into Punta Arenas, the largest city south of the 46th parallel, but the jumping off point for treks is 247km (153 mi) away – the small town of Puerto Natales
Puerto Natales is the final passenger port of call for the Navimag ferry sailing from Puerto Montt.
many Paine hikers also trek Fitz Roy and / or the Huemul Route in Argentina on the same trip. Access to Fitz Roy is out of El Calafate, Argentina. It is easy to bus between El Calafate and Puerto Natales.
many hikers would like to bus directly to Paine from El Calafate. We keep hearing rumours that such a route runs during high season but we’ve never found it.
Park shuttles take you to any of a number of trailheads
Hosteria los Torres is a popular starting point for the entire Circuit
for the “W” the most popular start is Lago Pehoe
it is mandatory to book reservations for camping and refugio shelters prior to entering Torres del Paine National Park
there are free campsites run by the Chilean government (CONAF) and sites run by two different private companies (Fantastico Sur and Vertice Patagonia).
This is a great and extremely informative article! My husband and I did some trekking in TDP too and also took the Navimag ferry and really enjoyed it. This brings back good memories, thanks!
Absolutely agree it’s definately the most beautiful hike we’ve ever done (we’ve done quite a few)! We did the circuit in March 2016 in 7 days http://stingynomads.com/torres-del-paine-complete-trekking-guide/ and the scenery kept surprising us every day, absolute beauty! Would like to come back one day, maybe in wintertime.
besthike.com 
This is a great and extremely informative article! My husband and I did some trekking in TDP too and also took the Navimag ferry and really enjoyed it. This brings back good memories, thanks!
We hiked the W in February of 2015, and hiked the trails of FitzRoy on the same trip. I compiled all my trip notes and photographs into a webpage.
http://www.enyedy00.com/ArtsVacations/Patagonia2015/Notes.htm
Absolutely agree it’s definately the most beautiful hike we’ve ever done (we’ve done quite a few)! We did the circuit in March 2016 in 7 days http://stingynomads.com/torres-del-paine-complete-trekking-guide/ and the scenery kept surprising us every day, absolute beauty! Would like to come back one day, maybe in wintertime.
Awesome. We’ve linked to your posts from our COST section on this page: