Understand the Booking System
of Torres Del Paine
When you look into hiking Torres del Paine you find the names of Las Torres (Fantastico Sur), Vertice and Conaf and notice how messy it is going to be. At first, everything seems really complicated as those 3 organizations are run independently and manage different parts of the park… meaning that in order to book your stay in the park, you have to jump from one website to another and plan based on each availability.
Let’s be honest, it is an absolute mind-boggling nightmare.
Well, we got you covered. As part of our South American tour, we booked all our accommodations in Torres del Paine National Park only 3 days before starting our 7-days hike. We also worked for 10 days in the park for a conservation project which really helped us to truly understand from the inside how it really works.
In this article, we will detail all the things you need to know about booking your stay in Torres del Paine..
THe Torres del Paine Trek Options
The “W” trek :
As its name suggests it, the “W” trek will take you on a path of the shape of the letter. It corresponds to the southern part of the park and can be done from East to West and Vice et Versa.
The trek takes you either way, from the Grey glacier to the famous Torres via the French Valley and along the lakes Nordenskjöld, Grey and Pehoe.
It is the most common option taken by the visitors as it is an easy 3 to 5 days walk that links the most famous parts of the park.
The “O” trek :
The trek is a circuit (loop) that can only be done anticlockwise from Torres Central. It’s a 7 to 11 days journey across the north side of the park that continues onto the “W” path for the latest 3 or 4 days. You will cross the sites of Serron, Dickson and Los Perros before attacking the Pass John Gardner at 1241 masl with incredible views over the Patagonian ice-field.
You will then hike back down to the Grey glacier to start the “W” route. This trek is a bit more challenging because of its length, many muddy parts, bridges, a high pass and the strong Patagonian winds.
RELATED: hiking the Torres Del Paine Circuit, O trek
WHO RUNS Torres del Paine sleeping options
Torres del Paine park is split into two parts: a private and public land. Both of the treks “O” and “W” go through the two parts. This is, therefore, impacting the management of the National Park and the booking system.
Las Torres (was Fantastico Sur)
La torres is the company that runs the private land of Torres del Paine, also known as “La Estancia Cerro Paine”.
Belonging to the Kusanovic family since 1979 with the purpose of cattling, the 4400 hectares are now mainly oriented toward tourism. On that matter, they have built refuges, hotels and campsites on their land, along the W and the O treks.
Those are Torres Central, Los Cuernos, El Chileno, Torres Norte and Serron.
Vertice
Vertice is the second company that takes care of the paid campsites and refuges of the park. However, they only run those which are located on the public land of the park.
Vertice is therefore in charge of Dickson, Los Perros, Grey and Grande Paine. We were once told the company belonged to the Kusanovic family, just like Las Torres, but couldn’t find any proof to support this.
Conaf
Conaf is a private agency in which the state of Chile is involved to develop and manage the national forests. Despite not being a public organization, Conaf is however funded by the Minister of Agriculture and takes care of all the national parks, reserves and biosphere of Chile.
Within the Torres del Paine national park, Conaf manages the entrances fees that are compulsory and offer free campsites. As of 2019-2020 Conaf will only open El Paso and Italiano. The others (Base Las Torres, Britanico, Las Guardas…) are closed for the season.
The campsites are pretty rustic compared to the other ones (no shower or electricity) and they need to be booked at least 6 months in advance.
The type of accommodations in torres del paine
Refugio
There are 8 refugios: Torres Central, Torres Norte, Los Cuernos, El Chileno, Dickson, El Francès, Grey and Paine Grande.
The refuges consist of dorms with bunk beds or singles. Depending on the accommodation you will have to pay for a made-up bed or bring your own sleeping bag, see below what is offered per refugio.
All the “huts” have separated communal bathrooms with hot showers. They often also offer a cafeteria, restaurant, grocery store and even internet. The price range goes from $32 to $210 per night per person depending on the refuge and the extras: made-up bed, full board, etc.
Las Torres
- Refugio Torre Central: made-up bed only
- Refugio Torre Norte: made-up bed or simple bed (own sleeping bag)
- Refugio El Chileno and Los Cuernos: simple bed (own sleeping bag) or bed with sleeping bag included
- Cabins Los Cuernos: made-up bed only
Price: from $95 to $180 per night per person – note that if you bring your own sleeping bag you get a $5 discount.
Vertice
- Refugio Grande Paine: made-up bed or simple bed (own sleeping bag)
- Refugio Grey: made-up bed or simple bed (own sleeping bag)
- Refugio Los Perros: simple bed (own sleeping bag)
- Refugio Dickson: simple bed (own sleeping bag)
Price: from $37 to $87 per night per person
Noe: Meals are not included in the price and they must be booked in advance. If you decide to bring your own cooking pots and food, you will need to go to the camping facilities as it is forbidden to cook your own food inside the Refugios.
Hotel
There is one hotel run by the Kusanovic family, located at Torres Central on the Estancia Cerro Torre.
The “Ranch Cerro Negro” offers luxury services such as SPA, massage and gastronomic meals. The fruit and veg are grown on-site in their organic garden.
> The prices per night for a single start at $360 but can go as high as $1800!
Eco-Camp
There is one Eco-Camp also located at Torres Central, on private land.
It offers sustainable domes and sports activities to the hosts. It is a beautiful place that overlooks the whole Torres Central site and the lake Nordenskjöld.
To book you will need to go through the company “Cascada Expediciones” that manages this Eco-Camp for the private Estancia. They mainly offer packages such as Wildlife safari and Multisports adventure.
> Prices vary from $600 for a 2 days tour to $3500 9-days hike.
Campsites
There are 11 camping in Torres del Paine (either free or paid) along the “W” and “O” treks.
The price range for the paid campsites goes from $8 to $150 per night! Same story as for the Refugio, it really depends on the camp itself, the season and the extras.
Las Torres
- Campsite Torre Central: own tent or rental
- Camping Séron: own tent or rental
- Camping Los Cuernos: own tent or rental
- Camping El Chileno: own tent or rental
- Camping Francès: own tent or rental
Price: from $16 to $49 per night per person – note that if you bring your own sleeping bag you get a $5 discount. – rental are excluded: tent 2 pax ($20 to $27) and sleeping bag ($16 to $23)
Opening time:
High season: from November to March
Low season: September/October and April
Campsites are closed from May to August but refugios are opened on the W only.
Vertice
- Camping Grande Paine: own tent or rental
- Camping Grey: own tent or rental
- Camping Los Perros: own tent or rental
- Camping Dickson: own tent or rental
Price: $11 just for the camping spot – If you want to rent a tent ($30) or a sleeping bag ($22), towels ($8), etc. it is extra
Opening time: October to April
Conaf
- Camping El Paso: own tent
- Camping: Italiano: own tent
Price: both campsites are free but must be booked in advance
Opening time:
Paso from November to April and Italiano from October to April
The other infrastructures
On each sleeping site, there are flushing toilets and hot showers (except on Conaf’s). We were not expecting this and had packed up packs of baby wipes… No need! Just bring a towel and soap, and hop in a hot shower (sometimes cold…) after a long day of trekking.
You will also be able to buy your dinners, breakfast and packed lunches or even buy beers and snacks at the grocery stores. Of course, be prepared to pay an outrageous price. And do not forget you are in Chile, in Patagonia… so whatever price you are thinking of right now, multiply it by 2!
Well, this being said, we would suggest you pack up on chocolate bars, and prepare yourself on a dry-holiday, unless you decide to carry beers and bottles of wine. That’s your choice!
Summary
Here is an infographic I have created to summarise the booking options you have in Torres del Paine. I hope this will be useful.
