Backpack Patagonia's Torres del Paine Circuit

Far-south Patagonia serves up a trekker’s paradise. Condors soar over vast windswept plains and turquoise lakes, populated with flamingoes, guanacos and Darwin’s Rheas. Towers of sheer granite burst upward from craggy fault-block mountain ranges, drawing the world’s best climbers and trekkers to their well-marked trails and lively camps and refugios. The fourth–largest ice sheet in the world is very close, driving a volatile local climate and spawning hundreds of dramatic, low-elevation glaciers, lakes, and a moonscape of moraines. Early risers can catch the sunrise alpenglow on the spires reflected in crystal lakes below, and perhaps catch glimpses of endemic Magellanic Owls and Woodpeckers.

Crowds visit the easily-accessed ’W’ trek along the south face of the Paine massif, but only hardy souls who walk the windy miles and camp can capture the crown jewel of this amazing region: the remote peaks, lakes, pinnacles and vast glaciers of the full 65-mile Torres del Paine backcountry circuit. Camp on a lake overlooking the fabled Cuernos or Horns of Paine; cross a high pass overlooking the Southern Patagonian Icefield; explore far up the Valle Frances to the backside of the famed Paine Towers; visit the Valle Bader, a path deep into the Paine Massif to towers and lake views that can't be accessed without a guide; and camp and explore the seldom-seen backcountry right under the Paine Towers with a chance for a spectacular sunrise view. With backpacks you can experience remote, stunning places few visitors get to see, while enjoying hearty food, warm shelter and international camaraderie at refugios interspersed between camps along the route. 

This route-place is readily combined with a trip to Argentina's Los Glaciares National Park and Fitzroy!

• Suitable Activities: Global Adventures
• Seasons: January, February, March, April, December
• Weather: View weather forecast

• Difficulty: Moderate/Strenuous
• Length: 65.0 mi

• Land Manager: Land Manager Varies
• Parking Permit Required: see Land Manager
• Recommended Party Size: 12
• Maximum Party Size: 14
• Maximum Route/Place Capacity: 12