The O circuit, Torres del Paine. Which campsites do I stay at? How do I plan when there are three different companies (YUP)? What do these names even mean? How much can I walk in a day? These were all questions I had before heading to South America. Patagonia was my number one spot to visit, but figuring out the O circuit in Torres del Paine seemed especially daunting to me.
As of the 2016 season, it is required to book all campsites in advance! Gone are the days where you can just walk however you feel like walking, show up at a site, and be able to stay there. Sure, this process is HIGHLY annoying, but it is helping preserve the park.
I don’t have some magic website that will save you from the hassle of booking, but find out below tips on trekking the O circuit in Torres del Paine.
who do you book your o circuit with
As mentioned above, you need to book your campsites with THREE different companies – CONAF, Vertice, and Fantastico Sur for the O Circuit in Torres del Paine. Yes, this means checking three different websites for availability. Below are the campsites that each company owns.
Fantastico Sur
- Torre Central – C/R
- Chileno – C*/R
- Seron – C
- Frances – C/R
- Cuernos – C*/R
Vertice
- Dickson – C/R
- Los Perros – C
- Grey – C/R
- Paine Grande – C/R
CONAF (aka free!)
- Torres (currently being restored) – C
- Paso – C
- Italiano – C
R=Refugio
C=Camping
C*=Camping+Required Food Purchase (not sure why this is a thing?!)
*** If you are renting a tent and/or gear (so you do not carry it with you), you are unable to do so at CONAF sites!
where do you start the o circuit
If you are doing the W trek (normally 3-5 days), this leaves you with options as you can walk along the trail in both directions. However, if you are doing the full O circuit (normally 7-9 days), you can only do so counterclockwise – this leaves you with two options:
- Starting at Paine Grande
- Take the catamaran from Porteria Lago Sarmiento (after checking in/paying at Garderia Maguna Amarga)
- Begin your hike by walking towards Italiano
- Starting at Torre Central
- Take the shuttle from Garderia Maguna Amarga (after checking in/paying)
- Begin your hike walking towards Seron
suggested O circuit routes
- Night 1 – Seron
- Night 2- Dickson
- Night 3 – Los Perros
- Night 4 – Grey (you skip the free site of Paso, but get the entire John Gardner pass done in one day)
- Night 5 – Paine Grande
- Night 6 – Italiano/Frances (go up to Mirador Britcanico)
- Night 7 – Torres/Torre Central (Torres was closed for 17-18 season) (go up to towers on Day 8)
or
- Night 1 – Paine Grande (go up to Mirador Britcanico Day 1)
- Night 2 – Frances (go up to the Towers Day 2)
- Night 3 – Torres/ Torre Central
- Night 4 – Seron
- Night 5 – Dickson
- Night 6 – Los Perros
- Night 7 – Grey
*After you decide on your route, you will need to check availability on all three websites before you book a single one – I suggest making an excel spreadsheet
*In my opinion, don’t skip a single campsite on the backside (Seron, Dickson, Los Perros)
costs of torres del paine
- Park Entrance (foreign) = $21,000 CLP ($35 USD)
- Bus from Puerto Natales to Torres del Paine = $15,000 CLP (round trip) ($25 USD)
- Shuttle = $3,000 CLP (each way) ($5 USD)
- Catamaran = $18,000 CLP (one way), $28,000 CLP (round trip) ($30 USD)
- Camping = free to 13,000 CLP/pp ($22 USD)
- Refugio = up to $143,000 CLP/pp ($237 USD) – not a typo!
As you can see, visiting Torres del Paine is not cheap!
*Schedules found here
*Check individual websites as prices change depending on the time of year
general info on the o circuit
- why should I do the O circuit?
- Fewer people, gorgeous views, making friends… list could continue – just do it!
- how much water do I need to carry?
- On the backside, there are water sources about every hour and on the W, about every half hour (I suggest a 1L bottle with you)
- are there bathrooms?
- Every campsite besides the CONAF sites (which just have a hole in the ground!) have flushable toilets. Yup, you read that right. This was a shock to me and I felt like I was glamping, but I suppose if I gave it any thought, it is necessary for the number of people visiting the park. If you need to go while walking along the trail, make sure to take all trash with you!
- how smelly will I be after the O circuit?
- This one is up to you… as all the sites have showers (again, besides the CONAF sites). And all of them but Los Perros has warm water! Glamping… amiright?!
- how is the weather?
- Only mother nature knows this one… plan for all four seasons (bring layers) and know that the wind can be insane
- can I start a camp fire?
- NO! All cooking must be done at designated “cooking spots”
- what if I can’t book one of the campsites I need?
- Not sure the best answer to tell you on this – try playing with the dates as much as you can and wait to book your transportation. Also, continue to check the website as it seems people would cancel and spaces would open up closer to the date. However, I went in shoulder season (end of February/beginning of March) and due to a luggage issue, we were able to push all reservations one day later without issue
- I’ve heard I can just walk up to a campsite and camp if I have my own tent, is that true?
- Not really as they’ve started cracking down on this. There are check in points where they will ask to see your reservations for campsites and a few campsites (such as Dickson and Grey for me) had printouts of who should be camping there. As stated earlier, the reservations are to help preserve the park, so do your best!
- I can’t live without internet, what do I do?!
- Well maybe don’t do the O circuit… but Grey, Paine Grande, Cuernos, and Las Torres do all have WiFi for a fee – word on the street is it is $5 USD for one hour (no, I did not use it!)
- what if I run out of food?
- On the backside, I believe you can purchase snacks at all the refugios. At Dickson, you can buy dinner/breakfast (from a friend, this was the best food on circuit… and I will say the dessert I was gifted for breakfast from one of the employees was quite good!) On the W, every refugio has a minimarket AND restaurant – but be warned, the minimarket is three times the price of the food in Puerto Natales and according to friends, the food along the W portion was just instant mashed potatoes, etc
Any more questions on the O circuit in Torres del Paine? Let me know!
