The O-Circuit: Intro + Day One
HIKING
This trek was not for the faint hearted - which, as it turns out, maybe I am faint hearted after all!
What I thought would be a relatively easy hike was made much more challenging with a 22kg backpack with a sleeping bag and mat, a weeks worth of food and gas canisters to name a few items. Luckily I did not carry the tent because I think that might have been the end of me!
We wanted to do the trek as cheaply as possible, because it can get very expensive, very quickly. All up we paid around AUD300 each, including campsites, national park tickets, and the occasional glass of wine and one treat meal after the hardest day.
Would I recommend doing it this way? Probably not, unless you are a lot fitter than me (although to be honest, that probably wouldn't be too hard!). I will explain what changes I would make further down in the post! But first, here is a quick day-by day of our trekking adventure.
Getting to the Torres del Paine National Park
We caught the 7:05am Bus Sur bus from Puerto Natales to Laguna Amarga that we booked the day before on the Busbud app (AUD20.50/USD27.20 per person). There were several buses to choose from, this wasn't the earliest usually but due to booking last minute the earlier buses were sold out.
It's then about 7km from Laguna Amarga to the Welcome Centre, the entrance to the park. Once you get off your bus, you will be required to show your national park tickets to the rangers before either making the walk or catching the CLP4,000 (cash only) shuttle to the Welcome Centre. We definitely opted for the shuttle option!
Day One - Mirador Las Torres
Typically, this is the last stop of the O-Circuit. However due to availability, we could only make all our campsite bookings work if we booked a night at Central as our first night, and did the Mirador Las Torres hike on the day we arrived.
The bonus to doing it this way around opposed to our last stop, is we were feeling fresh and energized and excited to get going. The downside was, it wasn't possible to do this as a sunrise hike as we arrived at the Central camping ground at 9:40am.
It's only a 5 minute walk from the Welcome Centre to Camping Central, where you check in with your reservation and passport, and then are free to set up your tent, pack your lunches and day packs, and leave your large bags. By the time we had done all that, it was 11:15am once we were on our way!
The hike up was stunning - you wind your way through dense forests, across wooden bridges over the river, and scrambling up rocky terrain, gradually ascending towards the base of the towers. As the trail ascends, the scenery becomes more dramatic, with glimpses of the towering peaks through the trees.
Refugio Chileno is just over halfway up the mountain, and is a good spot to stop and make lunch if you haven't yet already, or to use the washroom (be prepared to pay a small cash fee of CLP500).
After about 3.5 hours of hiking, you reach the Mirador Las Torres, offering a panoramic view of the three granite towers and a turquoise glacial lake. We stayed up the top for about 45min to take our photos and eat our packed lunch - but it's also worth allowing some extra time in case of cloud coverage. Thankfully due to the wind, if there is coverage when you get up the top, you will (hopefully) get some blue skies if you are patient!
The descent was only about 2 hours, and by the time we made our way back down (leaving the top about 3:15pm), the wind started to pick up so we had on all our layers. We arrived back at camp just after 5pm, in time to use the hot showers and cook our dinner under the shelter of the cooking tent (which actually acted more like a wind tunnel thanks to the direction of the wind!).
The first night was a bit chilly, BUT it only got worse from here, so I really should have appreciated it whilst I could!
DAY ONE FAST FACTS:
Time it was meant to take: 7/9 hours
Time it actually took us: 6.5 hours
Trail conditions: Mostly dry, no snow, rocky at the top
Distance: 18km
Campsite cost: USD$35 per person
Top Tip: I found the showers at the Central refugio to be the best out of the whole trek - they were hot, good pressure, and nearly empty! I guess because this is most peoples first or last stop, they don't bother showering here!