The O-Circuit: Know Before You Go
HIKING
Booking
If you have ever looked into completing the O-Circuit in Torres del Paine, you may have discovered the confusion around booking this trek. You aren’t alone – I have booked hundreds of trips in my life (not just for me, but also when I used to work as a travel agent), and this is the most confusing thing I have ever booked.
This isn’t a post on explaining the best way to book it – I surely think there would have been a better way than the way we did it. We booked through Torres Hike where we could book all the campsites in one place, however the frustrating and time consuming part was trying to find dates where each campsite had availability.
First we had to pick a starting point – Seron is the most common starting point, although it’s possible to start at Central (which we did) or Paine Grande. Once we found a date with availability, we selected the options we wanted (dorm bed vs tent site, what meals we wanted if any, what gear we wanted to hire if any, etc.) and then you do the same thing for all the following campsites. Seems easy enough, BUT then we would reach a campsite that was fully booked, and we would have to start the entire process again with a different start date. It took us about two or three hours in the end to book!
When to go
The O Trek has a shorter opening period than the W Trek – generally from the the start of November to the start of April. However, this year CONAF closed early with the last date to commence being 29 March. They only changed this about a month out, and we were lucky enough to not be affected as our start date was 26 March.
I was a bit concerned about the weather going so late in the season – Patagonia high season is late November to early February, as this is when there is the least rain. However, due to the unpredictable climate, it kind of is luck of the draw with what weather you will get.
Late March ended up being a great time to go as the fall foliage was in full bloom. The landscapes were vibrant with colour, contrasted against powdered white snow in the higher altitude.
We only had one bad weather day with limited visibility, rain and hail – but out of eight days, we were pretty lucky!
What to Pack
Let it be known that I did NOT pack correctly. However, you can learn from my mistakes! If I were to complete the circuit again at a similar time of year (late March), this is what I would take:
Selecting your starting point: El Calafate vs. Puerto Natales
We arrived at Torres del Paine from Puerto Natales, which after spending a few days in El Calafate afterwards, I would highly recommend the Puerto Natales option. Here's why:
The grocery stores were a lot less expensive (this is to do with Argentina's crazy inflation).
There are more rental options if you need to hire sleeping bag/tent etc.
You don't have any border crossings, which can add a lot of time to your journey.
Read more about my experiences in both destinations:
What I Wish I'd Known...
Some of these I found out the hard way, others were from fellow hikers!
The full board and half board options they try to sell you when prebooking are well overpriced compared to the meals that you can buy directly at the refugios. Sure, you might get a three-course meal vs. a burger or a pizza, but at least the burgers and pizzas are only CLP17,000 including a beer or wine if you wanted to cut back on the meals you carry.
You can't use gas cookers on the trail, only at the refugios you will be sleeping at. So bring food you can eat cold for lunches.
There are power points at all the refugios. You may just have to wait a while to use it!
Crampons are game changing when hiking in snow or icey conditions, and worth the CLP20,000 or so we spent on hiring them! I'd recommend them at the start and towards the end of the season.
Don't bring an inflatable air mattress because they can get punctures on your first night and lead to many rough sleeps...
Bring your passport and PDI form (that you receive from immigration upon entry to Chile) as each refugio will require these.
Waterproof gloves instead of normal gloves, especially in the snow - my normal gloves were useless and I had to wear merino wool socks on my hands!
Each refugio has boiling water for cooking, but ensure you have cash as they ask for a tip.
Remember that even though you feel like your body is falling apart and you are exhausted, the only way out is to just keep going! ;)
