W Trek Patagonia, Torres del Paine: map, stages, weather and gear
The exact gear list for this trek, built on the real weather along the route: the night at the highest sleeping point, the heat at the low point, rain and snow month by month, then each stage and where to sleep there.
- Distance
- 50 mi
- Duration
- 5 stages from Las Torres Patagonia, W Circuit 5D/4N
- Elevation gain
- ≈ 2,297 ft per day
- High point
- 2,854 ft Mirador Base Torres
- Nights
- In huts highest: Chileno, 1,345 ft
- Season
- Nov → Mar
- Field data
- 12 hikers including 5 with no commercial link
Torres del Paine W Trek in November: what to pack?
8 required items and 11 advised for a November departure, the first month of the season. Every threshold comes from the route’s weather and from what 12 hikers really had in their packs.
- RequiredRain jacket 10,000 mmRain on 44% of days, 0.16 in on wet days: waterproof rating of 10,000 mm or more
- RequiredInsulated jacketEvenings and nights down to 32°F
- RequiredSunscreen SPF 50UV 9: SPF 50
- RequiredSunglasses cat. 4Snow possible: category 4
- RequiredWater 1 L2 h without a water source at 54°F: carry 1 L
- RequiredWaterproof shoesSnow possible: waterproof membrane; high or low cut, whichever suits your foot
- RequiredHeadlamp 200 lmStarts before dawn
- RequiredPack 25–40 L5 days with nights in huts: 25 to 40 L, rated to carry 17.6 lb
- AdvisedRain pantsRain on 44% of days
- AdvisedPack coverKeeps your pack dry (not needed if the pack has a built-in cover)
- AdvisedBeanieNights at 32°F
- AdvisedGlovesMornings at 32°F
- AdvisedHat UPF 40UV 9: neck and face covered
- AdvisedMerino socks5 days: merino picks up less odor
- AdvisedTrekking poles2,297 ft of climbing per day, with a loaded pack: easier on your knees downhill
- AdvisedGaitersSnow possible
- AdvisedBase layerIn the pack of 9 of 12 hikers (3 of 5 with no commercial link)
- AdvisedSandalsIn the pack of 9 of 12 hikers (4 of 5 with no commercial link); for the evening, at camp or in the shower
- AdvisedPower bankIn the pack of 10 of 12 hikers (4 of 5 with no commercial link); 10,000 mAh or more; on a plane, 100 Wh at most, in the cabin and never in checked baggage, 2 at most per person, and don’t recharge it on board
Torres del Paine W Trek: your pack, for your dates.
Change the month, the length or the type of night: we recalculate the weather and build the gear list, product by product, with the price and the weight.
Torres del Paine W Trek: the weather month by month
10-year normals (2015-2024), brought to the route’s elevation. Nights are the coldest expected at Chileno (1,345 ft), days the hottest at Paine Grande (131 ft). For a departure within 9 days, the tool above uses MET Norway forecasts instead of normals.
| Month | Nights | Days | Rainy days | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | down to 36°F | up to 61°F | 54% | — |
| February | down to 36°F | up to 63°F | 57% | — |
| March | down to 34°F | up to 59°F | 56% | possible |
| April | down to 30°F | up to 52°F | 52% | possible |
| May | down to 27°F | up to 46°F | 43% | possible |
| June | down to 23°F | up to 43°F | 46% | possible |
| July | down to 21°F | up to 43°F | 49% | possible |
| August | down to 23°F | up to 43°F | 43% | possible |
| September | down to 25°F | up to 46°F | 44% | possible |
| October | down to 28°F | up to 50°F | 46% | possible |
| November | down to 32°F | up to 54°F | 44% | possible |
| December | down to 34°F | up to 57°F | 51% | possible |
Sources: Copernicus ERA5-Land and ERA5, WorldClim 2.1 for rain. A rainy day counts from 0.06 in. Details are on the Transparency page.
Torres del Paine W Trek: map, stages and where to sleep
The trail’s route and its stage points, then each stage with the lodgings from the official list, their price when published and the booking link.
- Start · Central sector
- Mirador Base Torres
- Francés Valley
- Finish · Paine Grande
The park publishes no 5-day split; this one is the 5-day / 4-night program of Las Torres, the concessionaire of the Central, Cuernos and Francés refugios.
Stage 1 · Puerto Natales → Central sector
Refugio Central (staffed hut)
⚠ the operator’s booking contact, shared by its refugios; 6-bed rooms; peso prices not shown; “deberá realizar sus reservas de alojamiento de manera obligatoria en los refugios y camping” … “sin ellas no podrá ingresar al área de montaña” (lodging must be booked, without it you cannot enter the mountain area)
2026 price not published: ask the lodging. · Peso rates are for Chileans only (“TARIFAS EN CLP SOLO PARA CHILENOS”); for foreigners, only an all-inclusive package is published.
Reservation required · Call +56 22 898 6043
Camping Central (campsite)
⚠ the operator’s booking contact, shared by its refugios; price not read (the campsites page gives none); “deberá realizar sus reservas de alojamiento de manera obligatoria en los refugios y camping” … “sin ellas no podrá ingresar al área de montaña” (lodging must be booked, without it you cannot enter the mountain area)
2026 price not published: ask the lodging.
Reservation required · Call +56 22 898 6043
Stage 2 · Central sector → Mirador Base Torres (out and back)
Camping Chileno (Las Torres, campsite only): “Al ser el campamento más cercano al Mirador Base Torres” (the closest camp to the Mirador Base Torres); it is not in the 5-day program.
Refugio Central (staffed hut)
⚠ the operator’s booking contact, shared by its refugios; 6-bed rooms; peso prices not shown; “deberá realizar sus reservas de alojamiento de manera obligatoria en los refugios y camping” … “sin ellas no podrá ingresar al área de montaña” (lodging must be booked, without it you cannot enter the mountain area)
2026 price not published: ask the lodging. · Peso rates are for Chileans only (“TARIFAS EN CLP SOLO PARA CHILENOS”); for foreigners, only an all-inclusive package is published.
Reservation required · Call +56 22 898 6043
Camping Central (campsite)
⚠ the operator’s booking contact, shared by its refugios; price not read (the campsites page gives none); “deberá realizar sus reservas de alojamiento de manera obligatoria en los refugios y camping” … “sin ellas no podrá ingresar al área de montaña” (lodging must be booked, without it you cannot enter the mountain area)
2026 price not published: ask the lodging.
Reservation required · Call +56 22 898 6043
Stage 3 · Central sector → Cuernos or Francés
Refugio Cuernos (staffed hut)
⚠ the operator’s booking contact, shared by its refugios; 6-bed rooms; peso prices not shown; “deberá realizar sus reservas de alojamiento de manera obligatoria en los refugios y camping” … “sin ellas no podrá ingresar al área de montaña” (lodging must be booked, without it you cannot enter the mountain area)
2026 price not published: ask the lodging. · Peso rates are for Chileans only (“TARIFAS EN CLP SOLO PARA CHILENOS”); for foreigners, only an all-inclusive package is published.
Reservation required · Call +56 22 898 6043
Refugio Francés (staffed hut)
⚠ the operator’s booking contact, shared by its refugios; 6-bed rooms; peso prices not shown; “deberá realizar sus reservas de alojamiento de manera obligatoria en los refugios y camping” … “sin ellas no podrá ingresar al área de montaña” (lodging must be booked, without it you cannot enter the mountain area); sources differ on Francés: Las Torres lists a refugio, the park a campsite only; 6 or 8 beds on the same page (“8 personas”, “Cada habitación cuenta con 6 camas.”)
2026 price not published: ask the lodging. · Peso rates are for Chileans only (“TARIFAS EN CLP SOLO PARA CHILENOS”); for foreigners, only an all-inclusive package is published.
Reservation required · Call +56 22 898 6043
Stage 4 · Francés Valley → Paine Grande
Paine Grande (staffed hut)
⚠ operator’s website not read: no price, capacity or contact; “deberá realizar sus reservas de alojamiento de manera obligatoria en los refugios y camping” … “sin ellas no podrá ingresar al área de montaña” (lodging must be booked, without it you cannot enter the mountain area)
2026 price not published: ask the lodging.
Reservation required
Stage 5 · Paine Grande → Puerto Natales
Prices and opening dates read on November 2, 2026; Bardy can’t see availability: book through the official link. Stages from Las Torres Patagonia, W Circuit 5D/4N.
Before you go
The rules written in the trek’s official texts, with their source.
Reservation required
On the W, every night in a refugio or campsite is booked with the park’s two operators, Las Torres Patagonia and Vértice Patagonia: without a reservation, no access to the mountain area. Park entry must be bought at least 24 hours ahead
Sources: Torres del Paine park; official ticket office
Guide required in winter
From April to September
CONAF requires a guide on the W during the winter season (in 2026: April 27 to September 16): check the dates for your year
Sources: CONAF; lifting announced by ITV Patagonia, September 2026
Read more on Torres del Paine W Trek
- W Trek Packing List by Month: Torres del Paine, PatagoniaA W Trek packing list that changes with the month: booking the refugios, wind and cold, stove and fire rules, winter, and the pack computed on 10 years of weather.
- Torres del Paine Weather by Month: Wind, Cold, Rain and Snow on the W TrekThe weather in Torres del Paine month by month from 10 years of data: gusts at the Mirador Base Torres, nights at Refugio Chileno, rain and snow, the peak and low seasons, winter rules and what changes in your pack.
Frequently asked questions
Torres del Paine W Trek: how many days does it take?
Bardy’s version has 5 stages, from Las Torres Patagonia, W Circuit 5D/4N, with about 2,297 ft of elevation gain per day. The park publishes no 5-day split; this one is the 5-day / 4-night program of Las Torres, the concessionaire of the Central, Cuernos and Francés refugios.
Torres del Paine W Trek: how hard is it, and how much climbing?
Bardy gives no difficulty rating: no single grading covers every trek. The figures that make it up: 50 mi in 5 days, about 2,297 ft of elevation gain per day; high point: Mirador Base Torres, 2,854 ft; highest night: Chileno, 1,345 ft.
Torres del Paine W Trek: when is the best time to go?
Bardy uses the season from November to March. Over those months, based on 10 years of weather normals, the coldest night drops to 32°F at 1,345 ft (November), and snow stays possible in March, November and December.
Torres del Paine W Trek: what is the weather month by month?
Based on 10 years of normals (2015-2024) brought to the route’s elevation, nights at the highest sleeping point (Chileno, 1,345 ft) drop to 21°F in July, the coldest month, and days at the low point (Paine Grande, 131 ft) climb to 63°F in February. During the season, the share of rainy days ranges from 44% in November to 57% in February. For a departure within 9 days, the tool uses MET Norway forecasts instead of normals.
Torres del Paine W Trek: what gear should you bring in November?
In November, Bardy counts 8 required items, including rain jacket 10,000 mm, insulated jacket, sunscreen SPF 50 and sunglasses cat. 4, and 11 advised. Every threshold comes from the route’s weather and from the packs of 12 hikers who filmed it.
Torres del Paine W Trek: how should you dress in November?
In November, nights drop to 32°F at 1,345 ft and days climb to 54°F at the low point (131 ft), based on 10 years of normals. Bardy’s gear list includes: rain jacket 10,000 mm, insulated jacket, waterproof shoes, rain pants (advised), beanie (advised), gloves (advised), hat UPF 40 (advised), merino socks (advised), gaiters (advised) and base layer (advised).
Torres del Paine W Trek: what budget should you plan?
Bardy does not price the whole trip: not the transport, not the food, not the total for the nights. What it calculates: the November gear list, all bought new, the cheapest item line by line at the prices Bardy tracks, comes to $1,829 for a man and $1,717 for a woman (2 lines are left without a product and are not counted). What you already own comes off the list in the tool. The 2026 prices of the nights, when the lodging publishes them, are in “Where to sleep”.
Torres del Paine W Trek: where to sleep?
Bardy lists 7 lodgings across the 5 stages, with their published price and the official booking link. Some of them require a reservation.
Torres del Paine W Trek: do you need a permit or a reservation?
Before you go: reservation required and guide required in winter. Details and official texts are in the “Before you go” section.