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In plain English
The W Trek is set up like a chain of stops. Each night you either sleep in a refugio, which is a lodge with bunkrooms and meals, or in a campground next to one. Because the route is so popular and the park is remote, the plan is to reserve every night before you go rather than turn up and hope.
That changes what you carry. If you sleep in refugios with meals included, you can leave the tent, the stove and most of your food behind, and your pack can be lighter. If you camp, you carry your shelter, sleeping bag and pad, and your tent has to cope with Patagonian wind, which is famously strong.
Either way, the weather is the main thing to plan around, because wind, rain and cold can arrive together. Bring layers and a proper rain shell, keep one set of dry clothes for sleeping, and check current conditions and booking rules with the park's managers before you travel.
The W Trek is a roughly 80-kilometer, four-to-five-day route through Torres del Paine National Park in Chilean Patagonia, tracing the base of the park's granite towers, its glaciers, and turquoise lakes. It's a fully booked, bed-based trek: every night along the way is either a refugio bunkroom with meals or a serviced campground beside one, and none of it is walk-up — you reserve before you go, not when you arrive.
Why hike here
What makes the W worth the planning is the compression: four or five days moves you past sheer granite towers, glaciers calving into lake water the color of milk and turquoise, and grasslands scoured flat by wind that can knock you sideways one hour and vanish the next. Patagonian light does strange things to that granite at dawn and dusk, and the scale of the place — towers, ice, water, wind — makes you feel small. It's not a solitary wilderness escape; the refugio system means you'll cross paths with other hikers most nights, trading trail notes over dinner. But the landscape does the heavy lifting. Few multi-day treks pack a bigger visual payoff per kilometer walked.
Getting there
Puerto Natales is the launch point for the W: a small Patagonian town with the outfitters, gear shops, and bus and ferry connections you'll need before heading into the park. Most trekkers fly into southern Chile's regional airport at Punta Arenas, the main gateway to this part of Patagonia, then connect by bus or shared transfer to Puerto Natales — a few hours by road. From there, buses and transfer vans run to the park entrances where the W begins. Plan to spend at least one night in Puerto Natales on each end of the trek to confirm your reservations, restock food, and pick up last-minute gear.
Where to stay
The realistic options, closest-to-the-trail first. Book through the official links — we don't list prices or availability because they change all the time.
For example: Refugios run by two concessionaires (Vertice and Las Torres/Fantástico Sur) at the classic W stops
Most trekkers — bunkrooms with meals, spaced a day apart along the W.
Beds are booked separately with each concessionaire and sell out for peak season.
Book direct with Vertice and Fantástico SurFor example: Concessionaire campgrounds beside the refugios, some with tents/gear for hire
Campers who want lower cost but still-serviced sites with meals available.
Even free CONAF campsites must be reserved in advance — nothing is walk-up.
Book with the relevant concessionaireFor example: Hotels, hostels and guesthouses in Puerto Natales, the launch town
Everyone before and after — gear shops and bus/ferry connections are here.
Most trekkers overnight in Puerto Natales either side of the W.
Search lodging in Puerto Natales
Permits & rules
Every night in the park — refugio, serviced or free CONAF site — must be reserved in advance; rangers check bookings. There are no walk-up beds or pitches. As of 16 September 2026 CONAF no longer requires an accredited guide on the Base Torres and W routes, but microcrampons and trekking poles can be mandatory in winter conditions — check CONAF and the park site for current rules.
Gear you'll want for this trip
Matched to the terrain and conditions here. Real products — check current price on Amazon.
Two kinds of night, two kinds of pack
The existing page describes every night as either a refugio bunkroom with meals or a serviced campground beside one. A refugio night is close to what the Appalachian Mountain Club describes for its full-service huts, where dinner and breakfast are included.1 The practical result is the same in either mountain range: you skip the cooking system, cut the food carry to lunches and snacks, and choose a smaller pack.
Washington Trails Association describes a 50 to 70 liter pack for trips of three to seven nights and a 45 to 50 liter pack for one or two nights.4 Those are general sizing guides, and on a bed-based route like the W you are not carrying most of the shelter and cooking gear they allow for, so the smaller end of the range, or less, can be enough. If you pitch your own tent, you are back in the larger range, and you also inherit a wind problem.
Camping in wind
MSR explains that a freestanding tent is held up by its poles alone, without guy lines or stakes, while a semi-freestanding tent needs both poles and staked-out points or guy lines to pitch, and that four-season tents are built to shed snow and cold air and withstand heavy snow and high winds, though they typically weigh more.2 In a place known for gusts that can hit hard and then vanish, the point is not to buy the heaviest tent but to know how yours is anchored and to choose a pitch that gives it shelter.
Wind also raises the cold cost of a bad night. The CDC notes that hypothermia can develop even in cool temperatures above 40 degrees Fahrenheit if a person gets chilled from rain, sweat or cold water, and that hikers are among the people at higher risk because they spend long periods outdoors.3 A refugio gives a dry indoor fallback if your gear fails, while a camper has only the tent.
Booking claims to confirm with the park's managers
Several statements on the existing page are about the booking system: that every night in the park must be reserved, that even free campsites managed by the national forest agency need a reservation, that rangers check bookings, and that two separate concessionaires run different sections so nights must line up across them. There was no working official page available to confirm these details for this review, so they are stated on the page's authority alone.
The sensible response is to confirm current rules, closures and bookings with the park's managers and concessionaires before you go, and to build your itinerary so that each night's booking lines up with the last. Beyond that, the National Park Service advises leaving a trip plan with a trusted person who is not on the trip, and not relying on a cell phone for emergencies.5 Both are worth doing in a remote park where the route is fixed and help may be far away.
Common questions
Do I need to book my accommodations in advance?
Yes — every night on the W, whether it's a refugio bunk, a serviced campground, or a CONAF-managed site, should be booked ahead; confirm the current reservation rules with the park manager before you go, and don't count on walk-up space. Because two separate concessionaires — Vertice and Las Torres/Fantástico Sur — run different sections, you'll need to plan your itinerary so each night's booking lines up with the last, rather than booking each independently.
What's the difference between a refugio and a campground on the W?
A refugio is an indoor bunkroom with meals included, run by one of the park's two concessionaires. A serviced campground sits beside many of the refugios, giving you the option to pitch your own tent rather than book a bunk, with some shared facilities on site. Both still require advance booking — don't count on walk-up space for either, so plan both well ahead.
When's the best time to hike the W Trek?
The Patagonian summer, November through March, is the best season — longer daylight and milder (though still changeable) weather. Wind is a constant on the W regardless of month, and conditions can shift fast, so pack layers and a real rain shell whatever week you go. Because lodging books up for the whole season, decide your dates early and reserve refugios and campgrounds well before you travel.
Complete gearsets for this trip
Full curated kits built for exactly this kind of hike — what to bring, why, and links to similar gear.
Lodging details are compiled from official parks, refuge associations and reservation systems and can change without notice. We publish no prices, availability or ratings — always confirm current information on the official site before booking or setting out. Product links and the accommodation map are affiliate links: we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you; product prices and availability are shown on Amazon, and accommodation prices on the booking site. See our affiliate disclosure.