Torres del Paine · O Circuit

THE JOURNEY IN DETAIL

The full ring around the massif.

The O circuit goes right around the Paine massif, and that is the point: the popular W shows only the southern face, while the empty northern half leads over the John Garner pass to a view of the Southern Patagonian Ice Field. Ten days of refugios and campsites booked half a year ahead, with the Patagonian wind as a member of the party.

• The John Garner pass above Glacier Grey
• The Torres at sunrise
• The French Valley and its hanging glacier
• The empty northern half of the circuit

1. 01
   DAY 1 · Briefing and booking check

   Puerto Natales and the briefing

   We gather in Puerto Natales on Last Hope Sound. Bookings are checked: on the O circuit campsites are allocated by name and the order of camps cannot be changed once you are in. A kit review in the evening.

   Overnight: Hotel in Puerto Natales
2. 02
   DAY 2 · 13 km across pampa

   Into the park, on to Serón

   A two-hour bus to Laguna Amarga, registration with CONAF and the compulsory fire-safety talk. The first stage is 13 km across open pampa beside the Paine river to Serón.

   Overnight: Serón campsite
3. 03
   DAY 3 · 18 km, 400 m of climbing

   Serón to Dickson

   A long 18 km day over the Coirón saddle and a first view of Lake Dickson with ice floating on it. Camp sits on a meadow at the water's edge; Argentina begins on the far shore.

   Overnight: Dickson campsite
4. 04
   DAY 4 · 12 km, forest and bog

   Dickson to Los Perros

   Short but muddy: 12 km through beech forest and bog to the Los Perros glacier and its lake. The camp at 550 m in the trees is the last before the pass, and everyone turns in early.

   Overnight: Los Perros campsite
5. 05
   DAY 5 · 15 km, a 1,180 m pass

   The John Garner pass

   The crux of the circuit: 800 m up scree and snow patches to the 1,180 m pass, where Glacier Grey opens out in full with the Southern Patagonian Ice Field beyond. A 900 m descent, 15 km in nine or ten hours.

   Overnight: Grey campsite
6. 06
   DAY 6 · 11 km, suspension bridges

   Glacier Grey and Paine Grande

   The path runs above the glacier across three suspension bridges, each rated for one person at a time. Past the Grey viewpoints we reach the Paine Grande refugio on Lake Pehoé. Around 11 km.

   Overnight: Paine Grande refugio
7. 07
   DAY 7 · 20 km out and back

   The French Valley

   A day up the Valle del Francés to the Británico viewpoint (750 m): on one side the hanging glacier of Paine Grande shedding avalanches all day, on the other the granite Cuernos. Around 20 km.

   Overnight: Francés campsite
8. 08
   DAY 8 · 16 km along the lake

   Along Lake Nordenskjöld

   A 16 km stage along the south shore of Lake Nordenskjöld beneath the Cuernos, the windiest section of the circuit, where gusts of 100 km/h are not unusual. We sleep at Chileno, an hour below the towers.

   Overnight: Chileno refugio
9. 09
   DAY 9 · 18 km, the towers at dawn

   The Torres at sunrise

   A four o'clock start and an hour up the moraine to the viewpoint above the glacial lake, where the granite towers burn red for a few minutes at dawn. Down to Laguna Amarga and the bus to Puerto Natales.

   Overnight: Hotel in Puerto Natales
10. 10
    DAY 10 · Transfer

    Departure

    Breakfast and the transfer to Punta Arenas, three hours across the pampa, or the bus over the border to El Calafate. The guide helps with connections.

    Overnight: —