Hiking Base of the Towers in Torres del Paine National Park

Tuesday, January 6, 2026

Today was a bucket list item for sure! It was a lot of Type Two fun and nothing short of an adventure. Our goal was to tackle the best hike in Chile - to the Base of the Towers. At ~13 miles round trip, it takes 8-10 hours to complete. Since 5 of us have completed at least one marathon and the other 2 being half-marathon finishers, our prospects were favorable.

Base of the Towers in Torres del Paine National Park

Online advice was to take the first bus of the day (6:45am) to the park and the last bus back to Puerto Natales (8pm). It sounded a little excessive but I wanted to make sure we had a buffer to account for our group of seven's various endurance levels. Spoiler alert: Thank God I did!

Our bus to Torres del Paine National Park left at 6:45am. The bus drove us ~90 minutes to the park's entrance. What is nice about Laguna Amarga, the main entrance to Torres del Paine National Park, is that you can spy the Towers without even getting out of your vehicle. However, they are most often at least partially covered by clouds.

From Laguna Amara, you can see the towers peeking out from behind the clouds. 

At Laguna Amarga, we scanned our park tickets and got on a shuttle to the Visitor's Center at the trailhead. We used the restrooms and were on our way by 9am.

And we are off! The hike has pretty distinct sections. The first 1 km is flat, until crossing the Ascensio River.

The small suspension bridge over the Ascension River can only safely hold 2 people at a time

The next hour and a half section is, in my mind, the worst. "These rocks are dumb," Vivian and I mutually agreed. You're basically walking uphill through crevassed fingers similar to a very narrow dry creek bed. There isn't much to look at except your feet to clear every random rock.

This is my least favorite section. It feels never ending. 

Getting to the Windy Pass is a welcomed change. You walk ~30 minutes down through the valley to the mid-way rest stop: Camp Refugio. It has a tap water, a cafe, the only toilets on the trail, and beer if you need it. We had a quick snack break but didn't stay long. Only 2.5 miles left to go!

Windy Pass

Camp Refugio rest area

The next section is the best. Mildly uphill ("Patagonia flat"), you get to walk one hour through a forest that protects you from the elements.

My favorite part, other than the top, was the section through the trees

The final section is what we've been training for. "Make sure you can do one hour on the stair master" I had forewarned everyone. The last hour is the steepest and most challenging. If you're physically fit, then your challenge is to have patience for the line of people on the narrow trail. The two-way trail that is wide enough for one person has signage to give way to people going up.

This is it - the hard part we have been conditioning for

This is the ‘trail’ - all large rocks/boulders that you climb over and around. The red poles guide you. 

I couldn't believe our luck when I got to the top and had a clear view of all 3 towers before the clouds rolled back in! While we were eating lunch, the cloud cover came in, bringing a light sleet with it.

The weather changes quickly, blocking the view

Our way back down was so much easier because the trail was closed and empty; after 3pm you can’t start the hard 1-hr climb. 

The way back down was quite an event and one I was entirely unprepared for! When I started Strava again I noticed the time - and panicked as I realized we had less than 4 hours to make it down to catch the last shuttle at 7pm! I don't think it is the norm to run out of time but we had a big group with varying paces. We split into groups of 2-3 to get down as quickly as possible. The first groups made it back with plenty of time to spare - and stressed about whether or not the last group would make it.

At 7:00pm there was still no sign of them. It was too late - and their options were grim: hitchhike or hire a "very expensive" driver. (I assumed very expensive was in the ballpark of $400.). Greg kissed me goodbye, as I was designated as the person to stay behind.

Then, miraculously, one of the stragglers popped into view. I looked behind me and saw the shuttle still waiting. "RUN!" I yelled!

Somehow we all made it onto the shuttle. OMG. What-a-relief!!!!!! Reunited and waiting for our 8pm bus back to Puerto Natales, we laughed at our day's adventure. And I know we will laugh about it for years to come.

Funny thing about a bucket list is that it's practically timeless. When asked about his, Jeremy responded that this hike (and Patagonia in general) has been on his list for 5 years. It wasn't anywhere near my list until I was planning this trip 11 months ago - and Jeremy asked to add it to the itinerary. If you had asked him 2 days ago if he would ever come back, you would have gotten a solid no. Getting to Puerto Natales wasn't an experience we wanted to repeat. Ever.

But after having a solid taste of Patagonia's majesty today, the boys are already discussing their return.

Logistics:

• The bus from Puerto Natales was $18 each way. Buy your tickets in advance because it does sell out!
• The entrance fee to the National park was $40 per person, easiest to buy online before arrival.
• The park shuttle was 4,500 pesos each way (cash only; supposedly USD accepted)
• The Visitor's Center has restrooms and a small cafe and gift shop.
• The toilet at Camp Refugio cost 2000 pesos. (There is a free bathroom for campsite guests.)
• Obviously the hike to Base of the Towers is very popular. Since most of the trail is only 1 1/2 people wide, you are often "stuck" behind someone.
• There's a common saying that there are four seasons a day in Torres del Paine, and you're likely to experience all of these throughout the hike. While actively hiking I was in a light wool base-layer but whenever stopped I had to throw on gloves and both a fleece mid-layer and down jacket. My most underestimated useful clothing article was my buff which held my hat on my head whenever the wind picked up.