Torres del Paine is the most famous destination across Patagonia. Even if you’re not planning a trip there, chances are that you probably heard about it in your home country. Not to mention that the famous three pinnacles have virtually been featured in all outdoor magazines such as NatGeo. And let’s be honest here, taken by itself TDP is a place of amazing natural beauty. Nonetheless, trying to visit this beautiful national park can be a pretty hard task for travellers.
During our extensive trip throughout Central & South America, we initially thought about including TDP in our itinerary but eventually decided to take it out. Here’s the three reasons why we didn’t go to Torres Del Paine.
*** The article mainly applies to visiting TDP during high season, Nov-Feb.***
1. Booking ahead
After a bit of research from home, you’d easily find out that suddenly deciding to visit TDP without long pre-planning is practically impossible. Camping grounds (especially the free ones) and refugios are usually all booked out in high season. Note that if you plan to take day-visits to the park, that it’s not a problem, but completing either the “W”, “O” or “Q” trek becomes very hard. Unfortunately, this happens cause “spots” can be booked long-before your visit (several months ahead) killing all the backpacking-without-a-plan travelling.
There are cases in which you might fall under the lucky light and find a camping/sleeping spot in the park after asking for availability at the entrance but you really need to be prepared for anything. It can be an expensive bed in a refugio, a free camping ground close-by or at a 3-day walking distance from where you are. Again, if you plan doing anything specific, well… good luck!
Are you thinking about entering to trek for the day and stay longer? Well, just this year, the controls have become even stricter and without an actual booking of a camping/refugio you won’t even be allowed on certain sections of the park.
Entrance prices for the season 2018-2019 found at the official website
2. Price & Costs
As for 2018-2019 the entrance fee during high season (aka not freezings winter) is 21’000CLP or 28€/30$. On the good side, the entrance is valid for three days after your first access and as long as you’re within the park the three days don’t apply.
Next up, you’ll have to think about accomodation costs. The most common trek in the park (arguably the “W”) involve sleeping at least 3-4 nights, if not more, within the park itself. Currently, inside TDP there are only two free camping sites which funnily enough offer pretty much no facilities and are more hard-to-reach. Normally, a night in a paid camping site would cost you an average of 15$/pp, assuming you have all the camping gear you need with you, otherwise no less than 50-60$/pp. But what really blows our mind is the price for a bed in the so-called refugios. There expect to spend at least 80$/pp per night of stay. Crazy, uh!
And have you considered transportation costs? The closest city to Torres del Paine, a “short” 2h drive by bus or car, is called Puerto Natales. From there, the cheapest way to get to the park is by buying a return ticket with one of the many bus companies operating on the route. The average price for that fluctuates between 15’000CLP (20€/22$) to 20’000CLP (26.5€/29$).
Last but not least, snacks and food. Should you wish to eat the meals offered by the refugios, expect to spend at least 20-25$/meal! Thankfully, if you cook your own food you’ll be able to save a few pennies and spend a minimum of 8-10$/day.
When you’re lucky and the path is not “too” busy
3. Mass Tourism
Expensive prices and booked out places, usually mean one thing: lots of people. During the peak season, facilities in TDP get overwhelmed by tourists both national and international. Consider that last year, CONAF registered 270’000 people visiting TDP ad most of them on the short 3-4months period of the good season!
The best thing about wandering in nature is having the chance to walk at your own pace, enjoy tranquillity and don’t be under any kind of stress. But have you ever experienced queueing, like when you go to the bank, on a path?
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