TREKKING BASE TORRES DEL PAINE

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Day 20: Trekking Base Torres del Paine

Today, after yesterday knowing much of the essentials to see in Torres del Paine, has started early in the morning, practically at the moment when it has started to dawn and just look out the window of the accommodation in Torres del Paine, Hotel Las Torres, we see that it has been snowing tonight and even at this time of the morning, the sky is giving us small snowflakes, while we see how the baqueanos gather the horses and our mind begins to think about what awaits us in a few minutes: the Trekking Base Torres del Paine, one of the most famous trekkings in the world and also one of the most exciting moments, at the same time as fear (Vanessa), of this trip to Chile and Easter Island.

Dawn at the Hotel Las Torres

After a quick shower and check that our clothes are already completely dry, after yesterday's downpour at Gray Glacier, we get dressed and punctual, we are at 7:30 in the morning in the breakfast room, which is served in the Coirón Restaurant, where we have met Martina to gain strength to start the Trekking Base Torres del Paine.

Nevada before Trekking Base Torres del Paine

We are not going to lie to you if we tell you that since we have risen and we have seen that it had snowed during the night, leaving the whole white massif, and not waiting for the weather forecasts to be on our side, we have only commented on each other the probability of cancellation of Trekking Base Torres del Paine on our part, as well as Martina, who in this case will be the expert and person who will accompany us throughout the tour.

In our case it is only for me (Vanessa), that I am not sure I can reach the end, since from what I have read this is one of the hardest stages and walks in the area, especially the last part, in the one that has to go for more than an hour a path Between rocks Bearing in mind that I know that I am going to go a lot slower and that my vertigo plays bad times for me, I am not at all convinced to embark on this Trekking Base Torres del Paine and more knowing how changing the weather is in this area, being able to start raining the seas or snowing without warning, causing once you reach the top, find everything covered.

So with that idea we present ourselves in the breakfast room, to meet a Martina, who, contrary to what we had imagined, is very lively and the only importance she has given time, has been the beauty of the landscape that we are going to have during today and all the Trekking Base Torres del Paine.

So without the possibility of going back, after a breakfast full of energy and picking up what will be our picnic of the day, we hang our backpacks and start the Trekking Base Torres del Paine when it's 8:15 in the morning, leaving Las Torres Hotel, where we are staying and where the famous trekking begins.
If you do not stay in the park a good option is to book this trekking through Torres del Paine from Puerto Natales.

We start the Torres del Paine Base Trekking

Trekking Stages Torres del Paine Base

The Trekking Base Torres del Paine We could divide it into several stages, of different difficulty:
- Hotel Las Torres-Campamento El Chileno: medium difficulty (ascents and descents of different intensity) approximately 2 hours for a person in physical form
- Chilean Camp - Lengas Forest: low difficulty (path that runs through a forest of lengas, with few climbs) 1: 15h approximately for a person in physical form
- Lengas Forest - Camping Las Torres: medium-high difficulty (in the last section begins the ascent itself, in which there is only a kind of stairs / rocks that must be climbed) approximately 30 minutes for one person in half fitness
- Camping Las Torres - Arrival Torres del Paine Base: high difficulty (this is the most demanding section, where you have to climb continuously, for 1 kilometer between rocks) In general terms they say it takes about an hour. We take a little more than 1 hour and a half, ascending calmly.
Total ascent route Trekking Base Torres del Paine: 5 hours 45 minutes from Hotel Las Torres to the Base of Torres del Paine.
The way back from Trekking Base Torres del Paine It is exactly the same as the one way and although it seems that it is more easy, you have to be very careful, especially in descents, since they are made through rocks and it is very easy to suffer sprains or falls. It took us 3 hours 15 minutes to return to Hotel Las Torres.

As we commented in the Stages of Trekking Base Torres del Paine, the first one takes you from the Hotel Las Torres to the Chilean Refuge, where we must follow a path, which as soon as we begin, begins with a certain climb, which makes us begin to imagine what the rest of the way is like and what he's waiting for us.
One of the things that encourage us, in addition to talking with Martina, something that makes us go more entertaining, is to see that time remains, giving way to practically discovered skies, which predict a good time throughout the day and at the base of the Towers.

Trekking Base Torres del Paine

In this first stage, after an ascent of approximately 45 minutes, we only need to turn our backs to enjoy incredible views of the landscape that surrounds us, in which we can see Lake Nordenskjöld, which we went to the first day we arrived at the Torres del Paine National Park and now we can see from another perspective.

From here we continue the walk for a few more minutes until we reach the Ascendio Valley, one of the most incredible areas, in which a narrow path is crossed, surrounded by incredible landscapes, which make us stop every few minutes, not only to rest, but to be able to take pictures and bring us the maximum memories of the experience.

Valley of the Ascendio

Ascendio Valley Trail

After touring this area of the Ascendio Valley Trail for more than 45 minutes, we begin to see the Chilean Refuge in the distance, where this first stage of the Trekking Base Torres del Paine, for which we spent two hours walking and where we arrived at 10:15 in the morning.

Chilean shelter

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Camping Chile Refuge

Once in the Chilean Refuge, where we take the opportunity to go to the bathroom, sit down and rest for a while, we continue with the Trekking Base Torres del Paine, crossing a creek and finding landscapes totally different from those of the first stage, much greener and close in which less ascents and a less demanding path are intuited than the one we have done in these first two hours of walking.

Trekking Base Torres del Paine

From here we can only cross a small log bridge to enter the forest of lengas, second stage of the Trekking Base Torres del Paine, a section I call almost, in which the shade of the trees is appreciated, at the same time that the change of landscape makes us go totally absorbed of the fatigue.

Lengas Forest

Forest of lengas posters

Lengas Forest

After about 1 hour 15 minutes touring the lengas forest, during which we see the Hanging Glacier "Martina", name that will remain for us for the rest of the time, due to a joke that we spent during part of the trekking, we arrive at what we call the second part of the Lengas Forest stage, since the first is a stage that runs In a practically flat terrain, for the last 30-45 minutes, it runs between a kind of rock stairs, in which the ascent is a continuum, demanding a higher level of effort than the one we have had so far.

Hanging Glacier "Martina"

Second stage of the Lengas Forest

After this Second stage of the Lengas Forest, which takes us more or less 30 minutes, we arrive at Las Torres Refuge, the place where travelers who want to enjoy the sunrise at the Base of the Towers usually camp.

The last stage of the Trekking Base Torres del Paine begins

At this point in the Trekking Base Torres del Paine it is the moment at which the last stage begins and also the hardest and most demanding, in which one kilometer must be traveled, something that seems little to the naked eye, in constant ascent and between rocks.
Although we had read that on many occasions you had to go practically climbing, something that for me (Vanessa), was somewhat reckless, after the experience we have to say that although it is a very demanding stage, we must not climb at all. Yes, it is true that sometimes the rocks are high and you have to lift your legs a lot to climb, but nothing that can not be done with tranquility and above all, a lot of patience and calm, observing our body and giving it the rest that goes asking.

Last stage of Trekking Base Torres del Paine

Views of people ascending the last stage of trekking

Trekking Base Torres del Paine

Although at first glance it may seem that there is no path, you will see that there is a kind of sticks between the rocks, with red markings, which indicate the path you must follow between the rocks. In addition, initially it may seem that the ascent is done in a straight line, this seems much more demanding than it is.
Against this, look at the images and you will see that the path is zig-zag, so although very demanding, as we said before, it is completely feasible to do it with peace of mind.

Last minute climb

Last meters ...

As you can imagine, the last meters are the hardest, in addition to the most tired, especially for the hours and accumulated fatigue, but it seems that nature is much wiser than we can imagine, and in those moments is when the vision of the towers appears before the eyes of the travelers, it seems that they want to cheer us up in the last meters and make our spirits not diminish, assuring us that with one last effort we will reach that place we are leading fighting a few hours.

First views of the Torres del Paine in the last meters

And so, in full struggle between the mind and the body, we ascend the last meters, finding ourselves when we reach the top with one of the most beautiful images we could have imagined, when it is 2 in the afternoon, 6 hours later from the moment we left this morning and started the Trekking Base Torres del Paine. In addition to a wonderful time, which between clouds and clear gives us a landscape of postcard, infinitely more incredible than we had ever imagined.

Trekking Base Torres del Paine

Torres del Paine Base

At this time, we have to say that we could put hundreds of images, all of the same landscape, but all so different than for us, each of them means a second of those we spend in the Torres del Paine Base, a few hours in which we feel only the nature, the silence or the whisper of the water, surrounded by one of the most incredible environments that we have been lucky to meet on our trips and that we are sure, we will never forget.

Trekking Base Torres del Paine

Most of the organized tours are in this area just over 30 minutes, something that for us is a very short time and more after the hard climb and the hours you need to get here. In our case, when doing theTrekking Base Torres del PaineFor free, although accompanied by Martina, we have all the time we want, although always being aware of the time we need in the descent and that as the afternoon progresses the weather tends to get worse.

Panoramic Torres del Paine Base

The first thing we do, after this first contact and having shot the camera about 100 times, is to go look for the different perspectives that we have in mind and that we do not want to miss. In this area we have to take into account that the terrain is not flat, but quite the opposite, so you have to go carefully and calmly, especially not to slip or fall, since there is no path as such, but rather you have to go around the rocks to move from one place to another.

Trekking Base Torres del Paine

After going around and around the area, when it is 2:30 pm, we decided to look for a place where the wind does not blow too much, where we can eat and load energy after 6 hours of hard walking. Can you imagine a view how are you eating? Without a doubt we have to say that we believe that we have never eaten in any place as exclusive as this one, it is more, we may never do it again, so as you can imagine, we taste every second as if it were the last, trying to be totally aware of the incredible luck we have and above all, how lucky we are to be able to live everything we are living.

Views while we eat

After lunch, and without wanting to entertain ourselves too much, we go around the area, to take the last pictures, and when it is 3:15 p.m., we say goodbye to this amazing place, which has given us the best time we could have imagined and that he gives us a last unusual image in the place: a lost fox (or not), in search of the probable food forgotten by travelers, something that makes us much more aware of how careful we should be, especially in these places, trying that the only thing left of us are our tracks.

Fox at the Torres del Paine Base

And how could it be otherwise, and at the moment in which we have decided that we started the descent, we called Martina and told her to give us a few more minutes, and it is extremely difficult for us to say goodbye to a place like this . We know we have to do it, but there is nothing like knowing that we could snatch him to the clock 5 more minutes to contemplate one of the most wonderful landscapes that we have been lucky to know.

Torres del Paine Base

Last views of Torres del Paine Base

It is time to undertake the descent of the Torres del Paine Base, moment in which we stopped a few minutes to warn each other of the importance of taking it easy, especially in this first stage of the descent, in which the rocks are the protagonists, like my vertigo and is the stretch in the that there are more accidents, since most travelers want to get down fast and with that state of euphoria, they forget to take precautions and go cautiously, falling or spraining their ankle and needing help in the rest of the descent.

Farewell Base Torres del Paine

Descending and entering the lengas forest

As you can imagine, the descent, despite being also demanding and presenting difficulties, in much faster than the ascent, although it must also be said that the legs and the twins are loaded much more, causing the minutes that in the ascent were made long, but at the same time we were charged with energy by the adrenaline of wanting to arrive, at this time, fatigue can be with us and we are looking for each other, to try to talk and thus make the descent much less tired.

Ascencio Valley

Last stretch down to Las Torres Hotel

We arrive again at Hotel Las Torres when it is 6:30 in the afternoon, after a day that we will never forget, saying goodbye to Martina for a few minutes, to go to our room, take a comforting shower, to meet again in the Coiron Restaurant, when it's 8 in the afternoon to enjoy a unique and unforgettable dinner, talking about today's experience and how, this has been one of the best of all the trips we have made so far.

Coiron Restaurant

After dinner, when it is almost 10 pm, and even being burst after the full day today, we can not but finish our incredible stay at the Hotel Las Torres, approaching the Pioneer Bar with Martina, where we enjoy with the bartenders Federico and Maxi, of a pleasant conversation, as well as a unique demonstration of how to make a cocktail become an authentic work of art.

Cocktails in Pioneer Bar. Photo courtesy of Hotel Las Torres

And so, when it is almost 12 pm, we say goodbye to one of the most complete days of this incredible trip to Chile in 31 days, which we are sure, we will remember forever, as a healing for the spirit, mind, body and above all, the limitations that many times we create ourselves ...

We cannot finalize this article of Trekking Base Torres del Paine without giving infinite thanks to Martina. Not only because of her patience with me (Vanessa), that I have been going at a slower pace than she and Roger could have taken all day, but also because of the pleasant thing one of the walks has done, which we have read by many, is one of the most demanding in the area.
After this experience, without a doubt, every time we think about the greatness and wonder of Trekking Base Torres del Paine, we will think of you as part of one of the best days of the trip to Chile, in addition to one of the moments that we are sure, we will never forget.
Although we will not forget that this was the day we gave it a name and we baptized an unnamed hanging glacier, which from now on will be known as Martina Glacier, in memory of the unforgettable day you put us through 😉