Torres del Paine Trails

Introduction
Patagonia / Torres del Paine Chile
Embark on a comfortable center-based riding holiday, in the heart of Torres del Paine National Park.

Our hotel is located in the middle of the Park’s famous trekking circuits (the W Circuit and the big O Circuit) and it is the only place within the Park where you can go horseback riding. 

Immerse yourself in traditional culture in a prime location that boasts spectacular views, abundant wildlife and authentic food. Meet with our friendly staff to plan your stay, mixing and matching half-day and full-day tours to suit your tastes so you can have the unique experience you're looking for.

We have over 200 horses as well as excellent baqueanos (local cowboys) and bilingual guides who will accompany you throughout your trip sharing their expert knowledge and interesting stories.

Accomodation


Accommodations
This is a stationary ride, so all nights will be spent at the same location.

Description
The hotel where you will be staying is dedicated to the conservation of Patagonian nature and culture and sustainable tourism. It blends naturally into the mountain backdrop, alluding to its important family story that dates back to the 1970s.
From 09:00 am to 8:00 pm, our staff will be available, providing information and scheduling your excursions in order to make your trip an unforgettable experience.

Internet connection is free and available in all common areas of the hotel. However, due to our remote location, connection speed may vary throughout the day.

The hotel offers wellness treatments (extra fee applies) that revitalize your body, promote circulation, hydrate your skin, and relax your muscles. Our Wellness Center & Spa has specialists for massages, hydro-massages, mud therapy, and reflexology, to increase your physical and mental well-being.
In addition to massages and facials, you can relax in the sauna, Jacuzzi, or take an organic herbal bath.

Each of the 74 rooms offers a view on the outstanding surrounding landscape as well as central heating, a phone, free Wi-Fi internet and bathroom with hair dryer. Your package includes accommodation in superior rooms but it is possible to upgrade to a suite for an extra fee (please inquire at time of booking).

Superior Rooms (included)
These charming rooms have large windows that overlook the peaceful mountains or the Patagonian pampa. They can accommodate up to 3 adults (20m² with one double, two singles or three single beds).
For small groups, it is possible to request two separate rooms with a shared bathroom.

Junior Suites (upgrade)
These spacious rooms come with a cozy living area, big window that frames the beautiful Paine Massif, and a jacuzzi. They can accommodate up to 2 adults (38m² with one king bed).


Single Supplement
Solo travelers must pay a single supplement fee.



Meals
All meals are included from dinner on Day 1 to breakfast on the last day. You can choose to eat at our restaurant or at our bar.

Our Restaurant specializes in unique flavors from the end of the world, creatively mixing modern gastronomy with traditional dishes from Chilean Patagonia. Our large garden produces an important part of the food we proudly serve.
There is a wide variety of choices available at breakfast and our lunches and dinners are à la carte. 

Our bar features comfortable sofas in front of large windows with incredible views. Try a Calafate Sour, made from the fruit of the endemic bush called “Calafate”. All sours are served with a sprig of mint from our very own regenerative kitchen garden. We also serve prize-winning original cocktails made from Chilean pisco and other quality liquors.
The bar also serves craft beers, including our own “Pionera”, which is fermented in the little cabin right outside the Bar. We offer a full selection of regional, national, and premium beers, wines, and spirits.
In the bar you can match your drink of choice with a tasty meal, snack, salad or dessert.

Dietary Restrictions
Special diets can be catered for on our trips with prior notice.

This trip includes and can accommodate special dietary requests.

Riding

The first horses were brought to Patagonia by the Spanish at the beginning of the 16th century. Later, during the 19th century, the spread of livestock in the southern regions of Chile and Argentina marked the birth of the “baqueano” cowboy culture. The local baqueanos will proudly tell you more about their history and culture.
If you are looking for unique photographic material, catch our baqueanos early in the morning as they bring in the herd that was grazing freely during the night.

In accordance with current local regulations, the hotel operates groups with 1 guide for every 6 passengers.

We have approximately 190 horses, all of different breeds such as mestizos, criollos, tobianos and others. 

The routes we use depend on the level of experience of the rider. More experienced riders will ride more challenging trails in terms of elevation and river crossings and will have the opportunity to go at a faster pace.

Itinerary

You can choose any excursion you want among the list included below (there is no set limit on the number of excursions you can book in a day). Your package does not include any excursion for the arrival and departure days. Depending on your departure time, an extra excursion can be booked for an extra fee on those days.

Please, note that all excursions are subject to availability and weather conditions. Excursions can be booked in advance or directly at the Hotel until 8 p.m. the day before.

All of our tours include an expert and friendly bilingual guide who is thrilled to make your experience the best it can be! Feel free to ask questions and learn as much as you can about the special place you are visiting.


Half-Day Riding Tours

Lake Nordenskjold
This gorgeous tour is excellent for novice riders and those with no horseback riding experience. As you ride along the deep blue shores of Lake Nordenskjöld, our expert baqueanos (local cowboys) will help you learn how to ride.
Mount Almirante Nieto and its hanging glacier will hover in the skyline and you’ll appreciate numerous viewpoints and Patagonian flora as you cross pristine rivers and dense forests on horseback. Guided by our baqueanos, you’ll love getting a glimpse into their culture.
This famous lake is situated at the base of the Paine Massif and is named after Otto Nordenskjöld (1869-1928), a Swedish-Finnish explorer who dedicated himself to the study of Chile, Antarctica, Peru, and Greenland.
Riding Distance: 8 km
Duration: approx. 3 hours
Difficulty: Easy-Medium

Ascencio Canyon
Ride into the valley along the little-known trails that settlers and baqueanos used in the early days. You'll admire towering rock slopes and a spectacular view of Las Torres, while feeling truly connected to the horse and the environment around you.
Bordering the slopes of Cerro Paine, we will make a stop to enjoy the landscape, where you will notice that there is a unique microclimate and different vegetation. From the valley, you will have glorious views of Mount Almirante Nieto and will be enveloped by the serenity of Lake Nordenskjöld. If you're lucky, you'll see puma tracks as you pass through the “Puma Cave”, on the way back to the stables.
This guided tour can take place in the morning or the afternoon. The departure is from the horse stable located a few meters away from the Hotel.
Riding Distance: 7 km
Duration: approx. 3 hours
Difficulty: Easy

Baqueana Experience
This is about sharing a few moments with the Baqueanos and learning about the traditional Patagonian lifestyle. During your time with the Baqueanos, who came to work the land in this remote region more than a century ago, you will learn about their special clothing, saddle, tack, and more. They will be able to show you how to properly saddle, how to nail a horseshoe, and of course, how to ride a horse!
The Baqueanos will be happy to take a break, share a mate, and proudly tell you about their culture. Mate, an herbal tea made from yerba mate leaves, is part of Patagonian culture and sharing this hot drink is a highly appreciated and important tradition. Try and enjoy some tasty sopaipillas with pebre, a classic Chilean combination of pumpkin tortilla and fresh salsa.
At the end of this Baqueano trip, you will have a much better understanding of what it was like to live and work in this remote corner of South America before the arrival of tourism.
Duration: approx. 3 hours
Difficulty: Easy



Full Day Riding Tours

Enchanted Valley
If you have prior horseback riding experience, then this tour is for you! Feel the Patagonian wind in your face and the adrenaline race through your body as you canter across the pampas. You’ll follow the original trail that was used by the baqueanos, and spend a full day immersing yourself in their horse culture.
On this equestrian adventure across the Las Torres Reserve, you’ll also meander through a native forest of lenga trees, which is home to many birds, including Magellanic woodpeckers, Austral Parakeets and Chilean Flickers. The trip follows the O Circuit around the eastern edge of the Paine Massif and into the valley of the Paine River. It offers great views of Azul Lagoon and Mount Cerro Paine before reaching the Serón Campsite in the Enchanted Valley.
Riding Distance: 24 km
Duration: approx. 6-8 hours
Difficulty: High

Base Torres
This tour combines the Park’s “must see” with a special twist. Horseback riding in Torres del Paine offers a unique and exhilarating experience. Start the day in the stables, learning about the horses, and then start your ride across typical Patagonian lands of low vegetation and wide open spaces. Lose yourself in the impressive, mesmerizing views of the Ascencio Valley. When you reach the Chileno Mountain Hostel, you’ll leave the horses behind and they’ll patiently wait for you to climb up to the Las Torres Base Viewpoint. After crossing a dense forest, you’ll hit a rocky trail that eventually leads you through a moraine of huge rocks and reveals the highly anticipated granite towers. Here, we’ll take time to process the magnificent sight, eat lunch, and take the iconic photo of the three peaks soaring over the ice blue lagoon.
Riding Distance: 9 km on horseback riding + 9.5 km hiking
Duration: approx. 6-8 hours
Difficulty: High

Lake Nordenskjöld
As you ride along the deep blue shores of Lake Nordenskjöld, our expert baqueanos will give you some riding advice.
Mount Almirante Nieto and its hanging glacier will hover in the skyline and you’ll appreciate numerous viewpoints and Patagonian flora as you cross pristine rivers and dense forests on horseback. We will venture into the Asencio Valley and cross the Asencio River, where you’ll be able to appreciate an ecotone – the intersection of two distinct ecosystems. Here, the forest and the pampas transition into one another, uniquely blending together.
Riding Distance: 13 km
Duration: approx. 6 hours
Difficulty: Medium



Half-Day Non-Riding Tours

Patagón
Leave from the hotel at 7:45 a.m. and thop on a van that will take you to the Sarmiento gate of the National Park. From here, you will walk on a mostly flat terrain, crossing the pampas, where you will learn about ancient geological processes that have shaped this reserve, finding records of the first inhabitants of these lands. It is a protected territory that you can only enter with certified guides where you can find Aonikenk rock paintings as well as a great wildlife activity, mainly guanacos, as well as a high presence of birds of prey, scavengers and pumas.
Hiking Distance: 9.5 km
Duration: approx. 4 hours
Difficulty: Low-Medium

Native Lenga Forest
Hike part of the O Circuit trail around the eastern edge of the massif, into a magical old-growth lenga forest. One of Patagonia’s iconic trees, the Nothofagus pumilio thrives in areas with low temperatures and heavy snow. Lenga woodland provides a habitat for many animals and if you keep your eyes peeled, you have a good chance at spotting Magellanic woodpeckers, Austral parakeets, Chilean flickers and other forest birds. While it is unlikely to see them during the day, be on the lookout for our “Andean Lion”, as pumas are known for roaming this forest.
You’ll walk along the foothills of Cerro Paine, crossing little streams, before arriving at a gorgeous valley that is filled with daisies during spring. Finishing with a walk along the turquoise Paine River, you’ll enjoy the deep visual contrast of forest and pampas. The trail also features great views of Azul Lagoon, Guido Mountain, and the Sierra Baguales Range on the eastern side of the Massif.
Hiking Distance: 8 km
Duration: approx. 3-4 hours
Difficulty: Low-Medium

Los Cuernos Viewpoint
Start with a drive to Pudeto and fall in love with the magic of nature as you see trees sprouting new life. The big picture of the Paine Massif hovering over Lake Nordenskjöld is a powerful perspective. You’ll visit the Salto Grande Waterfall, a raging cascade that channels water between the Nordenskjöld and Pehoé Lakes. With renewed energy, you’ll continue along a path to one of the most humbling views in Torres del Paine National Park, a panorama that features the Los Cuernos Mountains, Mount Paine Grande, and the Francés Valley and its glacier rising straight up from the other side of Lake Nordenskjöld.
Hiking Distance: 6 km
Duration: approx. 4 hours (including 1.5 hours by car)
Difficulty: Low

Azul Lagoon
Head to the quiet shores of Azul Lagoon, in the comforts of a van. Once at the lagoon, you can then take an easy 30 minute walk amidst remarkable views of the Las Torres Mountains. The views here offer a unique perspective of the granite peaks, one that is very different from other sectors of the Park. Wildlife is abundant and the whole scene creates a very peaceful ambiance that naturally leads you to ponder life, nature, and the magic in the present moment.
Azul Lagoon has special significance as it is where Lady Florence Dixie, the intrepid British traveler and writer from the Victorian era, saw the Torres del Paine for the first time. Considered the Park’s first tourist, she wrote about the experience in her 1880 book “Across Patagonia” and referred to the Las Torres Mountains as “Cleopatra’s Needles” due to their resemblance to the obelisks of ancient Egypt. Visit the Paine Waterfall before heading back to the hotel.
Hiking Distance: 1 km
Duration: approx. 4 hours (including 1.5 hours by car)
Difficulty: Easy

Regenerative Kitchen Garden
When the Kusanovic Family took over the property, they immediately began cultivating their own herbs, fruits and vegetables. Today, our garden has developed immensely since its origin in the early 1950s and is now one of the region’s largest regenerative gardens.
Within about a half hectare, one of the world’s southernmost regenerative gardens produces seasonal fruits and vegetables using bio-intensive, sustainable methods. We aim to strike a balance between conserving heirloom varieties and meeting production goals. Many of the ingredients found in our restaurant dishes and bar come directly from the garden!
We have nine types of fruits and more than twenty-five types of vegetables, along with an ever-growing number of culinary and medicinal herbs.
Our garden is part of our long-term strategy to leave the smallest possible footprint within the National Park and just one example of our commitment to sustainable tourism.
Duration: approx. 2-3 hours
Difficulty: Easy



Full Day Non-Riding Tours

Grey Glacier
This tour gives you a beautiful taste of all Torres del Paine National Park has to offer. Travel comfortably in a van that stops at all the main sights, letting you get out and take short hikes to outstanding lookouts. In one day, you’ll get to see almost all the Park’s must-sees and you’ll have a terrific view of the entire Paine Massif.
Stops along the way include: Black Bridge, Nordenskjöld Lookout, Sarmiento Lookout, Lake Pehoé and the Salto Grande Waterfall.
Choose between hiking along the southern shore of Lake Grey (approx. 4 km), and gazing at the floating icebergs, or taking a luxurious trip in catamaran across the lake to the face of the Grey Glacier (3 hours).
Usually, you´ll have lunch during the sailing trip (departing at 1pm). In exceptional cases, you take a later sailing trip and have lunch before. All guests who take the sailing trip must walk to the beach (departing area) and will see icebergs. If you don´t go on the sailing trip, you can take an easy walk for approximately 1.5 hours.
Please, note that the option with catamaran sailing incurs an extra fee (no extra fee if you choose this excursion without the boat trip).
Duration: approx. 7-10 hours
Difficulty: Easy

Las Torres Base Viewpoint
Walk along the foothills of Mount Almirante Nieto. Granite peaks stand in the distance as you follow the trail along the steep slopes of the Ascencio Valley. Lush trees and vegetation line the river below and your sight extends to the end of the valley, giving you a full view of the hike ahead. You’ll enter a native lenga forest and eventually hit a rocky area, which represents the final, yet hardest, section of the trail. This climb will literally keep you on your toes, and you’ll need to pay attention as you step from one rock to the next. But like all hard work, you’ll get your reward. At the top you’ll get to relax and ponder the beauty of the world in front of the Las Torres Mountains.
Hiking Distance: 19 km
Duration: approx. 8 hours
Difficulty: High

French Valley
This tour will take us into the depths of the mountain as we venture through the famous French Valley, in the heart of the Torres del Paine National Park. Begin by sailing along the sparkling Lake Pehoé to Paine Grande, where you will continue along the north side of Lake Skottsberg until you reach the bottom of the French Valley.
You will climb a steep trail and when you are deep in the valley, you will go through a native beech forest. When you leave the forest, you will find a new landscape: a stunning view of the multicolored Los Cuernos and the French Glacier that hangs from Paine Grande.
This active glacier gives you the opportunity to hear and see its movements, how it creaks and cracks. Before you leave, don't forget to look back! The lakes below, surrounded by mountains, are the finishing touch in this panoramic view. Here, you will witness in 360 degrees the Nordenskjöld, Pehoé and Toro lakes and the Paine Grande, Hoja, Máscara, Espada, Fortaleza and Aleta de Tiburón mountains.
Hiking Distance: 20 km
Duration: approx. 12 hours (including 1.5 hours by car)
Difficulty: High

Lakes Trail 
This tour offers you a different look at the flora and fauna of Torres del Paine. As soon as you see the first lake, you're going to want to take photos right away. You'll see plenty of wildlife as we drive by the deep blue Lago Sarmiento, one of the largest in the park. Then, as we move away from the Paine Massif, you'll get an incredible panoramic perspective of its immensity. When you make a stop at the nearby Estancia Lazo, you will be able to see the Laguna Verde and begin your hike along the Ruta de los Lagos.
First, you will walk through large and dense native forests of lenga trees, which open up to reveal the beautiful shores of the Verde and Honda lagoons. Keep an eye out for owls, woodpeckers, guanacos and all the wildlife, and don't forget the little details like the orchids and other wildflowers that dot the forest floor.
Hiking Distance: 15 km
Duration: approx. 7-8 hours (including 2.5 hours by car)
Difficulty: Medium

Cuernos Sector
Take a breathtaking hike between the ominous Mount Almirante Nieto and the north shore of Lake Nordenskjöld. As you walk along the lake, pristine streams fed by hanging glaciers slash across the rocky trail leading you to the Cuernos sector. You’ll cross a hanging bridge over the Arriero River, make a stop to see the deep blue Inge Lagoon, and see moon-like rock and land formations.
Located just below a cluster of jagged peaks called Los Cuernos, this area offers incredible, contrasting views of the Lake Nordenskjöld, towering granite peaks, and a thick, deep green treeline. You´ll likely see the renowned winds that look like little tornadoes buzzing from one part of the lake to another.
Hiking Distance: 23 km
Duration: approx. 6-8 hours
Difficulty: Medium

Rates and Dates for Torres del Paine Trails

Dates Note:

Other Info
Meeting: Torres del Paine National Park
Airport: Puerto Natales
Transfer: Punta Arenas, Puerto Natales or Calafate

Climate:
                                        Puerto Natales area