I will be trekking the W with a few friends at the end of March. We are trying to decide if we want to camp or stay in refugios. Other than camping being much cheaper of course, I just wanted to get some thoughts from people who had done either on their experience... ie weather, finding space etc. Thanks !
1
duracell
We're wondering the same. I read a good blog (beyongblighty I think) which had some good tips. Also mentioned it cost $50 in the refugios!
2
AGHanke
Hi, I'm from Chile and just got back from Torres del Paine. I did the Circuit and only stayed at campings.
There are both campings and refugios in the W, but it all depends on you're budget and what kind of experience you're looking for.
In Grey there is a camping and a refugio. The camping costs $4300 CLP (7 USD)(per person/per night) and has hot showers, a store to buy some food for cooking and a place to cook and eat. You can also rent tent and sleeping bags if you don't want to carry them in a backpack. The refugio costs between 40 and 80 USD. For me the camping was pretty good, with a lot of room and there's the possibility of having something to drink at the refugio as well as eating dinner there.
Then there's Paine Grande that also has a camping and a refugio. It's located at Lake Peohé so it has a really nice view. The camping costs the same and the refugio costs between 50 and 80 USD.
You can check the prices here: http://www.verticepatagonia.com/
The next camp is El Italiano that is the base camp to go to Mirador Británico located at Valle del Frances. It's one of the most beautiful places of the W. El Italiano only has a camping that has no cost. If you're not planning on camping at all you might have to skip this one because it has no showers and only has eco-toilets (so it's a proper camping).
After El Italiano there is the Los Cuernos camping and refugio. The camping costs $7000 CLP (11 USD). In Los Cuernos camping there are some platforms to put your tent and for that you need a reservation. It has hot showers and a place to cook an eat. The refugio at Los Cuernos costs between 50 and 100 USD depending on wether you're renting a sleeping bag or not.
The last camping is El Chileno. It costs the same as Los Cuernos (both the camping and the refugio). It also has hot showers and a place to cook and eat. From that camping you can do the trekking to Las Torres. There is also another camping called Base Las Torres that's the closest to Las Torres (1 hour away). To stay at that camping you need to make a reservation with CONAF.
There is another camping that is farther away from Las Torres where the Hotel Las Torres is located and also costs $7000.
To decide you should also check the route you're going to do, because in my case I only did Grey, Italiano, Los Cuernos and Chileno. But some people stay at Paine Grande and go up to Mirador Britanico without staying at El Italiano.
I hope this informations works for you. Good luck and enjoy! It's an amazing place!
3
Thorn Tree
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