{"id":8029,"date":"2025-02-10T17:32:48","date_gmt":"2025-02-10T22:32:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/shaleewanders.com\/?p=8029"},"modified":"2025-02-10T17:37:10","modified_gmt":"2025-02-10T22:37:10","slug":"the-o-trek-torres-del-paine-national-park","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/shaleewanders.com\/the-o-trek-torres-del-paine-national-park\/","title":{"rendered":"Everything to Know About The O Trek in Torres Del Paine National Park"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\t

Travel With Me! Discover trips to New Zealand, Maldives, Europe and More in 2025 & 2026. Explore here<\/a><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\"Shalee\n\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n

\n\t\tEverything to Know About The O Trek in Torres Del Paine National Park\n\t<\/h1>\n\t

February 10th, 2025<\/p>\n\t

\"O<\/a><\/p>\n

A few days ago, I returned to Wyoming for three weeks in South America. Nine of those days were spent in Torres Del Paine National Park hiking the O Trek.<\/p>\n

The trip was one of my hosted group trips, which brings people together for adventure trips worldwide. I picked out the O Trek in Patagonia as a trip back in 2023, and it finally took place recently in January 2025. Together, the ten of us completed 9 days and 80 miles on the trek.\u00a0<\/p>\n

It was one of the most rewarding, bougie, and epic camping experiences I’ve had yet to date. As someone who usually spends her backpacking trips suffering in the wilderness and living off cheap ramen and instant mashed potatoes, this trek was pure luxury. It was also filled with some of the most incredible scenery. Torres Del Paine National Park is even more beautiful in person.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"O<\/a><\/p>\n

Everything to Know About The O Trek in Torres Del Paine National Park<\/b><\/h2>\n

The Specifics: O Trek vs W Trek\u00a0<\/b><\/h2>\n

To start, let’s look at the details:\u00a0<\/p>\n

Total Mileage<\/b>: 136km (83.3 miles)\u00a0<\/p>\n

Total Gain: <\/b>16,200ft\u00a0<\/p>\n

Total Time:<\/b> 8-9 days<\/p>\n

The O Trek is a longer and more remote variation of the more popular W Trek. If you’re wondering where their names come from, the W Trek is shaped as a ‘W,’ and the O Trek is shaped as an ‘O.’ Pretty simple!\u00a0<\/p>\n

The O Trek includes the W Trek and an additional 50 miles in more remote sections of Torres Del Paine National Park.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The W Trek is 37 miles long and can be done in as little as 3 days. It is incredibly popular and crowded, and, in my opinion, I would’ve been a little disappointed if I had just done the W Trek because it is so commercialized and crowded. It felt more like a series of day treks strung together instead of a true trekking experience. With that being said, the W Trek has some incredible scenery and is still worth every step. It’s just different from the O sections!\u00a0<\/p>\n

The O Trek is a one-way trail, so if you do the trek, you will always complete the ‘O’ section first and finish on the ‘W’ trek. Once you enter the W Trek section, the trail can be hiked both ways.\u00a0<\/p>\n

This map shows the entire O Trek, with the W section highlighted in Yellow:\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"O<\/a><\/p>\n

Meals & Drinks Along the O Trek\u00a0<\/b><\/h2>\n

One of the craziest parts about the O Trek is the access to food. In fact, you could trek the entire loop just carrying snacks and a stove. There are two main ways to eat along the trek:\u00a0<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Pay for meals prepared by each camp: It’s important to note that no, these meals aren’t cheap. Every camp along the way has a dining hall with food prepared by the workers that groups and individuals can pay to eat at, like a restaurant. Along the O Trek portion of the trail, camp employees prepare meals that include soup, main dish, salad, bread, and dessert. Once you get to the W Trek, meals at Grey and Paine Grande are buffets. The buffets cost $55, which is very pricey! This option also includes a packed lunch every day, which they give you before departing camp to carry along the trail. The packed lunch usually includes a sandwich, protein bar, dried fruit, sometimes an orange, and some sort of chocolate treat.\u00a0<\/li>\n
  2. Pack a camp stove: Many trekkers opt to bring a camp stove with a couple of meals but buy food along the way. In addition to each camp having a dining hall, everyone also has a small market. The market size varies at each camp. For example, Dickson and Paine Grande have larger markets, while Perros camp only has a small, minimal market. However, they all offer snacks (cookies, chips, granola bars, etc.) and a range of meal ingredients (noodles, pasta sauce, ramen, tuna, etc.).<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    So, even if you aren’t splurging on the fancy lodge meals, you can still complete the O Trek carrying minimal food & meals if you plan to buy them along the way. Yes, the markets are slightly more expensive, but the prices weren’t bad. $2 for candy, $3 for bags of chips, $2 for pasta, etc.\u00a0<\/p>\n

    I was also surprised that some of the camps have bars. Yes, you read that right…bars! Camp Grey, Paine Grande, and Cuernos all have bars inside their lodges. All of these are located on the W side of the trek. You can order beers, pisco sours, cocktails, wine, or whatever else you want to drink. I told you this trek was boujie!\u00a0<\/p>\n

    Even the camps without bars offer local Patagonian beers for sale. The only camp that does not sell alcohol is Perros camp, which is the most minimalist camp.\u00a0<\/p>\n

    \"O<\/a>\"O<\/a><\/p>\n

    WiFi Along the O Trek\u00a0<\/b><\/h2>\n

    Another surprise along the trek is that almost all camps have WiFI available for purchase. Perros, the camp before John Gardner Pass, is the only camp that does not offer WiFi. As of 2025, the WiFi prices are:\u00a0<\/p>\n

    7,000 (roughly 7 USD ) for 30 minutes\u00a0<\/p>\n

    10,000 (roughly 10 USD) for one hour\u00a0<\/p>\n

    15,000 (roughly 15 USD) for six hours\u00a0<\/p>\n

    25,000 (roughly 25 USD) for 24 hours\u00a0<\/p>\n

    \"O<\/a><\/p>\n

    What to Pack for The O Trek<\/b><\/h2>\n

    Here is everything I would pack for the O Trek. If you do the trip as a group or through G Adventures, you may also have a group of porters to help carry your sleeping bag and 2.5kilos of additional weight.\u00a0<\/p>\n

    If you don’t have porters, you can still choose not to carry your own tent, as every camp has fixed tents that can be rented. Here is what I packed:\u00a0<\/p>\n