Torres del Paine O Circuit hiking guide: route map, stages & where to stay

The O Circuit, officially the Circuito Macizo Paine, is the full loop around the Paine massif in Torres del Paine National Park, Chilean Patagonia. It joins the quiet back side of the massif (the Serón meadows, Lake Dickson, the Los Perros valley and the John Gardner Pass above Grey Glacier) to the famous W section along the south side (Paine Grande, the Valle del Francés and Los Cuernos). The loop is about 93 km, takes 7 to 9 days, and must be walked counter-clockwise. You sleep in refuges and campsites that you book in advance; wild camping is forbidden. If you only want the south side, see the Outest W Trek guide, which covers the same refuges from Grey to Central.

The route

The O starts and ends at Central, near the Las Torres Welcome Center. Day 1 heads north over open grassland to Serón. Day 2 follows the Paine River past the Coirón ranger station to Lake Dickson and its glacier. Day 3 climbs through beech forest to Los Perros, the last camp before the pass. Day 4 is the crux: an early start, a steep climb to the John Gardner Pass (about 1,200 m), the first view over Grey Glacier and the Southern Patagonian Ice Field, then a long, rough descent past two hanging bridges to Refugio Grey. From Grey you join the W: along Lake Grey to Paine Grande, past Italiano (where you can hike up the Valle del Francés) to Francés or Los Cuernos, and along Lake Nordenskjöld back to Central.

This guide uses the line mapped on OpenStreetMap and splits it into 7 stages, about 13.2 km each, ending at the places hikers actually sleep: Serón, Dickson, Los Perros, Grey, Paine Grande, Francés and Central. Two famous side trips are not counted in the loop: the Base Torres lookout from Central (about 19 km return, 8 hours, usually done on the last day) and the Valle del Francés to the Británico lookout from Italiano (about 11.5 km return).

Highlights

• John Gardner Pass: the high point of the trek and the moment Grey Glacier and the ice field appear below you
• Grey Glacier and the hanging bridges: ice views all the way from the pass down to Refugio Grey
• Lake Dickson: a remote refuge on a glacier lake that W hikers never see
• Valle del Francés: hanging glaciers on Paine Grande and a granite amphitheatre at the Británico lookout
• Base Torres: the three granite towers above their lake, best at sunrise from Chileno

When to walk the O Circuit

The back side of the O (Serón to Paso) opens only in summer. In 2025–26 it was open from 1 November to 31 March. For 2026–27 the park says it stays closed until 31 October 2026 and reopens after a weather and safety check, so plan for November to March and check the park's daily report before you go. December to February has the longest days and the most people. November and March are quieter but colder. Strong wind is normal, the weather changes fast, and rain, sleet and snow are possible in any month, especially at the pass.

How many days do you need?

Most hikers take 8 days: 7 stages around the loop plus a last day for Base Torres. Fit hikers do it in 7; add a spare day for bad weather at the pass, because rangers close it when the wind is too strong. Your bookings fix the itinerary, as the back side has only one place to sleep at each stop.

Permits, booking and getting there

You need two things before you arrive. First, a park entrance ticket from pasesparques.cl, bought at least 24 hours ahead; it is not sold at the gates. On 15 October 2026 the multi-day pass costs CLP 48,500 for foreigners and CLP 14,200 for Chilean adults, and it covers one continuous stay of up to 10 days. Second, a confirmed booking for every night: Serón, Francés, Cuernos, Chileno and Central are run by Las Torres Patagonia; Dickson, Los Perros, Grey and Paine Grande by Vértice. Without these bookings rangers will not let you into the mountain area. Book early: the O has a limit of 100 people a day.

Fly to Puerto Natales or Punta Arenas. Buses (Bus-Sur, Buses Gómez and others) run from Puerto Natales to the Laguna Amarga entrance, where you register; a Las Torres shuttle, booked ahead, covers the last 7 km to the Welcome Center. If you must leave the loop early, the Grey III boat crosses Lake Grey to Hotel Lago Grey and the catamaran runs from Paine Grande to Pudeto on the park road.

Rules on the trail

Register at every ranger station, and sign out at Los Perros and Paso. Each section has a cut-off time; in 2025–26 you had to leave Dickson by 14:00 and Los Perros by 07:00 for the pass. Walking in the dark is forbidden. Fire of any kind is banned and the fines are heavy: cook on a gas stove only in the campsite cooking shelters, and not at all at Chileno. Carry out all your rubbish. No guide is required for the O since 1 January 2026. CONAF's Paso and Italiano campsites are closed, so the long Los Perros to Grey day cannot be split.

Money, food and phone signal

Vértice prices are in Chilean pesos and Las Torres prices in US dollars; non-resident foreigners who show their passport and tourist entry card get the dollar rate without VAT. A bed or tent pitch costs from about USD 11 at Vértice campsites to USD 230 in a Las Torres refuge, and full board costs about USD 110–140 a day, so many hikers carry their own food and a stove. Dickson and Los Perros have small shops, but Los Perros serves no meals. There is no mobile signal on the circuit and no Wi-Fi at Los Perros. Carry a satellite messenger or PLB if you can.

Difficulty and safety

The O is hard. The paths are well marked, but the days are long, the back side is muddy and rooty, and the pass day is 10–12 hours with about 600 m of climbing on loose rock and a steep descent. In November 2025 five hikers died in a storm near the John Gardner Pass; since then the park closes the pass in advance when strong wind, low freezing levels and snow are forecast, and on the spot in a storm. Start the pass day before dawn, carry full waterproofs, warm layers, gloves, a hat and trekking poles, and turn back to Los Perros if the ranger tells you to. The park does not recommend the O for children under 14.

History

Torres del Paine was declared a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve in 1978 and is run by CONAF, Chile's forest and parks service. Much of the eastern side, including Central, Serón and Chileno, lies in the private Las Torres reserve, which runs the refuges there. The back side was closed after the November 2025 deaths, reopened in December 2025 with new controls, and reopens for the 2026–27 season once rangers judge it safe.