Torres Del Paine (Mar 2026)
12 Mar 2026 (Thu) - 13 Mar 2026 (Fri)
We flew Turkish Airways through Istanbul to Santiago, with a refuelling stop at Sao Paolo. The flights were quite full up to Sao Paolo, after which the plane became half-full. We reached Istanbul slightly late (due to the route realignment because of conflict in Iran) but managed to reach Santiago on time. We took the Transvip return taxi service to reach our hotel - Novapark. Hotel check in would only starts at 3pm, so we left our baggage at the hotel and went out to Mount St Lucia for a walk. The weather was sunny and I forgot to bring out my hat. After the hike to the top of Santa Lucia, we headed to Lastaria for lunch. The portion of the lunch was huge. There were stalls selling arts related merchandises outside the Arts Museum near Lastaria. Finally, it was 3pm and we could check into our hotel. MP was already in Santiago a few days earlier and stayed at another hotel. The hotel rooms were clean and to our satisfaction. We slept early that day.
Pictures taken on 13 Mar 2026
P1. On the way up Cerro St Lucia.
P2. View point from Cerro St Lucia.
P3. There is vinyl shop in Santiago. There was a bookstore too.
P4. Art stalls in Lastaria area.
P5.
P6. Chicken and potato with whipped cream.
P7. Our first lunch in Santiago. An English speaking waiter helped us to take order. Portion was huge.
14 Mar 2026 (Sat)
The next morning, we took our take-away boxed breakfasts set with us and took the Transvip van to the domestic terminal in Santiago Airport and checked in for our flight. The security personnel told me that I must check in the hiking poles inside my check in luggage (Turkish didn't have such requirement). So, I went back to the check in counter and checked in my luggage. Yap's seat was reassigned cos someone bought his chosen seat (which he didn't pay for it).The plane reached Puerto Natales around 1240pm. From the airport, we could already see the snow mountains surrounding the region. Weather was gloomy. After collecting our luggage, we approached a shuttle company for transfers. the lady manning the booth told us to take 2 cabs, she said it will be faster and cheaper. So we took 2 cabs to Santolla, the restaurant for our lunch. The hostel next to Santolla allowed us to park our luggage there while we were having lunch, the restaurant was probably linked to the restaurant. MP gave us a treat. The king crab was delicious. We tried the local Chilean wine, went well with the food.
Yap could not use his Trust credit card to pay for the rooms at Hotel Florence Dixie, so we ended up paying USD in cash. Hotel payment in CLP will attract VAT, so tourists normally pay for accommodations in USD (card/cash). Hotel will ask for PDI slip issued by the immigration as well. The temperature in Puerto Natales was low, a stark contrast to the warm and sunny Santiago the day before. Heater in the room was already turned on for us to beat the cold.
There was long queue at the check out counters in Umimarc Supermarket and the self service kiosks refused to take our credit cards for payment. After our grocery shopping at Unimarc, we went to El Bote for dinner. Portion was big and food was delicious. After dinner, we beat the chill and walked back to the hotel.
Pictures taken on 14 Mar 2026:
P8. Latam flight landed in Puerto Natales Airport.
P9. Lunch was at a restaurant with walk-in only - Santolla. Good food and good wine as usual, a generous treat by MP.
P10. Local wine.
P11.
P12. Saludo!
15 Mar 2026 (Sun)
Another early day to catch the morning bus from Puerto Natales to Torres Del Paine at 650am. We had early breakfasts at the hotel and took two cabs to the bus station. They were 2 buses, one was departing at 645am, another at 650am and we nearly boarded the wrong bus since the two buses were parked side by side and departed 5 minutes apart. MP bumped into another fellow countrymate at the bus station. Chris (a lady) was wheelchair bound 7 months ago and managed to do trekking with her daughter now thanks to some miraculous recovery.I sat near the toilet at the back to take pictures of the sunrise while the bus was heading towards Torres Del Paine. When we crossed the ranger check point, park rangers came up to the bus to check for entry ticket. Shortly after, we reached the first bus stop at Laguna Armaga. We took our luggage and got down the bus. We took some photos at the scenic viewpoint at the bus drop off point. After that we queued for the CONAF shuttle transfer in the open area that will take us to Las Torres bus point, a short distance from Refugio Central. CONAF shuttles accepted only cash. We got to the starting point around 10am. I bought a beanie, a pair of gloves and a neck gaiter at the souvenir shopping area. For those trekking from West to East, this will be the end point of their treks.
We had a short walk to Camping Central (next to Refugio Central) and had our brunch there before trekking towards Chileno. We reached Refugio Chileno around 12 noon. We were assigned tent no.1, 2 and 3. Refugio Chileno no longer had beds for trekkers and the beds in refugios are now only for staff use. All trekkers have to stay at the tents (with or without sleeping bags) outside the refugio. Since it was still early, we put our bags at the restaurant and trek towards Mirador Las Torres. We crossed the ranger point at 215pm, before the cut-off time of 3pm. From then on, it was a hard trek up to the towers on granites. We reached the towers around 3pm and took photos. We bumped into 2 Singaporeans who were studying at USA. We also got to know another trekker from USA, Tibor, who was filming condors. He used to be working at Wawona Hotel near Yosemite. He was also staying at Chileno, so we invited him to join our table during dinner service.
Someone took my hiking poles that I left near the towers. I had to trek down with one of Yap's pole. We reached Refugio Chileno around 6pm and after some quick checking in with our staff into our tents, we went to the dining room to ger ready for dinner (7pm-8pm, one hour of dining, 1st batch.). There were 30-minute free wifi but none of us can log in and use the internet. Tibor joined us for dinner at the table. We got our welcome drinks from the counter as well, thanks to him, as he asked if we had claimed our welcome drinks. I also managed to get my phone charged at the counter using the type-C adaptor of the counter staff, as I forgot to bring my own adaptor. The counter staff listened to my sob story of losing poles and lent me his own personal poles for the next day hike.
There were two showering facilities, one at the new building (where we did our check-in earlier), the other at the Refugio Chileno building where the dining room was. I chose to use the one at the refugio, as the fireplace at the dining hall provided the warmth necessary to keep the body warm after shower. There was a brief drizzle after dinner that didn't last long.
The tent was quite spacious and came with sleeping bags. I felt cold inside the tent as Yap didn't close the flap that block the wind, for fear that I could not unzip them at night. As a result I was shivering inside while sleeping. When i went to the toilet at 12 midnight, I brought my mobile phone along to the dining hall and could log into the page for the free wifi connection. To my surprise, I saw someone came out from the showering room (which was now closed for only the staff, with a plastic chain hang across the walkway) at this ungodly hour - it was MP! I taught him how to log in for the free wifi and went back to sleep.
Pictures taken on 15 Mar 2026:
P13. Passengers waiting to get on the morning Bus Sur to Torres Del Paine.
P14. We are ready to go!
P15. The pictures were captured from the window at the end of the bus, with toilet smell the whole way.
P16.
P17.
P18. Taken at the panoramic view point near the CONAF shuttle waiting point. You can see Mirador Las Torres at the far end.
P19.
P20. The hiking path towards Refugio Chileno. Further in will be the trek to Mirador Las Torres.
P21. The stream near Refugio Chileno.
P22. Mirador Las Torres in the afternoon.
P23.
P24. Waiting to stand on the rock for a picture.
P25. Finally got our turn on the rock.
P26.
P27. The narrow and steep hiking path to Mirador Las Torres.
P28. Colourful mushrooms discovered by Tibor on our way down.
P29.
P30. Our tent for the night near Refugio Chileno.
P31. Dinner at Refugio Chileno with Tibor.
V1. Panoramic viewing point near CONAF shuttle transfer point.
16 Mar 2026 (Mon)
I woke up at 520am after being woken up by the chatters of the early hikers and realised I set my alarm clock wrongly. I quickly packed all my stuff and moved them to the dining room. After some quick wash up in the toilet, I went to the dining room to take some breakfasts that hikers didn't finish, possibly due to the lack of appetite too early in the morning. Tibor was already ready to leave for the towers. It was pitched dark but there was no wind or drizzle. I borrowed the headlamp from MP the night before and started to hike in the dark alone. I reached the towers around 730am. I didn't get near the lake shore this time, instead I went higher up and waited for the orange hue that will be shone on the towers. There was a group of Israelis youngsters there and we chatted. Unfortunately, only a faint orange hue descended on the towers, and it lasted like only 1 minute. There were no clouds at the towers yet there were no orange hues either. I waited for a while and saw most people left. There was a group of youngsters dancing and singing on a big boulder a distance away, I went over and see what was happening. Apparently, the group of young hikers were celebrating the completion of their O circuit trek and were singing and dancing on the rock. They just finished their ritual when i reached the boulder, so I asked them to sing another song and dance while I recorded their video. We ended up singing together and posed for pictures. They said I must also do the same ritual if I ever completed the O circuit next time. That was a big IF.
I walked back to Chileno and gathered the stuff that I stashed at the dining room before the start of the morning trek. I returned the hiking poles to the friendly counter staff and thanked him profusely. After taking in some food as lunch, I started trekking towards Refugio Cuernos at 1138am. I was alone at the trail, and I kept wondering if I was in the correct trail as I had no one to check with. Apparently, some who trekkers who were supposed to go to Refugio Central were on my trail, which was a longer route and clearly a mistake. They turned left towards Refugio Central at the first opportunity.
The hiking path was narrow at some parts due to the presence of thorny plants on both sides. Some parts were swampy (just like 9 years ago, but much drier in comparison this time.). I managed to reach Refugio Cuernos around 510pm. I first went to Camping Cuernos check-in area by mistake but was told that I should go to the Refugio Cuernos check-in area next door. My trekking groupmates already checked into Room 6 and waiting for me. I quickly went to take a shower as dinner was at 7pm. The food served was quite good and we had a good time trading our trekking stories as they had breakfasts in Chileno before setting off at 9am. We noticed more trekkers walking from the opposite direction than our East-West direction. Yau told me one of the hikers tested the depth of the swampy patch by dropping his pole inside, and half the pole was swallowed by the swamp instantly.
P31. Nice orange hue at the far end near the lakes when I was hiking up to Las Torres.
P32.
P33. Faint orange hue on the towers.
P34. Mirador Las Torres illuminated by the morning sun.
P35.
P36. Posing with the hikers who completed their O Circuit trek as a boy band group.
P37. Autumn was starting soon.
P38.
P39. Clear glacial stream.
P40.
Videos:
V2. Mirador Las Torres in the morning
V3. Mirador Las Torres in the morning.
V4A. Group of hikers singing near Mirador Las Torres to celebrate the completion of their O circuit hike.
V4B.
17 Mar 2026 (Tue)
The next day, the wind picked up. We took a group photo and started trekking at around 9am. Ric, MP and Yap walked in front while Yau and I were behind. Yau and I reached Refugio Frances 1.5 hours later and took snack and washroom break. The wind was so strong, Yau's cap was blown into the thorny bushes, and he had to use his trekking pole to retrieve his cap. The wave lashed the shores like a sea. Yau and I reached Camp Italiano and realised that Ric, MP and Yap already left towards Paine Grande. Yau went ahead to Paine Grande to join them. I took some food there as lunch and stashed my belongings near Camp Italiano before started to trek towards French Valley at around 12pm. I managed to reach the Mirador French Valley viewpoint around 1pm. It was too late to proceed to the Britain Valley, which requires additional 3 hours return journey minimum. I started to walk down slowly and was in the same way as another group of joyful teenagers, who were chatty and boisterous. They were faster and more confident than I was in trekking downhill. When i bumped into them at Camp Italiano, they greeted me and we chatted briefly.It was 3pm and 7.5km stood between me and my destination tonight. Wind gust up to 68km/h pinned by brim hat to my eyes at times and I had a hard time maintaining my focus on the trail. Thorny plants poked holes on my supposedly hardy plastic bag and managed to enlarge the hole. At the last part, when I could finally see Refugio Paine Grande, sunny drizzle came. A rainbow across Lago Pehoe was seen. I reached Paine Grande around 538pm. The guys had checked into double rooms earlier. I was sharing a room with Yap. After a quick shower, we went to queue for dinner. We were given 1 hour to complete our dinners, but the queue took at least 20 minutes.
Pictures taken on 17 Mar 2026:
P41. Room inside Refugio Cuernos.
P42. Breakfasts at Refugio Cuernos.
P43.
P44. Ready to depart for the day.
P45. Nordenskjöld Lake.
P46.
P47.
P48. Hiking up French Valley.
P49. Colourful birds looking for food at Mirador French Valley.
P50. Hiking towards Refugio Paine Grande amidst strong wind and drizzle.
P51. Rainbow at Lago Pehoe.
P52. Finally reachin Refugio Paine Grande at 540pm.
Videos:
V5. Strong wind for one day.
V6. Strong wind seen from Mirador French Valley view point.
V7. Mirador French Valley.
18 Mar 2026 (Wed)
The next morning, we woke up early to have breakfasts, and it was the same queueing system again. The sunrise near Paine Grande was totally amazing, people come out to take pictures. The weather today was much better than yesterday's. The day was calm and we had blue sky. Ric and MP went for the trek towards Refugio Grey trailing Yap and I. Ric turned back earlier, while MP went all the way to Refugio Grey, ahead of Yap and I after we took photos at Mirador Lago Grey. MP did the return trip without using hiking poles. I bumped into an American-born Scot and we traded stories. He and his Asian wife did the O circuit, and he was wearing a Scottish Kilt throughout the trek, except for the section on the glacier, which was challenging. It was an uphill trek on the glacier coupled with strong wind. His wife's hat was blown off at the glacier. That sounded like Yau's story except that Yau's has a happier ending.
Yap and I reached Refugio Grey around 12 noon. The French that checked in behind us opted for later dinner (8pm) as they had ice hiking at Grey Glacier with BIGFOOT booked later at 230pm. Yap and I were thrilled, but not sure if BIGFOOT had vacancies for 2 more last minute bookings. It turned out that they had spaces available and we quickly changed our dinner reservations to 8pm with Refugio Grey. We checked into our room at 1pm and left for the BIGFOOT office. At 230pm, we were given briefings and went to the glacier on a zodiac. Our guides were very friendly, and they were very surprised to learn that I had done the Perito Merino Glacier BIG ICE hike in Argentina a few years back, with BIGFOOT as well.
We got to know a very cheerful local lady (Dromigo) whose laughter was infectious. We completed the hike and reached the BIGFOOT office around 640pm. After we checked into our room and took a shower, dinner at 8pm followed. The system was same as Paine Grande, except that there were no trays. We were not entitled to welcome drinks at Cuernos, Paine Grande and Grey because we didn't book the package and instead book the refugio beds individually. The sunset at 8pm was nice, we saw the orange hues at the top of the mountains.
Meanwhile in Refugio Paine Grande: Ric and MP returned to the refugio and realised they were assigned another room. Yau initially wanted to laze the day away, only to be chased out from the original room and asked to stay in common area until check in time at 3pm. Three of them ended up in another dormitory room with no bed sheets, due to the booking mistake made by me. If there were a silver lining out of this whole fiasco, Refugio Paine Grande didn't actually collect the extra fees for the bed sheets in the end, they probably forgot. Also Ric, MP and Yau ended up sharing a room with a group of volunteers from Yosemite, led by Amos. They were here in Torres Del Paine to carry out trail repair and conservation. I later learned from Tibor that he had a chat with the leader Amos. Such a small world, Tibor and this group were from the same part in USA.
Pictures taken on 18 Mar 2026:
P53. Beautiful sunrise at Refugio Paine Grande.
P54.
P55.
P56.
P57. We were boarding the zodiac to do the ice hiking.
P58. Kayaking organised by BIGFOOT.
P59. Breakfast at Refugio Paine Grande.
P60. Mirador Lago Grey.
P61. Milestone marker.
P62. Let's learn Spanish!
P63. Mirador Lago Grey.
P64.
P65. As seen from Mirador Lago Grey.
P66. One can learn Spanish this way.
P67.
P68. Refugio Grey.
P69. Kayaking Lago Grey organised by BIGFOOT.
P70. Taking zodiac to Grey Glacier.
P71. Zodiac returning to BIGFOOT base office after dropping us.
P72.
P73. Near the equipment area.
P74.
P75.
P76.
P77.
Deep blue Grey Glacier. The icebergs in Lago Grey, which calve from the Grey Glacier in Chile's Torres del Paine National Park, are intensely blue due to the extreme density of the ice and the absence of air bubbles, which allows them to absorb red light and scatter blue light. The ice is thousands of years old. The massive weight of accumulated snow has compressed it for centuries, squeezing out all the air bubbles that typically make ice look white. Without air bubbles to scatter light in all directions, sunlight penetrates deep into the dense, clear ice. During this journey, the red/warmer wavelengths of light are absorbed, while the shorter, higher-energy blue light is scattered and reflected back to our eyes.
P78.
P79.
P80.
P81. Ice hiker was taking some glacial melts as drinking water.
Videos:
V8. Sunrise at Refugio Paine Grande
V9. Sunrise at Refugio Paine Grande
V10. Panoramic viewpoint at Mirador Lago Grey.
V11. On zodiac towards Grey Glacier to do ice hiking.
V12. Ice Hiking at Grey Glacier.
V13. Ice hiking at Grey Glacier.
19 Mar 2026 (Thu)
I woke up early and borrowed a headlamp from Yap to do a solo hike up to the first swing bridge. The trail was not steep, unlike the second part from first swing bridge to the 2nd swing bridge, which I didn't have time for. Breakfasts were at 830am (the last batch) and had to finish by 915am. We went for the lookout point for some quick pictures of the glacier, before heading for the rocky beach to board the Grey III Navigation. The boat was already waiting for us when we reached the beach around 1030am. We went up, put our stuff down at the chair, and went up to see Grey Glacier in close distance. We went to the East Face (which we did our ice trekking the day before), then navigated to Middle Face and subsequently West Face. The ferry ended its journey around 12pm. We had to walk 1km to the bus stop near Hotel Grey on the sandy beach. The bus only departed at 130pm, so we spent some time at the waiting area and nearly missed the bus as we were looking at Singapore time, instead of Chile time. Luckily Yap realised and we walked quickly to the bus. The bus took 1.5 hours to reach Laguna Armaga and many passengers that either have no tickets or have later tickets (the last bus at 8pm) trying to get on the bus but there was simply no more seats available. Even the seat meant for our pal who didn't make it for the trip was sold to another passenger. I suspected the ticket proceeds went to the driver as bonus.
The bus reached the bus station around 5pm, right on time. Yap and I took our bags and went for the first taxi waiting at the taxi stand and reached Hotel Florence Dixie 10 minutes later. The car driver behind our taxi waited for us to get down, retrieved our luggage and even signalled us to cross the road before resuming her journey. The driver behind us was so polite.
We went to Afrigonia for dinner this evening and celebrate the end of our trekking adventure. We bought some souvenirs on the way back and saw suckling pig BBQ offered by one of the restaurants along the main road. Sadly, we had no more space for more food.
Pictures taken on 19 Mar 2026:
P82. First Swing Bridge.
P89. On the bus back to Puerto Natales.
V14. Early morning at the 1st swing bridge.
V15. Grey III Expedition approacing Grey Glacier.
V16. Grey III Expedition near Grey Glacier.
V17. Grey III Expedition near Grey Glacier.
20 Mar 2026 (Fri)
The weather was so good the next day. We saw amazing sunrise and pinkish hue on the snow mountains on the way to the airport, as well as near the vicinity of the airport. We even asked the cab driver to stop to take pictures. There were police along the road to test for drunk drivers. We were stopped but were cleared to leave after a while without checking. After reaching airport, i walked out to take pictures of the mountains basked in sunglow.The plane took off punctually and we could see the Mirador Las Torres towers from the right side of the plane (seat row F). The plane reached Santiago around 1240pm but the passenger loading bridge was only docked to the plane later due to unavailability of staff manoeuvring the bridge. It was probably the longest wait to use the washroom after.
We took transvip to the same hotel we left a few days ago and were able to check in. The weather in Santiago was wet today, so chilly. We just had simple late lunch nearby before going for dinner at a French Restaurant at the Botanic Park. The food was good. We took an uber back to the hotel, and the cost of an Uber was cheaper than the cost of getting two taxies.
Pictures taken on 20 Mar 2026:
P97. The cab driver stopped for us to take picture from the window.
P102. Mirador Las Torres as seen from the plane.
P103. School students were posing for us, at a restaurant opposite our hotel in Santiago. They were having a gigantic meal.
V18. Sunrise outside Puerto Natales Airport.
V19. Sunrise outside Puerto Natales Airport.
21 Mar 2026 (Sat):
The next day, Yap and I went to visit Cerro San Cristobal, while the rest went for their wine tasting tour with MP's ex-colleague. We took an uber to the starting point and walked up the hill. There were so many joggers and cyclists in the park during the weekend as the weather today was good. We could see the snow mountains flanking the city, the sky was less hazy thanks to the rain yesterday. At one point, there were Chilean Air Force planes and helicopters flew past us, roaring above our heads. At the end we reached the statue of Mother Mary at the top of the hill. We took the funicular down and had lunch near the Lastaria area. Yap and I went to the Art Museum to have a quick tour before taking metro to another area Cathedral. I didn't know that only payments above 1000 CLP can use card and hence could not pay for the apples I bought at a supermarket. When I booked an uber back to the hotel, the car stopped some distance away and charged us for the waiting time incurred.Dinner was at a Chinese restaurant which was around for 40 years, and we chatted with the boss and his relative. He told us Santago used to be much safer in the past but now the influx of Venezuelans and Columbians made the country less safe. The area near train station has some better Chinese restaurants but the safety at that area is more questionable. The Chinese Chamber of Commerce was just nearby and could have been his clients.
Pictures taken on 21 Mar 2026:
P105.
P106.
P107.
P108.
P109.
P110.
P111.
P112.
P119.
P114. Airforce planes and helicopters were seen near the peak of Cerro San Cristobal.
P117.
P116.
P118. Santiago is a city flanked by snow-capped mountains.
P127. La Casa Colorada, or the Red House, is situated at Merced 890, a short distance from the Plaza de Armas and facing the Phillips walk, in the heart of Santiago. Constructed between 1769 and 1779, La Casa Colorada served as the residence of Mateo de Toro Zambrano. It stands as one of the primary preserved examples of Chilean colonial urban architecture. Since 1981, La Casa Colorada has been home to the Museum of Santiago.
P128. Yap and I were taking the subway from Plaza de Armas to Cathedral on Green Line. We didn't have CLP cash so the security guard let us took the ride for free.
P129. The quiet neighbourhood just outside the Chinese Restaurant. Graffiti was everywhere in Santiago.
Video:
V20. Cerro San Cristobal.
22 Mar 2026 (Sun)
P130. Sunday morning in Santiago. We were on the way to the airport. 
It was back to gloomy weather the next day. We went to the airport in the cloudy mood, and I managed to get aisle seats for both segments. The flights felt shorter on the way back and we arrived at Istanbul on time. The refuelling stop at Sao Paolo was the most stressful cos no toilets were available for the duration of 1.5 hours as well as another 1 hour for the plane to reach stable height and with no turbulence. By the time the seatbelt sign was off, it was 3 hours since we were last allowed to use the toilets. I finally got a chance to chat with the crew. This crew went to Singapore before. She told me the tourists touts in Egypt were too aggressive for her liking. She found the shopping in Singapore too expensive. She likes Japan. The route to Tanzania was good for the crew as they were given 3 days rest, whereas the Singapore route only gave them 24 hours rest between flight duties.
Yap and Ric went for the Istanbul tours while Yau and I continue to wait in the airport for the next flight out to Singapore. The hours went by quickly and soon it was time for our flight. It was full flight again back to Singapore.
Notes:
1. Turkish got us to Santiago on time and Latam got us to Puerto Natales on time both ways. Some hikers didnt even know there was a flight to Puerto Natales, they flew via Punta Arenas (a bigger town with more flights) and took a 3-hour bus from there to Puerto Natales. 2. Turkish was among the few airlines that connect Asia to Santiago across Middle East. They have detoured quite a bit to avoid the conflict zone. The ticket price was very reasonable. The meals were ok but not fantastic. Breakfasts were always either omelette or pancakes, and pancakes tend to run out. Some crew members were friendly, others less so. Flights for all 4 segments were quite full. No choosing of seats during check in unless you bought seats. One has to request for seat change only at the check in counter. Snacks were only peanuts or pretzels or chocolates (same for all segments). The amenities bags were quite impressive though.
3. Latam flew to Puerto Natales, and this was my first time landing in that small airport. I chose seats in row A on the way to Puerto Natales but has no luck to see the towers due to the thick clouds. On the way back, I was seated at Row F and could see the towers clearly from the window. They only served one small packet of pop corns.
4. Other than the strong wind on day 2 of hiking, we were quite lucky with weather. The weather deteriorated to snow and rain in the following week. Guide was required for the base torres hike on 25 and 26 Mar 2026 due to the treacherous hiking conditions where microspike was required. You can check the weather and wind speed for the next day using windguru website recommended on reddit Patagonia forum.
5. Refugio Chileno used to have beds for trekkers but not anymore. Now one has to stay outside at raised platform tentages. Cuernos went for a makeover and was much nicer than 9 years ago. Paine Grande was the same. It was my first stay in Grey and the stay was not bad, though we didn't have very friendly bunkmates in the room.
6. Some people threw toilet papers into the toilet bowls in refugio and as a result the toilet bowls were clogged. I saw a trekker from this country (I prefer not to mention) that washed his sandals in the washing basin.
7. The refugios normally came with fireplace or heater, where we can dry our wet towels and wet gear.
8. Upon entering Santiago, Immigration will issue a PDI slip which was required for all hotels and refugios check in. If one present the PDI slip and pay in USD, Chilean VAT will be waived. USD has to be crisp and without any wear, tear or marking to be accepted, the Chilean were very particular about the conditions of USD notes. Upon leaving Chile, Immigration will take back the PDI slip.
9. I used card for payments in Chile, but card payments were only allowed for transactions more than CLP1000. (= 1.4 SGD approximately) We could not use credit card for the hotel payment in Puerto Natales but had no problem using the same credit card for hotel payment in Santiago. Normally when we make payments for food and services in Chile, the staff will ask if you would like to pay the 10% tips.
10. To use the subway in Metro, you need to either use Visa card (not sure if need to link the card to any app?). You can also get a BIP card (one BIP card can work for multiple people) at the station by paying with CLP cash. We ended up getting a free ride as we could not pay for the BIP card using credit/debit card, neither we had CLP cash (or wanted to withdraw CLP cash) to pay for BIP card. Exiting the station is easy, as it is just by pushing a metal gate, so even if one did not have any card, one can exit the gantry.
11. There was police stopping vehicles near Puerto Natales Airport checking for traffic related infractions like drunk driving etc on the day we were leaving the town.
12. There was a ranger guarding the entry near the steep rocky path to Mirador Las Torres, no entry was allowed after 3pm. If weather was too treacherous, winter gear and guide will be mandatory before the ranger allow hikers to hike up beyond the line.
13. There was kayak expedition and ice hiking by BIGFOOT near Refugio Grey. If I knew, I would have stayed one more day in Refugio Grey.
14. In order to complete the trek to Britanico, one must start from Refugio Cuernos really early and hike really fast, in order to reach Paine Grande before 7pm. The hike to Britanico takes minimum 3 hours.
15. The walk from the passenger loading bridge in Santiago Airport to the nearest toilet was far.
16. Trekking poles were not allowed to be carried as hand luggage from Santiago to Puerto Natales.
17. For popular restaurants at popular dinner times, prior reservations are strongly encouraged, especially for bigger groups. Unless you go during lunch time, or if you go earlier at 6pm. Some restaurants only accept walk-ins.
18. Uber was not legal in Chile, but we had no problems using Uber in Santiago. Be careful if you book Uber at a junction, sometimes you might not be able to locate the car and once you are late in entering the car, late charges will be levied. Sometimes you need to provide a 4-digit code to the driver for verification.
19. We used Transvip service to and from Santiago Airport. The price will be the same once you have 3 persons and above. You can book return service with them. The driver will normally be waiting for you in the hotel earlier than the stipulated time.
20. There was no time difference between Santiago and Puerto Natales. 11-hour time difference between Singapore and Chile.
21. Do not leave your poles unattended anywhere. I lost my hiking poles near Mirador Las Torres that way. I learnt it the hard way.
22. If you need to leave early and miss the breakfasts time, you can request for boxed breakfasts from the hotel the night prior. Do note that breakfasts might start later than usual days on Sundays or on Public Holidays, do check with the counter the night prior.
23. For the bus from Puerto Natales to Torres Del Paine, there were 2 buses by Bus Sur on the day of our departure, one at 645am and one at 650am. Once we got off at Laguna Armaga, we had to queue for CONAF shuttle in the open and pay for the fare 4500 CLP in cash only, no card payment is possible. Luckily the weather was kind, else waiting for CONAF shuttle in the rain/snow would not be fun. Some passengers continue their journey to the next stop at pudeto for the catamaran towards Paine Grande. Some will take the bus all the way until Hotel Grey (end point) to take the Grey III Navigation ferry to reach Refugio Grey, or the round-trip tour with Grey III Navigation.
On the day of return, Yap and I took the bus by Bus Sur at 130pm from Hotel Grey to Puerto Natales, with stops at Pudeto and Laguna Armaga. At Laguna Armaga, there were many people with either no bus tickets or with bus tickets for later timing (8pm) and hoping to get on the earlier bus at 3pm. They were mostly disappointed as there were simply no seats on the bus. Even our extra seat was sold away to accommodate another extra passenger. (The fees collected most likely went to the driver.)
24. Grey III Navigation ferry can only operate if the wind speed is below a certain limit. On days with treacherous weather, the ferry will not operate. There are 4 navigations per day. The first 2 navigations in the morning will make Refugio Grey the first stop before visiting the East, Central and West faces of the Grey Glacier and return to Hotel Grey. (The ferry was owned and operated by the hotel.). The next two navigations in the afternoon will visit the glaciers first before dropping/picking up passengers last at Refugio Grey. Do note the possible cancellations due to wind and weather (always check the WindGuru website the night prior and have a plan B just in case.) and the route deviations between the navigations in the morning and in the afternoon.
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