What to Pack for Torres del Paine: Day Tour and Trek Checklists

What to bring on a full day

This covers a single day out and back, the shape of every day tour on this site. Twelve items, none of it heavy.

• Windproof outer shell, cuts the chill at every viewpoint stop
• Warm mid-layer, fleece or wool, temperature swings fast between the van and outside
• Quick-dry base layer, not cotton, cotton stays wet and cold once the wind hits it
• Sturdy closed-toe shoes with grip, gravel viewpoints and short uneven walks
• Hat that won't blow off, ideally with a chin strap, loses in the wind otherwise
• Sunglasses, glare off the lakes and the ice is real even on a grey day
• Sunscreen, UV is strong at this latitude regardless of temperature
• Refillable water bottle, no shade and few stops to buy more
• Daypack, about 25 litres, enough for layers, water and lunch, small enough for the van
• Cash in small bills, the Milodón Cave stop and roadside kiosks don't all take cards
• Phone or camera charged, with a spare battery, cold drains batteries faster than usual
• Your pasesparques.cl QR ticket, saved and printed, your proof of entry at the gate

Three layers, not one heavy jacket

The mistake we see most often is one thick coat instead of layers. A single heavy jacket traps sweat on the walk from the van to the viewpoint, then leaves you cold and damp the moment the wind hits, and Patagonian wind hits often and without warning. A three-layer system handles both problems.

• Base layer: a quick-dry synthetic or wool top, never cotton, worn against the skin
• Mid layer: a fleece or light insulated jacket, added or removed as the wind picks up or drops
• Outer layer: a genuinely windproof and water-resistant shell, the one piece that matters most on an exposed ridge

Why this matters more here than most places

The wind is not an occasional feature of a visit, it is the defining condition of the park in every season, strongest in the austral summer months of December, January and February and calmer but still present the rest of the year. A layering system you can add to or strip off in under a minute, standing at a viewpoint with your pack open, is worth more than any single piece of expensive gear.

What a day tour actually needs

You are on your feet for short stretches between the van and a viewpoint, on gravel and packed dirt, not on a trail for hours at a time. Sturdy closed-toe shoes with real tread, trail runners or light hikers, are enough. Trainers with worn-out soles are the one thing we'd tell you to swap before you come; the gravel at Grey Beach and the Laguna Amarga lookout gets slick when it's wet, which is often.

What the W trek needs instead

Four to five days of uneven trail, river-adjacent sections and long descents call for broken-in hiking boots with ankle support, not the shoes you'd wear on a day tour. Boots that are new out of the box are how people end the first day of a trek in blisters; break yours in on shorter walks before you fly down. Sandals or flip-flops are fine at camp in the evening and nowhere else on the route.

What the day-tour list doesn't cover

The W Trek Express covers accommodation, meals, ferry tickets and transfers across its five days, with the Base Torres day guided and the rest independent. None of that includes the personal gear below.

• Sleeping bag rated for near-freezing nights, refugio nights run cold even at the height of summer
• Trekking poles, steadies you on the exposed sections between refugios and viewpoints
• Broken-in hiking boots, days of uneven trail, not a day tour's short walks
• Waterproof rain shell and rain pants, Puerto Natales gets 1,581 mm of rain a year and it falls in every month, there is no dry season
• Insulated jacket for camp, temperatures drop fast once you stop moving
• Gaiters, keeps gravel and rain out of your boots on exposed passes
• Headlamp, refugio common areas and early starts before full light
• Blister kit and basic first aid, consecutive days in boots will test your feet
• Dry bags for clothes and electronics, rain and river spray reach into an open pack fast
• Refillable water bottle or bladder, streams cross the route, but carry your own container
• Proof of your refugio and campsite bookings, rangers check these at gates and route checkpoints
• A gas-canister stove only, if you're cooking your own meals, the only fuel type CONAF allows, and only in designated shelters

The same three layers, different weight

The kit stays the same shape all year, base, mid and outer layer, but what goes in each layer changes with the season. Full detail on temperatures and wind by month is in our best-time-to-visit guide; here is what that means for your bag.

Rules that go with every ticket

These are enforced, not suggestions. Rangers expel visitors for breaking the fire rule and CONAF confiscates equipment for the drone rule.

• Drones, banned across the whole national park; CONAF confiscates the equipment, expels the visitor and reports them to the civil aviation authority
• Open fires and campfires, banned everywhere in the park, a rule tightened after the 2011-2012 fire that burned roughly 176 km² of the park, about 36 km² of it native forest
• Alcohol burners, liquid-fuel and wood stoves, not allowed anywhere; only gas-canister stoves are permitted, and only in designated cooking shelters at campsites that have them
• Candles, banned outright, even inside a tent

The honest breakdown

Inclusions vary by tour, and none of the day tours we list include personal gear. Here is what each type of trip actually covers, drawn from the tours themselves.

Pricing note

Tour prices in this table match what we quote across this site: $75 for the Puerto Natales full day tour, $1,170 for the five-day W Trek Express. Last verified: August 2026.

The town is set up for this

You don't need to fly south with a sleeping bag and trekking poles taking up half your luggage allowance. The trekking-focused hostels in Puerto Natales rent full kits by the day, tents, sleeping bags rated for the wind, stoves, poles and dry bags, and store the luggage you're not carrying into the park while you're gone. It is worth arriving a day early specifically to sort this rather than trying to do it the same morning you leave for the trailhead.