Best Time to Visit Torres del Paine

November to March

Months to avoid: May to August (park partially closes, trails icy, most refugios shut, extreme cold and wind)

Recommended stay: 5-8 days

Plan Torres del Paine for November to March. Give it 5-8 days. The window to avoid is May to August (park partially closes, trails icy, most refugios shut, extreme cold and wind).

What the season gets you

• The Base of the Towers at sunrise after the 2.5-hour pre-dawn scramble: a cirque lake with three sheer granite towers turning orange, which lasts maybe twenty minutes before cloud moves in
• Grey Glacier is the size of a city and drops ice chunks into the lake directly in front of you; the kayak route gets close enough to hear it crack
• The O Circuit takes you to the back side of the massif where almost nobody goes, with campsites that feel genuinely remote