During my extensive pre-trip research after reading multiple travel books & reviewing several online sources, I devised a massive list with my notes on anyplace that sounded somewhat intriguing. I still use it as a guide to this day as I discuss with fellow travelers their favorite spots & I decide where to go next. Some of those places just stuck with me for various reasons – a quirky description, a can’t-miss experience or breathtaking photos. Torres Del Paine in Chile’s Southern Patagonia region fell into the last bucket. Googled photos of the national park’s mountainous massif had been implanted in my brain & I would literally dream about this place. So there was no chance I was missing it. After only visiting Santiago in Chile & skipping some other places up north I really wanted to visit, I hopped a flight to Punta Arenas in no man’s land on the Southern most tip of SA, then a bus to Puerto Natales, & finally another bus to Torres Del Paine. I felt like I couldn’t spend any more time further north as the high summer season in Patagonia ended with March as April brings fall weather & that means 3 things: (1) fewer tourists which is great for me bc I don’t have to book in advance (this is a recurring theme) as trail access & lodging typically shut down after April; (2) colder temperatures & more unpredictable weather as you often see 4 seasons in one day although I clearly missed out on summer; & (3) leaves changing color so even prettier photos. Yes please. 
Parque Nacional Torres Del Paine is famous for this great massif contained within consisting of sheer granite towers of Las Torres on one side & the multicolored Los Cuernos on the other side. And oh yeah, the famous massif is surrounded by other mountains, glaciers, lakes, pampas & the entire park is just drop dead beautiful. You see it, you want to be in it. So of course, trekking is the thing to do & there are a ton of hiking trails. The most popular backpacker trek is referred to the “W” hike – 4-5 days of hikes taking in a glacier, a steep valley & the mirador Las Torres. So most backpackers who do this come equipped with tents, sleeping bags, mattress pads, cooking stoves, all food & drink, etc & camp outside in between the hikes. Now I manage to pack a lot of shit in my relatively small Kelty backpack to take me from oceans to mountains & everyplace in between but I sure as hell do not have room for that crap & I don’t happen to own any of it anyways. However, most people I met who were camping came specifically only to TDP or spent 2 months doing the same in Patagonia or elsewhere in SA. Camping’s not really my thing. Especially in freezing temperatures & high winds as it was every night overnight while I visited for a week accompanied by periodic snow & rain. No thanks. But I love trekking & I wanted to do the trails. So with a little bit of research & a lot more money, you can do a comfy version of the W & stay in lodges at the base of the massif & in the pampas & do the exact same treks but sleep in a bed with heat & hot showers. Doing the hikes as daytrips after a good night of sleep & with only a daypack enabled me to make great time, as did hanging out at high-altitude for 6wks prior to these hikes that start at sea level (what a breeze), & I’d knock out 8-9hr hikes per day as opposed to 4-5hrs the crazy folks suffer through each day. So that’s what I did. Happily. And I’d do it again in a heartbeat.