Torres del Paine Ecocamps

Trekking and hiking in Torres del Paine National Park need not be a basic affair.  You can hike in this spectacular area and still enjoy some comforts of modern life.

What is an Ecocamp?
It's a semi luxury camp, similar in concept to the famous African tented lodges.  It is a more comfortable alternative to refugios. It is environmentally friendly, which is very important especially in a national park with the characteristics of Torres del Paine. 

The Ecocamp has been designed with the comfort of our travellers in mind but above all stressing the importance of interfering as little as possible with the surroundings in which we have installed it. This need to protect the environment has meant that we have had to be very efficient in managing the eco-camps.  This means that we cannot offer such comforts as ensuite bathrooms, diesel generators etc. We are utilising new technologies and sustainable processes which demand a greater effort and more patience from our guests (less availability of water and solar energy for electricity, making compost, less waste etc).  We think that the solution that we have designed for our guests, in one of the most important national parks of the southern hemisphere, is efficient and in harmony with nature, we hope you agree.

What is the Eco-camp like?
We provide spacious domed tents for 2 people to share.  They are 2 meters high and the floor is of vitrified wood.  The tents are resistant to the strongest winds, rain and even Patagonian snow and they are each equipped with 2 single beds, sheets, blanket and feather cover with heating from a propane stove.

The Ecocamp also has a large dome tent of 9m diameter (30 ft) and 4.5m high (15 ft). It has a living area, dining room and kitchen. The space is light and airy with a big panoramic window and it allows our guests to enjoy the evenings in Patagonia, even if they are a little cool.

The Ecocamp in Las Torres includes another large dome tent which is set up as a bathroom with showers and hot water. The toilet system uses a composting process (i.e. it transforms human waste into compost). A chef runs the kitchen of the Ecocamp.

Booking Your Space
There is limited space available at the Ecocamps and it is important to book your place as far ahead as possible, maybe 6-9 months is needed to be sure of getting a place.  Please note that we also accept bookings from private groups who want to hike in Torres del Paine and while space on the scheduled hikes is not usually a problem, space in the ecocamps is first come first booked and the private groups always request space at the ecocamps.  So please book as soon as you can to secure space at the ecocamps.

Pehoe Camp
Pehoe is located in a strategic location within the park, from there we start our hikes to the Grey Glacier and the French Valley. The park management has special regulations for Pehoe and here we have a very comfortable and portable camp.

Our camp in Pehoe uses comfortable and large mountain tents (designed for 4 but used by 2 people) and a large “Space Station” central dome (6m. diameter / 20 ft) as common area. We provide inflatable mats, sleeping bags with a polar fleece liner and lamp. The toilets facilities we use are those built by the park administration for this area. Those are located 150 meters from our camp and are shared with other people camping in the area. Hot showers are available there.

Refugios
Our program (025) include one night at Los Cuernos refugio. This is a typical mountain refuge, with rooms for 4-6 people. The beds are single, bunk type and we provide a sleeping bag and a polar fleece liner.  The bathrooms are also shared and they have hot water. The refugios are heated and have a dining area.

Patagonia Ecocamp Single Accommodation Policy
All accommodations at the Eco Camps in Torres del Paine are on a sharing basis only. There is no single accommodation available for the following reasons and we ask you to please understand.

There is a serious shortage in the number of beds in the whole Torres del Paine NP which doesn’t relate to the current demand of visitors to the park. This lack of beds is dramatic in the more remote areas of the park such as Pehoe and Grey where only mountain refugios with sextuple and quadruple rooms are available. When these refugios are full and it is raining outside the common areas are overcrowded.

Please understand our aims are to provide for our guests but also to respect and protect the wilderness areas. Providing single accommodation at the EcoCamps would mean a bigger visual impact and a larger consumption of energy and materials.

On our regular departures if we have odd numbers of males and females we will be then hosting one male and one female on a single basis unless we have triple room domes available.

If at the time of arrival at the EcoCamp you have a reasonable claim for single accommodation and there is availability it will be given.