Base Torres hike starting point: gate, shuttle and parking

The Base Torres hike starting point is the Hotel sector of Las Torres, beside the Welcome Center, and not the park gate where buses stop. Chile's tourism board describes the arrangement plainly: you reach the Laguna Amarga gate, and a transfer takes you on to the Hotel sector, the official start of the trail to Base Torres.³ The trail then leaves for the Ascencio valley from there.

Las Torres Patagonia, which runs the reserve, places its Welcome Center between the CONAF gatehouse at Laguna Amarga and Hotel Las Torres, and it puts the hotel 7 kilometers from Laguna Amarga.^7,8 The Welcome Center is where hikers plan their day, make reservations and get information about the reserve and the national park.⁹ Think of it as the real trailhead, with the gate as the front door of the park.

Knowing this saves a common mistake. If you drive or ride the bus to Laguna Amarga expecting to start walking, you still have the road to the Welcome Center ahead of you. The trailhead panel of the map on this page shows the gate, the Welcome Center, the hotel, the Camping Central area and the Ascencio bridge, so you can see how the pieces sit before you arrive. Once you reach the Welcome Center, the car park and the start of the trail sit close together.

Between the gate and the trailhead runs a shuttle operated by Las Torres. Its fare in the park's current season bulletin is CLP 5,000 a head for each leg, and the driver takes cash only.²³ Bring Chilean pesos for it; there is no card option on the bus itself. Small notes make the exchange quicker for everyone in the queue.

The shuttle is timed for the public buses, meeting them coming in and going out, according to the bulletin, and Bus-Sur puts the hop from the gate to Estancia Cerro Paine at 7 km, roughly 25 minutes.^27,2 If you arrive by public bus, expect to step off the bus and onto the shuttle at the gate. Keep your pass and your cash to hand rather than buried in the pack.

Coming back, allow time for the same connection in reverse. Bus-Sur asks its passengers to be at the Welcome Center 30 minutes before the bus departure, so the shuttle can carry them to the gate in time.²⁸ Ask your own bus company for its rule, and finish the descent with that margin in mind rather than arriving at the last minute. The last kilometers of the descent always take longer than you expect.

No car? Then the scheduled buses from town are your way in. CONAF lists four regular bus companies leaving Puerto Natales at 7.30 and 14.30 for Laguna Amarga, Pudeto and the park administration, while the Bus-Sur timetable shows daily departures at 7:00 and noon in its high season.^11,10 For a day hike to the towers only the morning bus makes sense; the afternoon departure arrives too late for the latest start from the gate. In high season, book your seat the day before.

The buses leave from the town's terminal. The park's bulletin gives the address of the Puerto Natales bus terminal, the rodoviario, as 1455 España Avenue, and lists the start of each company's season, with Bus Sur from 3 September 2026 and Buses Base Torres and Buses Gomez from 1 October 2026.^46,47 Check the company's own timetable for your date before you rely on it. Timetables change between the shoulder months and the high season, and the companies publish them separately.

So where to start the Base Torres hike if you come by bus? Ride to Laguna Amarga, show your park pass, take the shuttle to the Welcome Center and walk from there.^1,27 It works, but it leaves little slack between the bus arrival and the latest start, and a late bus or a long queue at the gate can cost you the day. If that risk worries you, a night near the park or a tour with pickup removes it.

All of this logistics is what a guided day hike takes off your hands. On the guided day hike you are collected from your Natales lodging in a slot from 6:15 to 6:45, and the van covers the 2 hours to the park and back. The van carries you past the gate and on toward the trail start, so there is no shuttle to time and no car to park.

Prices start from $99; the guide speaks English and Spanish, and you can cancel free up to 24 hours before. Set that against the separate pieces of an independent day, the bus, the shuttle in cash and your park pass, and weigh the price against the time and the risk of missing the latest start. With a tight schedule in the park, paying for that convenience can make sense.

If you prefer to go alone, plan the start backwards from the clock. Work out when you must leave Laguna Amarga for your month, add the shuttle and the queue at the gate, and choose a bus or a departure time from Natales that leaves room for delays. The road panel and the trailhead panel on the map give you the geography; the comparison table on this page gives the options side by side. Whichever way you arrive, aim to be walking from the Welcome Center well before the cut-off.