What to see in Puerto Natales?
Of course, Torres del Paine National Park is one of the highlights in the area, but there are many other activities and visits you can do, during your visit to this remote area in Patagonia. Take a look to the following list:
Torres del Paine National Park
Torres del Paine is a unique place and a must-see when you visit Patagonia. Of course, you can arrive and overnight in the park to enjoy different trekking trails, but usually most people arrive to the park in a full day trip from Puerto Natales. If it`s your option, the first stop will be made in the thousand-year-old Milodón cave. A enormous natural accident with an incalculable anthropological value where is believed that the Patagonia primitive man lived close to the Milodón .After an half an hour hike you will arrive to Torres del Paine National Park in the area of Laguna Amarga. You will be surprised which species of red foxes and condors. A short distance ahead the Norsdenskjold and Pehoé lakes can be observed in company with guanacos and rheas. The tour continues with a short trekking to see the amazing Salto Grande where you will also face the imposing Cuernos del Paine and and the Gray Lake. In the afternoon and after some lunch time, you can enjoy a 1.30 hs trekking in the forest to discover the Grey Glacier.
Trekking to Base de las Torres
Of course, it`s better if you overnight in Torres del Paine, but it`s also possible if you`re in Puerto Natales. The Trekking to Base de las Torres is one of the most exciting activities you can enjoy in the park and even in Patagonia. Departure from your hotel in Puerto Natales will be early in the morning and after a 2-hour drive you will arrive to the national park via Laguna Amarga gate, to start the great hike to the Base de las Torres. It`s an amazing trekking from moderate to hard difficulty, that will take 12 hours aproximately. But the landscape is amagina and unique!
Balmaceda and Serrano Glaciers Boat Navigation
It`s a great trip you can do from Puerto Natales. It`s a cruise through Ultima Esperanza Fjord to explore the amazing Balmaceda and Serrano glaciers. You will be surprised by the Patagonian landscape while you’re on board sipping a glass of whiskey rattling with glacier ice, and pass by craggy peaks, waterfalls, cormorants and sea elephants. After disembark, you can trek through Bernardo O’Higgins National Park for close-up views of both glaciers, and then dig into a hearty Magellanic lunch at a ranch. It`s one of the most incredible visits you can do in the area.
The Milodon Cave
The Milodon Cave, discovered in the last century, has well-preserved skins and fossils that were found deep inside the cave, and were recognized as the remains of the Mylodon Darwinii. This was an enormous ground sloth that could weigh over 900 kg weight, and 3 meters high! It became extint 5,000 years ago. The visit is usually included during your overview excursion to Torres del Paine National Park from Puerto Natales.
Ultima Esperanza Sound
Puerto Natales is located on the shores of Ultima Esperanza Sound, called in spanish Seno de Ultima Esperanza. It`s a long inlet that boasts some of the most great natural sceneries in Patagonia. The inlet is located at the base of the Torres del Paine National Park, and this channel receives almost all of the surface water running through the park, and is speckled with beautiful rivers, waterfalls, and various shades of blue water.
Bernardo O`Higgins National Park
This incredible park, covers a total of 35.000 km2 and is named in honor of O’Higgins. Parque Nacional Bernardo O’Higgins is known for its rugged, somewhat inhospitable but incredible beauty, filled with fjords, glaciers, and icebergs.
