Travel guidePuerto Natales

The gateway to Torres del PaineProvincia de Última Esperanza · Región de Magallanes y de la Antártica Chilena

Population: 21,477
Founded: 1911
Elevation: 3 m

Puerto Natales sits on Última Esperanza Sound, an arm of the sea ringed by mountains that gives the town its particular light.

It was born as a port for the livestock industry —the Puerto Bories meatpacking plant once processed hundreds of thousands of lambs— and today it makes its living as the last place with a supermarket, an ATM and mountain gear before entering Torres del Paine.

It is a small town that fills up with backpacks in summer and returns to its own pace in winter. The Costanera (waterfront), with its wind sculpture and black-necked swans on the water, is the best place to understand why people keep coming back.

What to see and do

6 handpicked spots in and around Puerto Natales, with the distance from the center and how long to set aside for each.

Adventure

Torres del Paine National Park

The three granite towers, the Paine massif and the W and O circuits.

A Biosphere Reserve since 1978 and the most visited park in Chilean Patagonia. The W circuit takes four or five days and covers the French Valley (Valle del Francés), the Cuernos and the base of the Torres; the O circuit loops around the entire massif in eight or nine. For those with a single day, the hike up to the Base Las Torres viewpoint takes about nine hours round trip. Park entry and lodging inside the park are booked in advance and online.

112 km awayOne to nine daysOfficial site

Season: Year-round; peak season November to March

Diego Delso · CC BY-SA 3.0

History

Cueva del Milodón Natural Monument

The cave where the remains of a giant sloth from the last ice age were found.

A cavern about 200 meters deep, carved by the waves of an ancient glacial lake. Around 1895 a piece of mylodon skin was found in the area, and in 1899, bones and more skin: the remains of a ground sloth over two meters tall that lived in the cave more than ten thousand years ago. There is a life-size replica at the entrance and short trails around the site. It is a must-stop on the way to Torres del Paine.

24 km away2 hours

Season: Year-round

Burbujita75 · CC BY-SA 4.0

Nature

Balmaceda and Serrano Glaciers

A full-day boat trip up Última Esperanza Sound to two hanging glaciers.

The catamaran leaves from the Puerto Natales pier and heads up the fjord past colonies of cormorants and sea lions to Bernardo O’Higgins National Park. The Balmaceda is seen from the water; the Serrano is reached on a short walk from the landing. It is the classic outing for a rest day between treks.

60 km awayFull day

Season: September to April

Diego Delso · CC BY-SA 3.0

Viewpoints

Cerro Dorotea

About four hours round trip to take in the city, the sound and the Argentine steppe in a single view.

The trail starts about ten kilometers from downtown, and access usually crosses private property that charges an entrance fee, so it is worth confirming beforehand. It climbs through lenga beech to a ridge with a view of all of Puerto Natales, Última Esperanza Sound and, to the east, the pampa. It is the hike people do when they arrive with half a day to spare.

10 km away3 to 4 hours

Season: October to April

Draceane · CC BY-SA 4.0

The old pier of the Bories cold-storage plant on Última Esperanza Sound

History

Frigorífico Puerto Bories

The great sheep meat-packing plant of Última Esperanza, now a Historic Monument.

Five kilometers north of downtown stands the former Frigorífico Bories (Bories meat-packing plant), owned by the Sociedad Explotadora de Tierra del Fuego, which for much of the 20th century slaughtered sheep and at its peak exported more than three thousand a day to Europe. Its brick sheds, chimneys and English machinery remain, a Historic Monument since 1996. Part of the complex was restored as a hotel and museum, and walking through the rest brings home, all at once, the scale of that industry.

5 km away2 hours

Season: Year-round

Jpfergoy · CC BY-SA 3.0

The waterfront and the Monument to the Wind

Culture

Costanera and Monumento al Viento

The waterfront promenade facing the sound, with black-necked swans and the sculpture that welcomes visitors.

The Costanera Pedro Montt can be walked end to end with the water beside you and the Sierra Dorotea ahead. Along the way are the Monumento al Viento (Monument to the Wind), by Marcela Romagnoli, and La Mano, the sculpture Juan Andrade raised in 1993 with help from local residents, based on a work by Mario Irarrázabal; at sunset, with an orange sky over the fjord, this is where people take the photos they keep.

In town1 hour

Season: Year-round

Fadelvalle · CC BY-SA 3.0

Where everything is

The town in green, the sights in orange. The zoom fits the farthest one on the list.

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The weather, month by month

Cool and windy year-round, with rain spread across all twelve months —about 600 millimeters a year at the airfield station— and a narrow temperature range: the average January high is around 17 °C and the July high around 5 °C. What stands out is that the weather changes several times a day: sun, wind and rain on the same hike are the rule, not the exception.

Average highAverage lowRainfall

601 mm a year

Average temperatures and monthly rainfall
Month	J	F	M	A	M	J	J	A	S	O	N	D
High	17.2°	17.6°	14.6°	11.8°	8.2°	5.1°	5.1°	7.4°	10.1°	12.6°	14.6°	16.2°
Low	6.8°	6.4°	4.5°	1.6°	-0.3°	-2.8°	-2.9°	-1.1°	0.2°	2.8°	3.9°	5.9°
Rainfall (mm)	30	30	43	47	59	60	83	52	51	65	44	39

Temperatures and rainfall: 2017-2025 average from the climate yearbooks of the Chilean Meteorological Service (Dirección Meteorológica de Chile), Teniente Julio Gallardo station (Puerto Natales); there is no official climate normal.

Getting to Puerto Natales

By bus

from Punta Arenas

The most common way to get there. Three hours on paved Route 9, with departures throughout the day and several companies competing. Many services stop at the Punta Arenas airport, which saves you going into the city.

3 hoursSeveral departures a day, almost hourly in seasonBuses Fernández, Bus Sur, Buses Pacheco

By bus

from El Calafate, Argentina

Daily services in season, crossing at the Dorotea or Cerro Castillo border pass. It is the natural link for travelers combining Perito Moreno with Torres del Paine.

5 to 6 hoursDaily in high season

By plane

from Santiago and Puerto Montt

Teniente Julio Gallardo airport is 7 km from town and receives direct flights in the summer season. Outside those months, the alternative is to fly to Punta Arenas and continue by bus.

3 h 30 min from SantiagoSeasonal, mainly October to March

By ferry

from Puerto Montt

Sailing the Patagonian channels is a journey in itself: four days among fjords, passing the Pío XI Glacier and the Gulf of Penas. Book months in advance.

4 daysWeekly departures in seasonNavimag

Getting around once you are there

Downtown and the Costanera are easy to explore on foot. In season, daily buses to Torres del Paine leave from the bus terminal and enter the park via Laguna Amarga and Pudeto; for the Cueva del Milodón (Milodon Cave) there are transfers and tours. Renting a car makes sense if you want to set your own schedule inside the park.

Before you set off

What locals take for granted and visitors find out too late.

Buy your park entry in advance

Torres del Paine requires an online entry reservation and, if you’re staying overnight inside, a refuge or campsite reservation. In high season, spots sell out months in advance.

Three layers, always

The weather changes several times a day. A thermal base layer, a fleece and a waterproof windbreaker: with that, you can hike just as well in sunshine as in sleet.

Last ATM before the park

There are no banks inside Torres del Paine and cell signal is patchy. It’s best to set out with cash and with your reservations printed or downloaded.

Fire, never

The fires of 2005 and 2011–2012 burned tens of thousands of hectares that will take centuries to recover. Lighting fires outside designated areas is prohibited, no exceptions.

Last reviewed September 13, 2026

The directory

Where to eat and stay in Puerto Natales

281 restaurants, cafés and places to stay on the portal, with opening hours, menus and locations.

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