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7 daysClassic Magallanes: the strait and the Towers

Seven days between the history of the strait and Chile's most famous park
Length
7 days
Distance
1,124 km
Behind the wheel
17 h
Pace
Balanced
Photo: Mirek237 · CC BY-SA 4.0

When: October to March for the penguins; Torres del Paine year-round

How hard: Moderate to high, depending on how much you hike in the Paine

It's the route almost everyone takes on a first visit to Magallanes, and for good reason: Punta Arenas and Puerto Natales are three hours apart on a paved road, and between them they hold most of what the region has to offer in museums, wildlife and mountains.

The only leg with a strict season is Magdalena Island: the Magellanic penguins are there between October and March, and outside the season the boats don't run. If you travel in winter, swap that day for Magallanes National Reserve, 8 km from the city.

Day by day

  1. 1

    Punta Arenas on foot

    Punta ArenasNight in Punta Arenas

    The city is made for walking. Plaza Muñoz Gamero with its cypresses and the monument to Magellan, the wool-era mansions around it, and Cerro de la Cruz ten minutes uphill, where you can see the colorful rooftops with the strait behind them.

    If you have the afternoon, the Museo Regional de Magallanes (Magallanes Regional Museum) occupies the Braun-Menéndez Palace, and the city makes more sense after you've seen it.

  2. 2

    The cemetery, the Nao Victoria and Fuerte Bulnes

    Punta Arenas130 km · 2.5hNight in Punta Arenas

    The Cementerio Municipal Sara Braun is one of the most remarkable cemeteries in the Americas, and that's not just a figure of speech: the mausoleums of the wool families, the graves of Croatian immigrants and the clipped cypresses tell the city's story better than any plaque.

    In the afternoon, drive 52 km south to Fuerte Bulnes and the Parque del Estrecho de Magallanes (Strait of Magellan Park), where Chilean sovereignty over the area was established in 1843, with the wind hitting just as hard as it did back then. The Museo Nao Victoria, with full-size replicas of Magellan's ship and Darwin's Beagle, isn't on the way: it's about seven and a half kilometers north of downtown, in the opposite direction.

  3. 3

    Magdalena Island

    Punta ArenasNight in Punta Arenas

    Los Pingüinos Natural Monument is two islands in the middle of the strait with a colony of Magellanic penguins that has declined sharply in recent decades: CONAF (Chile's national parks service) estimated about 7,000 pairs in 2025. The boat leaves from Punta Arenas, and you walk a marked trail among the nests, with penguins a meter away.

    Only between October and March, when the colony is on the island. Boats leave early and depend on the wind.

    Out of season, the substitute is Magallanes National Reserve, 8 km from the city, with forest trails and a viewpoint over the strait.

  4. 4

    To Puerto Natales on Route 9

    Puerto Natales247 km · 3hNight in Puerto Natales

    Three hours of pampa on a paved road, with rheas (ñandúes) and guanacos along the roadside. Once you arrive, it's worth hiking up Cerro Dorotea: it's about four hours round trip, and from the top you can see the whole of Última Esperanza Sound, with tiny Natales below.

    Five kilometers north of town is the former Frigorífico Bories, a meatpacking plant that for much of the 20th century slaughtered and exported sheep and is now a Historic Monument.

    At sunset, the waterfront and the Monumento al Viento (Monument to the Wind), which is a sculpture and also a warning.

  5. 5

    Torres del Paine, day one

    Puerto Natales250 km · 4hNight in Puerto Natales or inside the park

    It's about 112 km to the Sarmiento and Laguna Amarga entrance gates of Torres del Paine National Park, around two hours of driving; check road conditions before you set out. On the way to the park is the Cueva del Milodón (Milodon Cave), where the hide and bones of a mylodon more than ten thousand years old were found in the late 19th century; it takes an hour to see and fits nicely along the way.

    The first day in the park is usually the driving loop: Lake Pehoé, Salto Grande waterfall, the Cuernos viewpoint and Lake Grey if the weather cooperates. It's the day that gives you the big picture.

    Buy your park entry online in advance, and carry it downloaded.

  6. 6

    The Towers, or the glaciers

    Puerto Natales250 km · 4hNight in Puerto Natales

    Two options, depending on how much you want to hike.

    The trail to the base of the Towers is eight to ten hours round trip, with a final stretch up a steep moraine, and it's Chile's best-known hike. You need to set out before dawn.

    The alternative is the Balmaceda and Serrano glaciers day: boats leave from the Natales pier and sail up Última Esperanza Sound to the foot of both glaciers, with cormorants and sea lions along the way. Less effort, and scenery you can't see from any road.

  7. 7

    Back to Punta Arenas

    Punta Arenas247 km · 3h

    The same three hours back. If your flight leaves in the afternoon, there's time for one last walk around downtown and some shopping in the duty-free zone (Zona Franca).

    Leave time to spare: the Magallanes wind delays flights more often than anyone would like.

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