Puerto Natales walking tour & city guide

The town

The waterfront promenade looks across the Señoret Channel to snowy peaks, with a sculpture of the Monumento al Viento. The town is full of trekking agencies and cozy restaurants.

Torres del Paine

Torres del Paine has granite towers, turquoise lakes and glaciers. The W Trek is one of the world's great hikes. The Milodon Cave, where remains of a giant ground sloth were found, is nearby.

Good to know

Puerto Natales is a small town with a frontier feel, and almost everyone here is on their way to or from Torres del Paine. Book park campsites and refugios well in advance for the W Trek, especially from December to February. Buses run daily from town to the park entrance, about two hours away.

The Patagonian wind is legendary, often very strong, and the weather can change within minutes, so pack waterproof layers even in summer. Boat trips from the town's port sail along the fjords to the Balmaceda and Serrano glaciers, a good option for those who are not trekking.

A day in Puerto Natales

Spend a morning walking along the Costanera, the waterfront, where black-necked swans and cormorants feed in the Señoret Channel and the mountains of the Torres del Paine region shine on clear days. In the afternoon, visit the Milodon Cave, where the remains of a giant ground sloth were discovered in the 19th century, with a life-sized replica at the entrance. The town has a growing food scene, with restaurants serving Patagonian lamb, king crab and craft beer brewed with glacier water.