Exploring Puerto Natales – Gateway to Torres del Paine
Getting to Puerto Natales
Flights from Santiago to Puerto Natales depart at either 5 a.m. or 9 a.m., with no rental cars available directly at the Puerto Natales airport. This means you have to make a detour downtown to pick up a car—unfortunately in the opposite direction of Torres del Paine National Park. In the past, younger Andy and Jennifer would have opted for the 5 a.m. flight, picked up a rental car, and driven straight to Torres del Paine in one go. However, present-day Andy and Jen are in no rush. With plenty of time to spare, we decided to take the 9 a.m. flight and spend the night in Puerto Natales before heading to the park.
Check-in at the Santiago airport was slightly less chaotic than last year, though one of our bags was 1kg overweight—thanks to someone who wasn’t wearing their hiking shoes. After some shuffling and cramming into our carry-on, all was sorted. The three-hour Latam flight was smooth and uneventful, though the views of the Andes were nothing short of spectacular.
We didn’t bother exchanging money since we had leftover USD from last year, and most places we planned to visit accepted credit cards. While taxis in Puerto Natales don’t take credit cards, our driver gladly accepted USD. We only had $5 bills, so everything we paid for ended up being (conveniently or not) in increments of $5. The taxi was a tight fit with our bags, but the ride wasn’t long.
We checked into Hotel Costaustralis, where we were supposed to have a room with a view. Unfortunately, the “view” turned out to be of the parking lot. They offered us a credit for dinner, however we weren’t planning on dinner at the hotel so we negotiated a lower room rate.
Craving burgers, we headed to the nearest place on the map, the Hamburgueseria La Forastera. I got by with broken Spanish “Alérgico a las cebollas” combined with a screen shot for emphasis. Our lunch was really great, and like most restaurants in town, it had a cozy heated outdoor patio.
Later, we took a stroll around town and encountered several statues of Selk’nam spirits. The Selk’nam were an indigenous people from Tierra del Fuego in the southernmost part of South America, known for their rich belief system, deeply connected to the natural world and its spirits.
Puerto Natales is located on Última Esperanza Sound and has epic views of the surrounding mountains.
The mountains provide a dramatic backdrop for some of the sculptures along the foreshore such as the Monument to the Wind (Monumento al Viento) statue. This iconic sculpture features two figures, one male and one female, leaning forward with their arms outstretched as if being blown by the wind. It symbolizes the strong Patagonian winds that are a defining characteristic of the region. The statue is a popular spot for visitors and provides a scenic view of the Última Esperanza Sound and the surrounding mountains.
The fjord was teeming with wildlife. We spent a few hours walking along the foreshore photographing back-necked swans with their cygnets.
We also spotted some ducks, including this male chiloe widgeon.
We went for a walk at sunset, which was around 10pm.
The next morning, we enjoyed a decent buffet breakfast at the hotel before picking up our rental car at the Avis around the corner.
The pickup was going smoothly until about five minutes down the road when we noticed a dashboard alert indicating the key fob’s battery was low. With no physical key and no battery stores nearby, we headed back to the rental office for a replacement.
The drive to Torres del Paine was just as breathtaking as we remembered. We made a stop at the store in Cerro Castillo for coffee and to visit two of the largest dogs I’ve ever seen.
We also paused along the way to admire some soaring Black-Chested Buzzard-Eagles.
The views got better around every turn, with glacial lakes and moody windswept clouds shrouding the mountains.
When we arrived at the park gate, I had paper printouts of our entrance QR codes ready, but they simply waved us through without even needing to stop.
