Puerto Natales Chile
Chile
145
Cruises availables
At departure or passage at this port
Aurora Expeditions (1 Cruises)
Lindblad Expeditions (139 Cruises)
National Geographic Explorer
72 Cruises
National Geographic Orion
58 Cruises
National Geographic Resolution
7 Cruises
Frequently Asked Questions
At the maritime terminal, a few minutes' walk from the first streets. Only smaller ships venture to the head of this maze of fjords, on the Señoret Channel.
Walk the costanera, the waterfront promenade. Along it you pass the Monumento al Viento, a metal hand rising from the ground facing the fjord, and the remains of the Muelle Histórico, an old wooden pier on tired pilings. Black-necked swans and cormorants complete the picture.
Yes, but it takes the entire day: the park lies about 150 kilometres away, close to two hours by road. Book the organized excursion and remember that the weather often decides what you actually see.
A cavity 200 metres deep and 30 metres high, 24 kilometres north of town. In the late nineteenth century, the skin and bones of an extinct giant ground sloth, the mylodon, were found here, and it has since become the region's emblem.
About 25 minutes by road from the pier. It is the outing that combines best with a morning in town, unlike Torres del Paine which consumes the whole day.
The fjord named last hope by Spanish navigators searching for a westward passage. Boat excursions run up it from the pier to the Balmaceda and Serrano glaciers, between waterfall-streaked walls and southern beech forest. It is a full-day outing.
An outpost. Streets meeting at right angles between painted metal facades, red, blue, green. Wool shops, trail maps, warm clothing, cafes serving thick hot chocolate: everyone has arrived from somewhere or is about to head further out.
Yes, the wind is the great local character, so much so that a monument is dedicated to it. It pours off the summits and ridges the gulf into long silver streaks. Bring a genuine windbreaker, not just a warm jacket.
The Chilean peso and Spanish, though the town, geared to international hikers, uses more English than the rest of Chilean Patagonia. Cards work in downtown businesses.
At daybreak, when the light grazes the mountains along the costanera. Photographers and birds keep the same hours here, and the Muelle Histórico stands out especially well against the fjord then.
