Things to do
18-
Mirador Base Torres
If low cloud is forecast, move this walk to your spare day. Rain and high overcast still leave the towers in plain view; low cloud hides them.
View more → -
Puerto Bories
Walking through the brick halls of the old sheep-freezing plant on the fjord north of Puerto Natales, you see the machines that kept Patagonia's meat cold for export, still standing where the workers left them.
View more → -
Torres del Paine W Trek
Book the night at Refugio Chileno first. It puts you at the towers at sunrise on your last morning, with Grey's ice and the French Valley already behind you.
View more → -
Cerro Dorotea
Go on your first clear morning. The return walk takes three to four hours, so carry a windproof layer for the top, where condors often fly close.
-
Grey Glacier
Icebergs sit stranded on the stones of Grey Beach before the catamaran has even left, so the walk out to the boat is half the outing. Take a later sailing to go straight to the ice; morning boats stop at the refuge first.
-
Hotel Las Torres
An estancia hotel inside the park at the foot of the Ascencio valley, still run by the family that bought the estancia to raise cattle. It stands at the trailhead for the Base Torres walk and keeps a stable, a small spa and a shuttle down to the eastern gate.
-
Lago Pehoé
Board the Pudeto catamaran even if you are not trekking. You see the Cuernos across the water for the whole crossing to Paine Grande, and the boats are timed to meet the morning buses from Puerto Natales.
-
Laguna Amarga
Look for flamingos on the water while you wait for the shuttle up to Las Torres; this is also where rangers check your park ticket.
-
Laguna Azul
Come here for the towers without the crowds. The view across the lake needs no climb at all, so it works for a day when your legs are done.
-
Mirador Británico
Leave your pack at Campamento Italiano and climb with water and a jacket. If cloud sits low, stop at Mirador Francés, about an hour up, where the glaciers are closest and you can hear them crack.
-
Mirador Cuernos
The walk from Pudeto and back takes about two hours, is almost flat and ends facing the Cuernos across the lake, so it suits a day trip from town.
-
Monte Balmaceda
Book the boat for your first full day in town, before the park. It sails daily from September to April and only on Sundays in winter, passing sea lions and cormorant colonies on the way up the sound.
-
Monumento Natural Cueva del Milodón
Save it for a rest day between park trips. The cave is about 25 km north of town by taxi or hire car, and the boardwalk loop is gentle enough for tired legs.
-
Muelle Histórico Braun & Blanchard
Walk out at sunset, when the cormorants line the old posts and the light goes pink over the sound. Bring a windproof layer, because the waterfront takes the full wind off the water.
-
Museo Histórico Municipal
Keep it for the day wind or rain cancels your boat. It is a short walk from the Plaza de Armas, and its photographs explain the sheep farms you pass on the road to the park.
-
Salto Grande
Walk on to Mirador Cuernos, because the falls are the first stop on the same path from Pudeto. Hold the rail on the platform on a windy day, when the gusts are strong enough to knock you off balance.
-
The Singular Patagonia
The hotel occupies part of the Bories cold storage plant, with the old machinery left standing in the public rooms and a lift running down to the fjord. It sits five kilometres from Puerto Natales and runs its own excursions into the park and up the sound.
-
Tierra Patagonia
A long, curved timber building on the shore of Lago Sarmiento at the park's eastern edge, its larch cladding weathered grey by the steppe wind. Rates are all inclusive with guided excursions each day, and the hotel closes over the southern winter.
