Puerto Natales

What it is

Puerto Natales is the last town before Torres del Paine, and almost the whole trip to the park is decided here: where you sleep, which bus you board and how far ahead you bought the ticket. It has about twenty-one thousand inhabitants, sits on the shore of Última Esperanza Sound and can be covered on foot. What is not sorted out in town is not sorted out in the park, because inside Torres del Paine there are no ATMs and no fuel.

But it is not just a stopover either. In an afternoon the town offers the waterfront and a dinner of lamb or king crab, and around it there is a cave with history, fjords you sail up to glaciers and a national park across the water.

What to do from town

The Cueva del Milodón is the most obvious short visit, about twenty-five kilometres north on a paved road. It is a cavern more than two hundred metres deep where remains of the milodon, an extinct giant ground sloth, were found, and the route inside ends at a replica of the animal. There is an easy trail to the main cave and another to a viewpoint above its roof, looking over Eberhard Fjord. A stretch of the trail inside the cave is closed for safety: you can go as far as the inner viewpoint and no further. Anyone who wants to walk more has a long, easy circuit through the smaller caves and rock shelters, which takes half a day. The ticket is bought online and the site forbids camping, smoking and bringing pets or drones. There is an information centre, toilets, drinking water and picnic areas where fires are not allowed, as well as snacks for sale and mobile signal, which in the park cannot be taken for granted.

The fjord cruise is the other classic. The full-day trip sails Última Esperanza Fjord to the Balmaceda Glacier, walks through the forest to the front of the Serrano and has lunch at a ranch. There is also a shorter express version, which only sails with a minimum number of passengers and refunds the fare if the weather cancels it. Both are booked with Nomades; Bus-Sur sells the full-day one.

If you only have one free afternoon, the half-day tour of the surroundings, also from Bus-Sur, links the viewpoints over Almirante Montt Gulf, the Señoret Channel and Última Esperanza Sound with the Cueva del Milodón and a waterfall trail. It runs in Spanish, is very low difficulty and depends on the weather: the order of the stops changes if the wind rules.

For what you can walk in town, the Pedro Montt waterfront runs along the water with the Patagonian Andes on the other side. Nearby are Cerro Dorotea, Bernardo O'Higgins National Park, which the cruises reach, and the Southern Patagonian Ice Field.

Tickets for the Cueva del Milodón

The ticket is bought online at pasesparques.cl, one per person, and it is not sold at the site. There are different rates for Chileans and foreigners, and by age, so check the one that applies to you before paying. Check the opening hours too on the monument's site, which change with the season.

Where it is and how to get there

Natales is in the far south of Chile, in the Magallanes region, and how you get there depends on where you come from.

By air, Puerto Natales airfield has direct flights from Santiago only in season. It is a few kilometres from town and Nomades sells a shared transfer that covers the flights of most of the day. The austral summer brings a complication: from January to March the airfield closes almost every weekday for runway works and receives commercial flights mainly at weekends. If your date falls on a weekday, fly to Punta Arenas and continue overland; that airport operates normally all year.

From Punta Arenas there are intercity buses to Natales, with departures through the day in high season. Bus-Sur also has a direct connection from Punta Arenas airport, so you do not need to go through the city.

From El Calafate, in Argentina, Bus-Sur runs only some days of the week and the calendar changes: confirm the day before planning. The border crossing requires valid documents, and each minor is declared. In El Calafate a municipal boarding tax is also paid, in cash only and in Argentine pesos.

The buses to the park leave from Natales bus terminal, on Avenida España. Tickets and the detail of each plan are in the guide to Torres del Paine.

Where to buy tickets

Bus-Sur has two points in town: an office at the bus terminal, on Avenida España, and the agency on Calle Bernardo O'Higgins. Tickets for the park are bought at its ticket offices, not on the website. The half-day tour leaves from the terminal or that agency, and also picks up at lodging if it is in the town centre.

The park entry ticket is a separate procedure and is online. Buy it at least a day ahead and keep the QR code on your phone before leaving town.

Money and services

Take out cash in Natales. The park has no ATMs, and the catamaran and the Laguna Amarga transfer are paid in cash only. In town there are exchange offices to change foreign currency. The tourist information office is on Calle Pedro Montt, and it is worth stopping by before heading to the park.

When to go

October to April is the season for the park and the bus, and December to February brings the most visitors, with long days and open trails. Natales has no bad month: you can go all year. What changes is the cold. In January the average high is around fifteen degrees, and in July lows drop below zero and snow falls, which in winter almost replaces rain.

Wind is the constant. It blows from the southwest all year and storms are frequent in summer: it is not unusual for a boat not to sail or for a tour to change order. Bring warm, waterproof clothing even in midsummer, and if your plan depends on a boat, do not leave it for the last day.

Something that does depend on the month: the afternoon and evening bus departures to the park start in November, and in winter the park runs on different hours and rules. Confirm with Bus-Sur before building the day.

How to split the days

Arrive the day before leaving for the park: the buses leave early from the terminal, and if you land that same day you miss it. The two big days are the park and the cruise up the fjord, and each takes the whole day.

The Cueva del Milodón and the half-day tour fit into the loose afternoons, arrival or departure. Put first whatever depends on the weather: if a cruise is cancelled because of wind, a free day at the end gives it back, and if you have already done it, that day is spare for the park.

If you continue to El Calafate, the bus to Argentina leaves from Natales: leave the park for before, and confirm that bus's departure day before fixing the rest.

Itineraries

To see the park with time, the six-day route covers the W circuit from Natales, with a bed reserved in each refuge before buying the ticket. For a single day, Torres del Paine in One Day compares the public bus, the full-day van and your own car, and explains why Base Torres does not fit in that day.

Where to sleep and what it costs

Book lodging well ahead in high season. There are hostels with double rooms, such as Hostal Factoría Patagonia, whose rate is per room and not per bed, so travelling in a group helps split it.

The big expenses are the full-day cruise, the bus to the park and the tickets, and lodging rises with the season. For the bus and the airfield transfer, confirm the day before.