Torres del Paine

Torres del Paine & Magallanes Province
The first Europeans who gave a glance to this landscape were led by Fernando de Magallanes, who pioneered the passage through the treacherous strait that now bears his name. His expedition named the mainland “Tierra de los Patagones” spawning unintentionally the myth of a race of Patagonian giants.

To the south, they saw the horizon darkened by smoke due to the natives fires, and named the great island Tierra del Fuego. Punta Arenas became one of the wealthiest settlements in South America. Remains of its prosperity are still visible in Punta Arenas downtown where huge mansions and boulevards give you an idea of how comfortably, 100 years ago, they used to live at the very end of the world.

When driving from Punta Arenas to Puerto Natales, you can visit the penguin colony at the Bay of Otway. Every year in springtime, the Magellan penguins come back to this place for reproduction and spend the first few months after the birth of the next generation.

Puerto Natales is the starting point for visiting Bernardo O’Higgins National Park, located at the end of Fjord of Ultima Esperanza ('Last Hope'), which you can reach by boat. In summer, several cutter boats offer full day excursions to Balmaceda and Serrano glaciers.

From Puerto Natales it is only a two hour drive to Torres del Paine National Park. Covering 242,000 hectares, it is one of the most famous parks in the world with a great variety of natural scenery that makes it so attractive. The main attraction in the park is the Paine mountain range. These rugged, oddly-shaped, different coloured mountains continue astonishing visitors, even after they have spent a few days in the park.

The scenery changes continuously due to the sun and the “UFO- shaped” Patagonian clouds. Around the Paine range, various glaciers spill down from the southern ice field, which is at 1,350sqkm, the second biggest continental ice field in the world. The leading edges of these glaciers are towering walls of ice up to 120 meters high. At times, a chunk of ice calves off and thunders down into the lake.

More than 25 different species of mammals, such as grey foxes, guanacos, Chilean deer and pumas make their home in the park. Birds are especially abundant; there 105 species, including ñandúes (a type of small ostrich), flamingoes, bandurrias, condors, black-necked swans, eagles, loicas and cachanas. Botanists can examine over 200 kinds of plants, including forests of lenga and coigue, which grow in the microclimate created by the valley’s protective walls and flowers like orchids.