Patagonia travel guide

Approximately one hour by car from the town of Punta Arenas, you find Otway Sound penguin colony. It is the result of a successful project, that has expanded the number of the once endangered penguin species. The area is protected and you must remain on the marked trails - but from there is great opportunity to see the small black-white Magellan penguins both on the beach and in the green areas. You can also spot hares, ostriches, flamingos and many other bird species from the specially-built lookout towers. As in most parts of Patagonia, the landscape here is also cold and windy - even in summertime.

Puerto Natales is the gateway to Southern Patagonia and more specifically to Torres del Paine national park. No matter what, if you want to travel to Torres del Paine, you will spend at least some time in Puerto Natales. You can stock up on food for a trek or you can rest there after a trek. The town lies at a fjord and has a typical Patagonian feel. A walk along the fjord with beautiful landscapes and shipyards is about all you can do in the town except for enjoying the comforts of restaurants, internet and soft beds. It is also where the Navimag ferry arrives and departs so that is another reason to pass by Puerto Natales.

The city of Punta Arenas is Chile's southernmost city, and around 100,000 people live here. About a third of the population originates from Yugoslav settlers, which is reflected in the townscape, in particular in a lot of street names. It is a relatively big city with an important Chilean naval base and many restaurants and shops. In the city's central square a large statue of Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan, who looks out towards the sea, is situated. The town also has a huge and quite special cemetery, where many of the city's historically leading citizens are buried. This city is definitely worth a visit.

In Torres del Paine National Park, is located the beautiful waterfall Salto Grande. It is really not that the waterfall is particularly large (only 15 m high) or impressive, but the area around it is stunning. In the background, some of the distinctive Paine massif is located. From the mountains, the melted glacier water flows down into the waterfall, and in the foreground the waterfall leads into the icy blue Lake Pehoe, where you can sail and see the waterfall from the water. And everywhere you look around the waterfall, there are bright red fire bushes and lush green landscape.

Torres del Paine National Park covers approximately 180,000 acres, and one can easily spend 2-3 days in the park. The area is beautiful and very varied with mountains, glaciers, forests, beautiful ice blue lakes and is covered with fire bushes with bright red flowers. A number of mammals live there, for instance several fox species, guanacos (a llama species), huemuls (a deer species) and pumas - the latter very rarely. It is also here that the mountain range Torres del Paine is located, and when trekking to the higher peaks, it can be a challenge to stand firm on the hillside, where you encounter the wild winds of Patagonia.

If you go trekking in Torres del Paine National Park, it is a must to "climb" - or at least hike to the base of - Torres del Paine mountain range with its three pointy mountain peaks. It is a beautiful sight to see the three towers throne towards the sky with the ice blue lake below, where glacier water accumulates. The South, North and Central Towers, as they are called, are about 2200-2500 metres high, made of granite and created by glacial ice. There are fairly good hiking trails in the area, while the last path to the towers is somewhat more impracticable. But the view from there is really worth it!