Puerto Natales Travel Guide

Puerto Natales is a town of 19,000 people (2012) in Chile, the gateway to trekking in Torres del Paine or Bernardo O'Higgins National Parks. It offers good infrastructure, especially a few trekking shops and not-so-cheap supermarkets (although you'd do better to get your gear in Punta Arenas).

Bringing fruit, vegetables or animal products fromArgentinainto Chile is not allowed. Chilean border officials always check luggage, especially if you are a tourist, and if they find anything which is not declared in the form you are asked to fill in, you will have to pay a fine and will have your goods confiscated.

This is a small, waterside town that is easily accessible on foot. Most services are found between a sort of triangle formed by Manuel Bulnes street to the west, Pedro Montt street (costanera) to the north and Bernardo Philipi to the southeast. In the junction of Philipi and Bulnes streets, there's Baquedano Street, where you can find fruitshops, internet cafés, pharmacies and call centers. If you keep walking you find Plaza O´Higgings between Miraflores and Yungay, around which you can find bud

There are plenty of hostels and residentials around the town. There are also many Hospedajes. The (mostly) women of the hospedajes wait for the bus to come and try to talk tourists into their home. They have really good deals and will usually serve breakfast and store your luggage while you are trekking. Spanish language skills are useful if you choose a hospedaje.