Chile - The Rough Guide to South America on a Budget - page 466

PUERTO NATALES TOUR OPERATORS
Baqueano Zamora Baquedano 534 T 61
613531, W baqueanozamora.com. Horse-trekking
trips of varying length in Torres del Paine National
Park. Half-day horseriding CH$25,000; full-day
CH$45,000.
Erratic Rock Baquedano 719 W erraticrock.com.
Equipment rental, informative talks on Torres del
Paine and multi-day trekking expeditions to Cabo
Froward and Isla Navarino, among others.

Fantastico Sur Esmeralda 661 T 61 614184,
W fantasticosur.com. Specializing in guided treks
(W Circuit from US$344) and refugios in Torres del
Paine; gives free talks on hiking 10.30am and 6pm
(daily; check ahead).
Vertice Patagonia Ladrilleros 209 T 61 412742,
W verticepatagonia.com. Up-and-coming operator
offering ice-hiking on the glacier in Torres del Paine
National Park (CH$246,200 for 4 days, 3 nights).

BALMACEDA & SERRANO GLACIERS
It's not cheap (typically CH$70,000; boats run between 8am and 5.30pm daily in summer),
but a trip to the Serrano Glacier (with views of the Balmaceda Glacier), on the edge of
Parque Nacional Bernardo O'Higgins, via stunning fjords, cormorant and sea-lion colonies
and gliding condors, is still one of Chile's most scintillating experiences. Boats take four hours
to reach the glacier dock, where you walk the last 1km to the base. The companies below offer
similar services, with Turismo 21 de Mayo usually running bigger boats.

Agunsa (Punta Alta) Blanco Encalada 244 T 61
415940, W agunsapatagonia.cl.

Turismo 21 de Mayo Eberhard 560 T 61 614420,
W turismo21demayo.cl.

4 Ruperto Bar Bulnes 371 T 61 413921, W rupertobar.com.

Popular bar with loud music, Guinness and pool tables,
drawing a younger crowd - a good spot for a post-hike beer
or mojito. Daily 6pm-3am (Fri & Sat 4.30am).

jaw-dropping sights. The park offers
incomparable opportunities for
backcountry hiking, as well as animal
spotting; you are likely to see guanacos
- wild relatives of llamas - and ñandú or
rhea (similar to an ostrich). Pumas also live
in the park, though they're shy, as well as
foxes, the elusive huermúl deer and condors.
There are also challenging scrambles to the
park's miradores and a host of other outdoor
activities - from ice-trekking on Glacier
Grey to horseriding in the outlying hills;
the most popular trekking route is the “W”
(see box opposite).

DIRECTORY
Banks and exchange Banco Santander, on Blanco
Encalada, at Bulnes, and Banco de Chile, at Bulnes 544,
both have ATMs.
Hospital Hospital Puerto Natales ( T 61 411583), at Pinto
and O'Higgins, handles basic medical emergencies, but the
facilities in Punta Arenas are better.
Internet Tr y Cafe Reymar , at Hostal Reymar, Baquedano
414 (CH$1000/hr; minimum CH$400/20min), or Cyber Café
Enyge at Baquedano and Chorrillos. Lots of cafés have wi-fi.
Laundry The cheapest place is Lavandería Servilaundy
at Prat 332 (daily 9am-10pm; CH$1600 per load); try also
Lavandería Milodón, Baquedano 642 (Mon-Sat 10am-
noon & 2.30-8pm).
Post o ce Eberhard 429, on the plaza (Mon-Fri 9am-1pm
& 3-6pm; Sat 10am-1pm).

Pudeto
After Laguna Amarga (see p.474), buses
stop one hour later at the northern tip of
Lago Pehoé , near the catamaran pier at
Pudeto. From here it's a fifteen-minute
walk uphill to Salto Grande , a thundering
waterfall fed by melting glacial waters, with
views of Los Cuernos in the distance. There's
also an easy hour's walk along the lakeside to
another viewpoint , offering a spectacular
vista of the Cuernos del Paine, reflected in
the icy blue waters of Lago Nordenskjöld.
You can commence on the “W” by taking
the Hielos Patagónicos catamaran (see
p.474) from the pier across Lago Pehoé to
the Paine Grande Lodge (see p.475).

PARQUE NACIONAL TORRES
DEL PAINE
The great massif contained within the
PARQUE NACIONAL TORRES DEL PAINE ,
112km northwest of Puerto Natales, with
the sheer granite towers of Las Torres to
the east, and the multicoloured Los Cuernos
to the west, is one of Patagonia's most