The Argentina and Chile trip that I took on November 2018 only last for 11 days, however the memory stays forever. It was one of the best trip that I have in my life. Out of 11 days, I spent 5 days in Argentina and 6 days in Chile. These 11 days-trip was actually an extended trip before I went on a cruise to Antarctica, the sole reason why i was on South America in the first place.
On the 6 days of the trip, I took a bus from El Calafate Argentina to Puerto Natales, before Exploring Torres Del Paine National Park the next day. In this blog, I will share the trip, as well as places I visited in Puerto Natales – My first day in Chile.
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About Puerto Natales
Puerto Natales is city in Chile, a gateway for those who wants to explore Torres del Paine National Park. The city is very small, only inhabited by 18,000 people. It has airport namely Teniente Julio Gallardo Airport. If your destination is Torres del Paine, and you enter Chile through Santiago, there’s regular flight from JetSmart, LATAM Chile, and Sky Airline flying from Santiago to Puerto Natales.
From El Calafate to Puerto Natales
I entered Chile from Argentina, from El Calafate City in Argentina. It takes 6,5 hrs bus ride to reach Puerto Natales and passing border in between country. I bought the bus ticket through Bus Sur online for 600 ARS (113,000 IDR/ 7.7 USD).
When reaching the immigration border office, all passenger shall disembark and begin the border check as well as scanning machine. All of our luggages will be scanned and any food or plants that we brought from Argentina must be declared ( all products of plant and animal origin). For more details you can read it here.
Puerto Natales Bus Terminal:
Places to Check while in Puerto Natales
Though small, Puerto Natales is very beautiful and such a great place to recuperate from hiking in Torres Del Paine. These are some unique attractions that we visited in Puerto Natales
Muelle Viejo (The Old Dock)
If you walk along the shore line, you will be basked with beautiful view of sea and the background of Cerro Monumento Moore. It’s a great place to relax, breath the clean air of Patagonia, and enjoy the sunset.
Monumento Al Viento (The Old Dock)
Along the shore line are so many monuments you can snap a selfie with. The sculptor Marcela Romagnoli reflected in this work an architectural tribute to the wind that is characteristic of this city. This monument consists of two bronze human figures weighing approximately 1/2 ton each, which are suspended from two steel arches at a height of 9 meters. (source: Wikimapia)
Monumento de La Mano
The hand status is a creation by Mario Irarrázabal, a Chilean Sculpture
Monument of Milodon
Milodon is a giant ground sloth, whose remains were found in Patagonia.
