Punta Arenas – Porto Natales – El Calafate – El Chaltan – Ushuaia

At first, I was totally overwhelmed trying to build an itinerary to cover both sides of the Patagonia and to figure out the transportation between the sites and the two countries.

We decided to start with Chile as the flight to Santiago was much cheaper then to Buenos Aires even though it was the same airline, Latham, and same flight duration.

PUNTA ARENAS

After spending few days in Santiago (see my Santiago blog), we flew to Punta Arenas (“PA”) where we stayed for 3 nights. The difference in the temperature between a very hot Santiago and ice cold winds in PA was quiet shocking.  As we were riding in Uber towards our hotel I was gazing at empty streets and frankly sad looking houses I was not sure what are we doing there. But, actually there is more to PA then initially meets the eye.

The center is pretty cute and the next day when sun and people came out it looked much better than the night before. The sites to see are: Main Square –typical colonial square shaped plaza; Mirador/point of view –a little hike up the hill to see the entire town, Old port and must see Sara Brown mansion.

There are plenty of very good restaurants and the must dishes are fresh crab, ceviche and other seafood. We ate at Okuza and La Luna, both excellent.

We also booked an all day tour to Terra de Fuego Island and King Penguins’ sanctuary. It was a very long day with lots of driving. The highlight was crossing the Straits of Magellan on a ferry (sounds very exotic). The Penguin sanctuary was a total disappointment; you can only see the penguins from afar with binoculars. I cannot say that I recommend the experience. However, if one decides to book it, do it thru a local travel agency, much cheaper then online options thru booking or other sites.

PUNTA NATALES

From PA we took a bus to Punta Natales (“PN”) where we also stayed for 3 nights.  PN is more north then PA it is easier to cross to Argentina from there and it’s closer to El Calafate our next destination. It was a very nice ride on BusSur but I recommend getting the tickets earlier then later. Since we are doing everything last minute I couldn’t get tickets for the earlier bus as planned.

PN is a much bigger tourist destination then PA even though the town is smaller but its proximity to Torres del Paine Park makes it more touristy.  We stayed in very shabby hotel Aristini, not the best choice. Here we rented a car and drove to the park both days. It is possible to stay in the park itself but the choice of accommodations is very limited and expensive. By the time we decided on this trip there was nothing available but hostels with shared bathrooms at a price of 5 star hotels.  The park is enormous and it is quiet overwhelming to decide which part to do and obviously we want everything.  There is a website but still I didn’t feel that I am grasping the logistics of it. Also, it is recommended to buy the tickets online otherwise you have to stand in a very long line at the entrance.

So, the first day we started with the Grey Lake side and did about 5 kms hike around it. The weather was brutal – cold rain and wind and frankly it was not much fun. This was Valentine’s Day and we shared an ice cold wine for the occasion. It is possible to take a boat on the lake to see the glacier but we missed it by few minutes. After Grey Lake we drove to the other side of the park, Amare side. The weather got better, the sun came out and the views of the Torres were just beautiful.

On the second day we went to the side of Lago Azul and did another small hike there. This time the weather was very good and the sites just breathtaking.

In PN there is an abundance of good restaurants and this is where you must try the Patagonian or Magellanian Lamb (unless you are a vegetarian of course then stick to ceviche). Additionally, the drink of choice here is pisco sour and Calafate sour made with Calafate berry.  

We ate at twice in Jau, and once in Taperia; both are amazing and very affordable.

EL CALAFATE

From PN we took a bus to El Calafate. It stops twice for passport control and once for lunch so it takes about 6 hours. The Argentinean passport control station was freezing and it took a long time compare to fast and warn Chilean side.

In El Calafate we stayed 3 nights in Hotel Amigos del Mundo, not very central but still walking distance to the center. The rooms were good and breakfast was lavish. The main street is very touristy with lots of shops and restaurants; it’s good for a leisurely stroll and reminded me of Park City in Utah during ski season. The prices here were much higher than in Chile.

For sites, we took a free shuttle bus to Glacier Museum (now I know everything about ice…) and visited its Ice Bar. I always wanted to go to an Ice Bar, but I barely lasted 10 minutes as I was very underdressed for the occasion. I do recommend it but dress warm.

The next day we rented a car and drove to Perito Moreno Glacier which is a must. Visiting instructions are also a bit confusing and I actually watched someone’s blog about it. We took 1 hour boat ride that comes very close to the glacier itself and its very impressive and we walked “the balconies” it’s a trail with views of the glacier. I wanted to do a glacier hike but it was about $500 per person so we skipped.

In El Calafate we ate at Bar & Restaurant Mako  (expensive), at Nina (ok), at Sergio Restaurant Y Marisquería (seafood place as a break from meat) and at Moreno on our last night before Ushuaia. There is not much other nightlife besides restaurants.

EL CHALTAN

From El Calafate we drove to El Chaltan (about 2.5 hrs). It’s a small hikers’ town, just couple of streets and several restaurants.  We stayed 2 nights and did 2 hikes. The first to the Lagoon but only got to the Mirador, about 13 kms round trip and a hike to Fits Roy Mirador, about 8 kms round trip. The second hike was much more beautiful but terribly windy, at some point we were holding on to the rocks not to be blown away from the slopes. Interestingly, turns out that February is the windiest month even though it’s a summer.  

Both evenings we ate at Rebelde Restaurant, we liked the menu and the prices, a very authentic Patagonian grill place with good food, good wine and good prices.

USHUAIA

From El Chaltan we had to go back to El Calafate to catch a flight to Ushuaia because there is no airport in El Chaltan.

Ushuaia is the regional center for all the Terra de Fuego and is quiet a large port city. I was able to get a manicure and do laundry here. One interesting fact to keep in mind all the shops and businesses are closed mid day for siesta, which I thought is unusual for a cold climate place; usually you see this in hot climates.

Things to do in Ushuaia are Terra de Fuego Park and the prison museum. Ushuaia was built by prisoners send here for hard labor, sort of new world Gulag; you can see the cells, lots of photographs and history both of the prison and the city. There is also an entire wing of maritime and exploration history including but not limited to Darwin, Magellan, Shackelton, Amundsen and others.  The museum should take at least half a day to be thorough.   

There are plenty of interesting tours offered in and outside of Ushuaia like sailing the Beagle channel and viewing penguins but we were booked on an Antarctica expedition so we skipped. Otherwise I definitely recommend taking some.

Ushuaia had really good clothing stores (unfortunately closed during mid day) and some good restaurants and bars. Notable are Patagonia Bar and Refugio good for happy hour and a very nice law key Torrentes wine bar. For breakfast there is a historical Ramos Generales bar and restaurant with a unique maritime atmosphere.  Here are plenty Starbucks like coffee places all around as well.

However, the highlight of Ushuaia was going to Porto Almanza, crab fishing village an hour and a half away located on Ruta de Centolla (way of the crab).  Almanza is an unpaved road with few fresh seafood restaurants and this being a Sunday all were full. Of course we didn’t make any reservations since we had no idea of the set up.  After waiting for an hour we managed to get a table at La Serena y El Capitan which was an amazing experience. The three of us finished a huge freshly caught crab plus other crab dishes, crab soup and much more plus several bottles of wine.  

However, we hit a bit of a snag on the way back because even though an Uber brought us in there was no public transportation in or out of the village and no cabs or Ubers would come. By then most of the visitors with cars already left so we began to worry.  Luckily, the restaurant owner went outside and talked to one of the last cars leaving the village and they gave us a lift back to town.  

I wholeheartedly recommend going to Almanza but please secure a ride back ahead of time.