Chilean Patagonia

The fjords, glaciers and magnificent scenery of the Patagonian region are what attract visitors to this vast wilderness territory. The north, or Aisén region, can be likened to the Inside Passage of Alaska or New Zealand's Fjordland on South Island with its dramatic ice and waterway scenery. Southern Patagonia or Magallanes, is rugged, mountainous and stormy.

It was nearly 500 years ago that Ferdinand Magellan guided four ships through the treacherous passages that are still today thought of as the 'End of the World'. Today Patagonia is inhabited by nearly two million people, but the majority of these live on the Argentinian side and even there, the region is still almost entirely dominated by pristine nature.

The gravel highway known as the Camino Austral allows travellers access to one of the world's last great expanses of wilderness. It begins at the port of Chaitén and continues to the capital of northern Patagonia, Coihaique, both of which are good bases for explorations of Chilean Patagonia. The most popular attraction in this region, despite the difficulty and expense of getting here, is the two million-hectare (four million-acre), glacier-filled Parque Nacional Laguna San Rafael, which has some of the world's most spectacular mountain and fjord scenery.

Magallanes features glacially sculpted mountains and harsh landscapes with Torres del Paine National Park the most famous of the southern region's protected areas. Even further south is the town of Puerto Natales, terminus of the extraordinary ferry trip through the fjords from Puerto Montt, and the main exploration base for the region. Beyond the continent lies the harsh and stormy archipelago of Tierra del Fuego, stretching towards icy Antarctica.