DISCOVER PATAGONIA
Patagonia; territory shared by the south of Chile and Argentina, offers places with beauties and unique characteristics, which make this a destination of high international tourist interest. We invite you to know and discover our Patagonia.
Next, we will name the main destinations from which you can visit this attractive territory called Patagonia.
CHILOÉ AND LOS LAGOS REGION
It is the gateway from the south central area of the country. Area of dense forests, beautiful lakes, islands and archipelagos, with customs and traditions linked to the sea, folklore, fishing, its churches, among other natural attractions. This area is also the link with Argentina towards Bariloche and to the south, it is the gateway to the Carretera Austral and the rest of the Chilean and Argentine Patagonia.
AUSTRAL ROAD
The Carretera Austral (Route CH-7), is a Chilean highway, which is located in the Southern Zone and in the Southern Zone of Chile. By 2012 the route was 1,240 kilometers and it linked Puerto Montt with Villa O’Higgins, although the project is that in the future it will reach Puerto Williams. It is the main route of land transportation in the Aysén Region and the Palena Province in the Los Lagos Region, allowing its connection with the rest of the country’s territory, taking a tour of Chilean Patagonia.
EL CALAFATE (PERITO MORENO GLACIER)
El Calafate is a city located on the southern shore of Lake Argentino, in the Patagonia region, in the province of Santa Cruz, Argentina, about 80 km from the Perito Moreno glacier. It is the head of the Lago Argentino department. As of 2012, El Calafate is one of the three main cities in the province of Santa Cruz, ranking third for its population, behind the cities of Río Gallegos and Caleta Olivia. It is located about 320 km northwest of the provincial capital, Río Gallegos. It owes its notoriety for being the gateway to Los Glaciares National Park, which has tourist attractions such as the Perito Moreno glacier, the Upsala glacier, and the Fitz Roy hill), among others, all typical of the eastern region of the Ice Field. South Patagonian.
Punta Arenas
Punta Arenas is a city and port in the extreme south of Chile, capital of the Magallanes and Chilean Antarctic Region. It is located at 53 ° 10′01 ″ S 70 ° 56′01 ″ W, on the Brunswick Peninsula, on the continental shore of the Strait of Magellan, and a few kilometers from Cape Froward, the southernmost point of the continental mass of America. It is for historical, demographic, social and strategic reasons considered the «Capital of Chilean Patagonia».
NATIONAL PARK TORRES DEL PAINE
The Torres del Paine National Park is one of the components of the National System of Protected Wild Areas of the State of Chile. In 2006, it occupied an area of approximately 242,242 ha. It is one of the largest parks in the country and one of the most important. It is the third with the most visits, of which about 75% correspond to foreign tourists, especially Europeans.
The National Park is located 112 km north of Puerto Natales and 312 from the city of Punta Arenas. It is one of the eleven protected areas existing in the Magallanes and Chilean Antarctic Region (along with four other national parks, three national reserves and three national monuments). Together, protected wild areas cover 51% of the region’s surface (6,728,744 ha). It limits the north with the Los Glaciares National Park, in Argentina.
It presents a great variety of natural environments: mountains (among which the Cerro Paine complex stands out, whose main summit reaches 3050 meters above sea level, Torres del Paine and Cuernos del Paine), valleys, rivers (such as the Paine river), lakes (highlighting those known as Gray, Pehoé, Nordenskjöld and Sarmiento), glaciers (Gray, Pingo, Tyndall and Geikie, belonging to the Southern Patagonian Ice Field).
Monte Fitz Roy - Chaltén
Mount or Cerro Fitz Roy or Cerro Chaltén, is a mountain of 3375 meters above sea level located to the east of the South Patagonian ice field on the border between Argentina and Chile, in Patagonia, near the town of El Chaltén. A few kilometers south of this mountain, the last undefined border area between the two countries begins (outside of Antarctica), which reaches the Murallón hill to the south. (See: South Patagonian Ice Field Litigation). It is located within two national parks: Bernardo O’Higgins National Park and Los Glaciares National Park. This summit offers an imposing spectacle as its ridges and edges appear between glaciers and clouds and at certain times of the day they take on surprising colors according to the sunlight.
PENINSULA VALDÉS (MARINE FAUNA SIGHTING)
The Valdés peninsula is a coastal accident on the Argentine sea, Province of Chubut, Argentina and is part of the seven World Heritage Sites declared by UNESCO in Argentina. It presents a portion of land with an almost triangular contour joined to the continent by the Carlos Ameghino isthmus. Its geographical center is located towards the coordinates: 42 ° 31′S 63 ° 55′W.
Peninsula Valdés receives the largest breeding population of southern right whales, with more than 2000 cataloged by the Whale Conservation Institute and the Ocean Alliance. The region contains six nature reserves, and is considered one of the main and most important whale watching destinations on the planet, particularly around Puerto Pirámides and the city of Puerto Madryn. Dolphins, dolphins, penguins, sea elephants and a great variety of birds can also be seen, among others. In 1999, Unesco included Península de Valdés in its list of World Heritage Sites.
Ushuaia
Ushuaia is an Argentine city, capital of the Province of Tierra del Fuego, Antarctica and the South Atlantic Islands. It was founded on October 12, 1884 by Augusto Lasserre and is located on the shores of the Beagle Channel surrounded by the Martial mountain range, in the bay of Ushuaia. Besides being an administrative center, it is an industrial, port and tourist node. It is the only Argentine city that is located on the other side of the Andes, 1 seen from the rest of the country.
LAND OF FIRE
The Big Island of Tierra del Fuego is located in the extreme south of America, a continent from which it is separated by the Strait of Magellan. It is, by area, the 29th island in the world and the largest, by far, of the islands of the great Fuegian archipelago.
It is bounded to the south by the Beagle Channel, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean and to the west by the Pacific Ocean. This island is shared by Argentina and Chile, to whom the eastern and western parts correspond, respectively. 18,507.3 km² belong to Argentina with 38.57% of the total while 29,484.7 km² belong to Chile with 61.43% of the total surface of the island. The Argentine part of the island corresponds to the Province of Tierra del Fuego, Antarctica and the South Atlantic Islands, whose capital is the city of Ushuaia. The Chilean sector of the island corresponds mainly to the Province of Tierra del Fuego, belonging to the Region of Magallanes and the Chilean Antarctic. The capital of the aforementioned province is Porvenir.
Peninsula Valdés receives the largest breeding population of southern right whales, with more than 2000 cataloged by the Whale Conservation Institute and the Ocean Alliance. The region contains six nature reserves, and is considered one of the main and most important whale watching destinations on the planet, particularly around Puerto Pirámides and the city of Puerto Madryn. Dolphins, dolphins, penguins, sea elephants and a great variety of birds can also be seen, among others. In 1999, Unesco included Península de Valdés in its list of World Heritage Sites.