Gallery
Magellanic penguins in Magdalena Island
Puerto Toro, the southernmost human settlement of the Americas.
The End of the World Route (Spanish: Ruta del Fin del Mundo) is a Chilean touristic scenic route located in the Magallanes and Chilean Antarctic Region, the most southerly region of the country. The term "end of the world" refers to Chile being the southernmost country in the world, which is why Chilean Patagonia, the southernmost natural region of the country and at the same time, the southernmost part of the American continent.
Attractions that include this route are varied, among which the visit to the Torres del Paine National Park, the Cueva del Milodón Natural Monument (Milodon's Cave), the penguin sighting in Magdalena Island, as well as other species of the Chilean wildlife stand out. In a broad sense, the route also includes the Carretera Austral, which begins south of the Los Lagos Region and crosses through the Aysén Region. [1] Additionally, the route includes the passage through the cities of Punta Arenas (regional capital), where cruise ships disembark with tourists throughout the year and has a free economic zone; a tour of Navarino Island by land or by sea, where it is possible to visit the towns and villages of Puerto Williams, Caleta Eugenia and Puerto Toro, the southernmost human settlement in the Americas. As part of this route it is also possible to take a tour of the Patagonian fjords and channels.
Tierra del Fuego is an archipelago off the southernmost tip of the South American mainland, across the Strait of Magellan.
The Magallanes Region, officially the Magallanes y la Antártica Chilena Region, is one of Chile's 16 first order administrative divisions. It is the southernmost, largest, and second least populated region of Chile. It comprises four provinces: Última Esperanza, Magallanes, Tierra del Fuego, and Antártica Chilena.
Puerto Williams is a city, port and naval base on Navarino Island in Chile, and is also the southernmost peopled settlement in the world. It faces the Beagle Channel. It is the capital of the Chilean Antarctic Province, one of four provinces in the Magellan and Chilean Antarctica Region, and administers the communes of Chilean Antarctic Territory and Cabo de Hornos. It has a population of 2,874, including both naval personnel and civilians. Puerto Williams claims the title of world's southernmost city. The settlement was founded in 1953, and was first named Puerto Luisa. The town was later named after John Williams Wilson, a British man who founded Fuerte Bulnes, the first settlement in the Strait of Magellan. It has served primarily as a naval base for Chile. The Chilean Navy runs the Guardiamarina Zañartu Airport and hospital, as well as nearby meteorological stations. Since the late 20th century, the number of navy personnel has decreased in Puerto Williams and the civilian population has increased. In that period, tourism and support of scientific research have contributed to an increase in economic activity.
Puerto Toro is a hamlet on the eastern coast of Navarino Island, Chile. Puerto Toro was founded in 1892 during the Tierra del Fuego Gold Rush by Governor of Punta Arenas Señoret.
Puerto Natales is a city in Chilean Patagonia. It is the capital of both the commune of Natales and the province of Última Esperanza, one of the four provinces that make up the Magallanes and Antartica Chilena Region in the southernmost part of Chile. Puerto Natales is the only city in the province. It is located 247 km (153 mi) northwest of Punta Arenas. It is the final passenger port of call for the Navimag ferry sailing from Puerto Montt into the Señoret Channel as well as the primary transit point for travellers to Torres del Paine National Park, Chile.
Navarino Island is a Chilean island located between Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego, to the north, and Cape Horn, to the south. The island forms part of the Commune of Cabo de Hornos, the southernmost commune in Chile and in the world, belonging to Antártica Chilena Province in the XII Region of Magallanes and Chilean Antarctica. Its population is concentrated primarily in the communal capital, Puerto Williams, and in small settlements like Puerto Navarino, Río Guanaco and Puerto Toro. The highest point of the island is Pico Navarino at 1,195 m (3,921 ft). The island is a popular destination for fly-fishers.
Torres del Paine National Park is a national park encompassing mountains, glaciers, lakes, and rivers in southern Chilean Patagonia. The Cordillera del Paine is the centerpiece of the park. It lies in a transition area between the Magellanic subpolar forests and the Patagonian Steppes. The park is located 112 km (70 mi) north of Puerto Natales and 312 km (194 mi) north of Punta Arenas. The park borders Bernardo O'Higgins National Park to the west and the Los Glaciares National Park to the north in Argentine territory. Paine means "blue" in the native Tehuelche (Aonikenk) language and is pronounced PIE-neh, while Torres means "towers". It was established as a National Park in 1959.
Última Esperanza is one of four provinces in the southern Chilean region of Magallanes and Antártica Chilena. The capital is Puerto Natales and it is named after Última Esperanza Sound. A section of its border with Argentina in the Southern Patagonian Ice Field is under dispute.
Los Pingüinos Natural Monument is located 35 km (22 mi) northeast of Punta Arenas, Chile. Magdalena Island and the Marta Island, situated in the middle of the Strait of Magellan, is the main part of this natural monument. The largest penguin colonies of south Chile are on this island, including an estimated 60,000 breeding pairs of the Magellanic penguin.
The Cordillera Riesco is a mountain range located in the Chilean Patagonia to the west of Puerto Natales. It extends in north–south direction on the eastern shore of the Fjord of the Mountains and parallel to the Cordillera Sarmiento. The rock towers of the "Grupo La Paz" are the centerpiece of this mountain range. The range includes the Cerro Toro formation, within which the Cueva del Milodon Natural Monument is situated; this monument comprises a cave complex where remains of the extinct Giant sloth have been recovered along with evidence of occupation by prehistoric man.
Cueva del Milodón Natural Monument is a Natural Monument located in the Chilean Patagonia, 24 km (15 mi) northwest of Puerto Natales and 270 km (168 mi) north of Punta Arenas.
Cerro Benítez is a mountain in the Patagonian region of Chile. In a larger context this feature is an element of the Cerro Toro geological complex. The Cueva del Milodón Natural Monument is situated on the southern flank of Cerro Benítez. The Cerro Benítez is a location for sighting of the Andean condor.
Cerro Toro is a Cretaceous landform of the Magallanes Foreland in the Patagonian region of southeastern Chile. The Cerro Toro is an element of the southern Andes and a product of the Andean orogeny, caused by the subduction of the Nazca Plate beneath the South American Plate. The formation of the Cerro Toro began in the Jurassic. The Cueva del Milodón Natural Monument is situated on the southern flank of Cerro Benítez, a lower hill associated with the formation of Cerro Toro.
Since the mid-1990s, tourism in Chile has become one of the main sources of income for the country, especially in its most extreme areas. In 2005, this sector grew by 13.6%, generating more than US$500 million, equivalent to 1.33% of the national GDP.
The Señoret Channel is a navigable surface water body in the Patagonian region of Chile. One of the major towns along the channel is Puerto Natales. Hermann Eberhard, the first European to explore the interior of northern Patagonia, used the Señoret Channel to navigate northward in order to access the remote portions of this region. One of his findings was the Milodon Cave at the base of the Cerro Benitez, where he recovered remains of the extinct Giant sloth and evidence of habitation of early man from 10,000 BC.
Hiking in Chile is characterized by a wide range of environments and climates for hikers, which largely results from Chile's unusual, ribbon-like shape, which is 4,300 kilometres long and on average 175 kilometres wide. These range from the world's driest desert, the Atacama, in the north, through a Mediterranean climate in the center, to the glaciers, fjords and lakes of Patagonia in the south.
The Gringo Trail refers to a string of the Latin American places most often visited by "gringos", Canadians, Americans, other budget travelers, vice tourists, backpackers, Anglo-European, Dutch, German heritage foreigners.
The southern coast of Chile presents a large number of fjords and fjord-like channels from the latitudes of Cape Horn to Reloncaví Estuary. Some fjords and channels are important navigable channels providing access to ports like Punta Arenas, Puerto Chacabuco and Puerto Natales.
Natales is a commune of the Última Esperanza Province in the Magallanes and Antartica Chilena Region of extreme southern Chile. Its capital and only port city is Puerto Natales.