Puerto Natales sits on the edge of the Última Esperanza Sound, the Last Hope, a name given by a sixteenth-century expedition that hoped to find a passage through the channels and found only more water. The town of about twenty thousand people lies on a low shore facing west across the water to the snow-capped peaks of the Patagonian ice field, and the light on a clear evening, with the mountains turning pink, is the best the town has to offer. It was once a base for sheep ranching and meat-packing, and its character is still that of a frontier port.
The reason people come is Torres del Paine, the national park, about a hundred kilometres to the north. On the way there are many things to see. The Cueva del Milodón, twenty-odd kilometres out of town, is a huge cave where the bones and skin of a giant ground sloth were found in the nineteenth century, an animal that went extinct about ten thousand years ago. The writer Bruce Chatwin made it the starting point of his travel book In Patagonia. Beyond that, the road crosses open steppe, with guanaco, rhea and condors, and climbs to the towers of Paine, three granite spires of astonishing steepness.
The riding is open and exposed. The road north is a mix of tarmac and gravel, and the wind is the main problem: Patagonian gusts can reach gale force, sweeping across the steppe and pushing a bike across the lane without warning. It is best in the morning, when the wind is lighter, and the long straight stretches reward a patient rider. Watch for sheep, guanaco and the occasional tourist bus, and expect stones on the gravel stretches.
Puerto Natales has fuel stations, shops and plenty of restaurants, and it is the last place with a full range of services before the park, so fill up and stock up. Try roast lamb cooked over an open fire, the local style, and taste the calafate berry, a sour dark fruit that is turned into jam, liqueur and ice cream. Legend says that if you eat calafate you will return to Patagonia. The best season is November to March, though weather can change in an hour, and cold rain is possible even in midsummer. Carry waterproofs and warm layers whatever the forecast.