Why this ride
From Puerto Natales it runs 228 km to the finish; allow about 3 h 09 of riding. A steady touring day rather than a sprint.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Torres del Paine Scenic Circuit: Puerto Natales to Laguna Amarga
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 228 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 3 h 09
- Journey
- One way; return travel is separate
Distance and timing basis
Ordered leg totals agree within rounding. Stop distances are approximate sums of rounded legs. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: planning record, not independently verified geometry.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distances and riding times are planning figures. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Puerto Natales
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.
Read the complete Puerto Natales write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Puerto Natales is where the day begins. Next is Cerro Castillo Chile.
2. Cerro Castillo Chile
Cerro Castillo is a tiny settlement on the Patagonian steppe in the Magallanes region of southern Chile, close to the Argentine border, and it is the last place of any size on the road from Puerto Natales to the Torres del Paine national park. Around it the land is a vast sweep of tawny grass, scrub and low hills, broken by lakes and rivers and a long horizon with snowy peaks far off to the west. It looks empty, and it is not: guanacos graze in small herds beside the road, rheas dash through the grass, and condors circle on the thermals.
Read the complete Cerro Castillo Chile write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Cerro Castillo Chile comes up about 129 km into the recorded legs. Next is Laguna Amarga.
3. Laguna Amarga
Laguna Amarga is the entrance to Torres del Paine, and the first view of the park's famous towers makes the whole long journey seem worth it. The lagoon itself is a shallow, brackish lake of milky green water on the open steppe, ringed by low hills, and behind it rise the granite spires of the Paine massif, three vertical towers of rock that seem to belong in another country. The name means bitter lake, from the salty water.
Read the complete Laguna Amarga write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
The route ends here after 228 km.
Leg by leg
Puerto Natales to Cerro Castillo Chile
Puerto Natales → Cerro Castillo Chile is 129 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Cerro Castillo Chile to Laguna Amarga
Cerro Castillo Chile → Laguna Amarga is 99 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.