How to Get to Torres del Paine National Park

Torres del Paine National Park is the undisputed king of a trip to Patagonia, with its trails drawing over 160,000 visitors per year. If you’re planning your visit to the region, here’s a short guide explaining how to get to Torres del Paine National Park.

Where is Torres del Paine located?

1733 miles (2790 km) south of Santiago lie the bewitching and iconic granite towers that give the Torres del Paine National Park its name. Situated in the Magallanes and Antarctica Region of Chile – the southernmost region of the country – the park covers an area of 926 sq. miles (2400 km²) and lies close to the border with Argentina.

It is 215 miles (417 km) from the nearest Chilean airport in Punta Arenas and 157 miles (253 km) from El Calafate, the closest in Argentina.

How to get to Torres del Paine National Park from:

Santiago

Step one: International flights land in Comodoro Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport (Santiago International Airport). Sky and LATAM airlines fly to Punta Arenas (2+ daily) with a flight duration of 3 hour 25 minutes.

Step two: Bus Sur, Buses Pacheco and Buses Fernández have multiple daily departures between Punta Arenas and Puerto Natales and which have a duration of three hours.

Step three: Buses Gomez and Buses Maria Jose have two daily services running between Puerto Natales and stopping at Laguna Amarga, Pudeto (the location of the catamarán) and terminating at the CONAF Administration. This map shows these three locations in relation to the rest of the park.

Twice daily buses run between November 1 and March 31 to and from Puerto Natales. During the rest of the year, there is one service per day.

Buenos Aires

Step one: International flights land in Ministro Pistarini International Airport, Buenos Aires (Ezeiza International Airport, EZL) and fly to El Calafate (3+ daily).

Step two: From El Calafate, buses depart daily during the high season to Puerto Natales, with the journey taking around seven hours (including crossing the border). Turismo Zaahj is the main company to provide this route, although other bus companies do operate direct bus transfers from El Calafate to Laguna Amarga (the northeast entrance of the park).

Step three: Buses Gomez and Buses Maria Jose have two daily services running between Puerto Natales and stopping at Laguna Amarga, Pudeto (the location of the Catamarán) and terminating at the CONAF Administration. This map shows these three locations in relation to the rest of the park.

Twice daily buses run between November 1 and March 31 to and from Puerto Natales. During the rest of the year, there is one service per day.

How to get to Torres del Paine National Park by car

From Puerto Natales, there are two routes into the park:

The most direct route is a hard-packed, gravel road that turns off to the west around 14 miles (23 km) north of Puerto Natales and takes approximately one and a half hours. From the main highway, it subsequently passes alongside Cueva del Milodón at the Río Serrano entrance before continuing into the national park.

The second, more conventional route, is to continue along the paved highway north of Puerto Natales until reaching Cerro Castillo, located around 33 miles (54 km) from the city. After the crossing point in Cerro Castillo, turn left to take the unpaved road that arrives at the northwest entrance of the park at Laguna Amarga. This route into Torres del Paine takes roughly three hours.