Navimag: Puerto Montt to Puerto Natales
Navigate the Patagonian Channels

Included: Accommodation according to cabin, 3 meals daily (served in dining room), videos & cultural discussions according to information board

Not Included: alcohol or purchases from the onboard store and pub

DEGREE OF DIFFICULTY AND PHYSICAL CONDITIONING: This trip is for all ages and all fitness levels. 
 

This is the famous Navimag ferry from the Lake District through the remote channels of Patagonia.  It is the only sea journey in Patagonia that covers the entire region North to South.  You will spend 3 full days on the large vessel, which is a cargo ferry that carries vehicles and passengers.

You will navigate through channels that formed as the result of the glaciers of the last ice age over twelve thousand years ago.  During the trip you will have the opportunity to see a variety of birds and sea animals, such as dolphins, sea lions and occasionally whales (killer and right whales) in the open gulfs.  This part of the planet continues to be wild and pristine and has inspired many writers such as Lord Byron, Jules Verne and Francisco Coloane (from Chiloé). 

Ancient cultures used to live throughout the area (as in much of the Americas), such as the Kawesqar between the Strait of Magellan and the Golfo de Penas (Gulf of Sorrow) and the Yaganes and Onas in Tierra del Fuego (Land of Fire). 

On the southern journey, the trip departs Puerto Montt (capital of the Lake District) on Mondays crossing the Reloncavi Sound and the Gulf of Ancud, with the backbone of the Andes to the East and the emerald islands of Chiloé to the West.  Crossing the Gulf of Corcovado you'll see the pointed peak of the volcano of the same name reaching 2300 meters from the sea (over 7500 ft). 

Upon crossing the gulf one enters the Moraleda Channel with the countless islands of the Guaitecas Islands stretching to the south.  We'll enter open ocean as we go around the Taitao Peninsula - the outer part of the Laguna San Rafael National Park.  We'll cross the Golfo de Penas (Gulf of Sorrow) when the weather conditions and the current allows. 

This route was crossed by the pre-hispanic inhabitants and by Juan Williams in 1843 in the schooner Ancud sent southwards by the new Republic of Chile upon its creation to found Fort Bulnes and take position of the Strait of Magellan for Chile. 

We will pass Bernardo O'Higgins National Park, with 3.5 million hectares, home to the Pio XI Glacier, South America's largest.  The route continues through the Messier Channel, where the water changes color due to the countless silted rivers from the Southern Ice Field.  Passing through the English Narrows we'll arrive at Puerto Eden, a little settlement of 276 inhabitants where the last Kawesqar Indians live. 

Finally, after several days of stunning views, we will arrive at the Seno de Ultima Esperanza (Last Hope Sound), arriving to Puerto Natales- the jumping off point for Torres del Paine National Park.

The Northern Journey departs Fridays (passengers must embark Thursday nights) and enjoys the same itinerary, though in reverse.