Facebook Pixel

Puerto Tranquilo – The heart of Aysen, Chilean Patagonia

Puerto Tranquilo is a sleepy, lakeside town in the heart of Aysen, Patagonia; home to the Northern and Southern Patagonian Ice-fields, as well as the largest lake in Chile, Lago General Carrera.

How to Get a Chile Tourist Visa for Filipinos with Philippines Passport - My Chilean Visa Application Experience!

Perfect blue and turquoise rivers and lakes flow between snow-capped mountains and through deep valleys as the many glaciers gradually melt away, providing us with amazing ice caves to explore in the process – A beautiful, but a sad reminder that one day, they will disappear completely.

This quirky little town and its friendly people are often missed by visitors to Patagonia, who either travel to Torres del Paine for the famous O Trek, or head straight for Villa O’Higgins for Argentina crossing to climb Mount Fitzroy.

To help make sure you don’t make the same mistake, here are 5 reasons not to skip Puerto Tranquilo!

1. Capillas de Marmol

Puerto Tranquilo - The heart of Aysen, Chilean Patagonia
Photo by Guillermo Mann CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

 

These stunning marble caves, carved by the wind and the water over thousands of years are like stepping into another world. The variety of patterns and colors in the naturally smoothed marble seem to dance in the light reflected from the crystal blue-turquoise water. In the winter, when the lake drops, you can walk around inside the caves. One couple loved them so much, they had their wedding inside the caves themselves!

1 ½ hour boat trip – 8,000 Pesos p/p (Call Anselmo Soto – Carrera Tours)

2. Glacier Trekking

24529490499 0f6acbde75 o
Photo by trevorklatko t CC BY-NC 2.0

 

 The town itself is less than an hour’s drive away from the Exploradores Glaciers in the Northern Patagonian Ice-fields. The true scale and beauty of a glacier is impossible to comprehend until you’ve walked, hiked and climbed for three hours to stand face to face with the giant itself – A wall of ice towering above your head, peppered with the melting holes and caves which mark its constant retreat and inevitable disappearance. The trek lasts a whole day including the round trip in a van and it is suitable for beginners, but they may find the rocky sections a bit tricky. Have a drink from a small river or pool while you’re up there, there’s no other water like it!

Contact Expediciones Explorasur([email protected]) for a  1 day glacier trek – 40,000 Pesos p/p (approx) inc. lunch, transport and equipment.

3. Incredible Scenery

Puerto Tranquilo - The heart of Aysen, Chilean Patagonia
Photo by Matt Zimmerman CC BY 2.0

These pictures speak for themselves; it’s simply impossible to take a bad photo here! There is stunning natural beauty in every direction and try to catch at least one cloudy sunset, the colors are magnificent!

4 Ridiculously blue water

 Puerto Tranquilo - The heart of Aysen, Chilean Patagonia
Photo by Linda De Volder CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

The water from the melting glaciers flows directly into the regions many lakes and rivers and it’s so clean, pure and unpolluted that it keeps its perfect blue color that you just can’t stop staring at it. It’s hard to believe water can be that color at all and it’s so clean you can drink it!

5. It’s en-route to everywhere

Puerto Tranquilo - The heart of Aysen, Chilean Patagonia

A journey along the length of Patagonia’s Carretera Austral is a pilgrimage made by many travelers who are looking for something more than a fly-in-fly-out trek and some photo opportunities. Buses are not very frequent on this old dirt road, so instead, you’ll find cyclists, hikers, motorcyclists and hitchhikers making their way along the 1,240km route, sleeping in tents and family guesthouses on the way. Whether you’re heading north or south, the Carretera Austral leads you to Puerto Tranquilo.

Useful Info

How to get there: You can start your journey from Puerto Montt in the very south of mainland Chile, or you can take a Navimag ferry from Puerto Montt to Chacabuco, in the heart of the Aysen region, from where you can travel to Coyhaique, a small beautiful city, from where you can join the Carretera Austral. Simply head south whichever way you can. If you’re coming from the South having crossed from Argentina, you have no choice – Take the Carretera Austral North!

Where to stay: There are quite a few options, from one mid-range hotel to private cabañas, but we found that the best accommodation is in one the alojiementos familials, small family-run hostels that are relatively cheap, have real log fires and great home-cooked food! We chose Residential La Paz and were really happy there, they even have a little grocery store with fruit, vegetables and loads of snacks.

Price – Approx. 10,000 p/p per night.

Where to Eat: If you don’t want home-cooked food in your family hostel, then head to Donde Kike. It’s really easy to find, right next to the lakeside road and they serve great, tasty, simple dishes that’ll fill you up and leave you feeling satisfied!

Price per dish – Approx. 5,000 Pesos

Where Next: Head south to Cochrane, then on to Tortel and Villa O’Higgins. If you’re going north, your next stop is Coyhaique, the small city surrounded by stunning farmland in every direction!

Line seperator

Are you on Pinterest? Pin these!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

47 thoughts on “Puerto Tranquilo – The heart of Aysen, Chilean Patagonia

    1. Puerto Tranquilo is a pefect place of relaxation and adventzre, Rea. Better go here to see its amazing landscapes.

  1. The glaciers and the cave look magnificent. You also have great tips here. wish to see Puerto Tranquilo too.

    1. Thank you, Richard. Soon, you can visit Puerto Tranquilo as well. Let us know when it would be and if you need more tips.

  2. How amazing is Puerto Tranquilo even the name screams tranquility and beauty. Amazing pictures, thanks for sharing

    1. Certainly; Anosa! No doubt Puerto Tranquilo is the heart of Aysen Patagonia. Hope you can visit this stunning place soon. 🙂

  3. Oh wow! What an amazing adventure. The colours in that glacier are amazing.

    1. Thank you Helen. Every color in Puerto Tranquilo gives a total adventure of wonderful views.

  4. I am feeling slightly depressed reading this. There is so much out there to explore yet somehow feels out of reach. I need to travel more!! Thanks for the inspiration

    1. Don’t feel depressive, Working Mum; be inspireed instead. Puerto Tranquilo is one of the best inspiring places that can make your wanderlust flows.

  5. My daydream adventurer spirit longs to visit places like this. Alas, I can only visit through photos! Beautiful places!

    1. Haha. That’s the power of amazing landscapes like what Puerto Tranquilo can give – virtual tour! 🙂

  6. It just makes me more excited to get on my holiday. We’re going to try for a last min booking and get a bargain. Those pictures are stunning!!

    1. Awesome, Amy! Hope these stunning photos of Puerto Tranquilo convince you to visit the place.

  7. The marble caves look magnificent, how lovely that a couple got married in the caves. That must have been stunning.

  8. How amazing does everywhere look? The marble caves look so amazing, definitely somewhere I would love to explore!

    1. Incredibly clear water, Laura. You should visit Puerto Tranquilo and see its amazing wonders.

  9. Wow what fabulous photos, it looks like there is so much natural beauty there. The marble caves look amazing.

  10. This sounds like an incredible place to have an adventure! I would definitely want to see the ice fields!

    1. Puerto Tranquilo is beyond amazing in real,. You should see it someday with your kids, Life as Mum. 🙂

    1. Exactly, Fashion and Stlye Poilice. A vacation for a week or two in Puerto Tranquilo would be perfect!

    1. One of the spots in Puerto Tranquilo. You will be more amazed with the Marble Caves once you see it personally, Rachel.

    1. Puerto Tranquilo is really a perfect getway, Sarah! The clear shades around Puerto Tranquilo makes it stunning. 🙂

  11. Your right there’s not one bad picture- it looks stunning. I’ve never considered it previously and I’m wondering why now!

    1. Every spot in Puerto Tranquilo is worth capturing. You should start to plan now you trip in Puerto Tranquilo, The London Mum. 🙂

  12. Oh wow what a place of adventure. And look how blue that sea is 😀 Would love to go.

  13. Great post, guys! I’ve always wanted to visit Patagonia because of the caves and glaciers! Would love to combine it with a visit to Argentina as well!

    1. Thanks Miriam! Yeah, Argentina Patagonia would be ace! I didnt applied for my visa that’s why we were only in Chile! but it’s worth it, cant wait to go back there!

COPYRIGHT DISCLAIMER:Many of the articles on Two Monkeys Travel Group are guest posts by a number of Approved Contributors and are hosted by Two Monkeys Travel Group. Approved Contributors control their own work and post freely to our site. This includes all text and images that they use within their own work. All contributors are instructed to follow internationally recognised copyright and intellectual property guidelines. Two Monkeys Travel Group takes its own responsibilities very seriously, so if you feel that any part of this work is abusive in any way, please send us an email so that we can investigate - [email protected]


DISCLOSURE: Please note that some of the links above are affiliate links. So when you make a purchase we sometimes make a small commission, at no extra cost to you. The cost to you remains the same, sometimes even cheaper if we have negotiated a special deal for our readers.We use all of the companies we have listed here and that’s why they are in this list, but of course we need to keep Two Monkeys Travel Group running as well as it can, which is exactly what you’re helping with if you do decide to buy or book something through an affiliate link! If you have any more questions about the companies we use or any other companies you’re looking at, just email us and we’ll be happy to help.Please see our full disclaimer page for more information.

Written by Kach Umandap

Founder of Two Monkeys Travel Group. Since 2013, Kach has visited all the 7 continents (including Antarctica) and 151 countries using her Philippines Passport. In 2016, she bought a sailboat and went on sailing adventures with her two cats - Captain Ahab & Little Zissou in the Caribbean for 2 years. She now lives in Herceg Novi, Montenegro where she's enjoying her expat life and living on a gorgeous Stonehouse. She writes about her experiences traveling as a Filipina traveler with a PHL Passport. Also tips on backpacking trips, luxury hotel experiences, product reviews, sailing & adventure travel.