City of Punta Arenas
Punta Arenas was founded on December 18th, 1848. It was the main port and navegation route between the Atlantic and the Pacific oceans before the opening of the Panama canal in 1914. The city is very rich for its architecture, closely related to the colonization of the Patagonia, reflected in its streets and squares, such as the Plaza de Armas located in the historical city center. This area was declared National Monument in the category of Typical Zone on February 22nd, 1991 through Supreme Decree N° 67.
Nearby Monuments
FUERTE BULNES AND THE SPUNTA SANTA ANA PENINSULA
The first attempt of the Spanish Crown to populate the strategic area of the Strait of Magellan, was quickly undermined, and it was not until the government of President Manuel Bulnes that the area was effectively founded. In May 1843 a schooner sailed from Ancud with a military contingent, tools, construction materials, food and animals for subsistence.
https://www.monumentos.gob.cl/monumentos/monumentos-historicos/fuerte-bulnes-toda-peninsula-denominada-punta-santa-ana
RUINS OF CIUDAD REY DON FELIPE (KING PHILIPS’S CITY) (PORT OF HUNGER)
Located at 56 kms from the city of Punta Arenas, the ruins of King Phillip’s city known today as Port of Hunger, was the only passing point navigators travelling from the old world to the American coasts of the Pacific. After a tortuous and fateful expedition undertaken by Pedro Sarmiento de Gamboa in 1584, two cities were founded, Nombre de Jesús and Rey Don Felipe. As a result of the inhospitable location and rugged landscape, most settlers died from starvation.
https://www.monumentos.gob.cl/monumentos/monumentos-historicos/ruinas-ciudad-rey-don-felipe-puerto-hambre
MAURICIO BRAUN PALACE (Regional Museum of Magallanes)
MAURICIO BRAUN PALACE (Regional Museum of Magallanes)
The Mauricio Braun Menéndez Palace was the home of the Braun Menéndez family, the Brauns were originally from Russia and the Menéndez came from a wealthy Chilean merchants from the Patagonia.
Due to its historical and architectural value, as a result of the Patagonian commercial boom in the early 20th century, the house of Mauricio Braun was declared a Historic Monument on January 7th, 1974. Nine years later, the descendants of the Braun Menéndez family donated the Palace, its original furniture and decorations to the Chilean State. In 1983 the house became the Regional Museum of Magallanes. https://www.monumentos.gob.cl/monumentos/monumentos-historicos/casa-fue-senor-mauricio-braun
REMAINS OF THE HALL AND BOW OF THE “LONSDALE” EX “VILLE DU HAVRE” SAILBOAT
The Lonsdale was an English vessel built at the end of the XIX century in the Bigger Shipyards, in Londonderry, Ireland. Following a fire in Port Stanley in the Falkland Islands, on October 6, 1909, the sailboat was purchased by a merchant in Punta Arenas, who in turn sold her to the Braun & Blanchard company in the same port. It was declared Historical Monument on January 7, 1974 under the emblem “Homage to the sailors of all nationalities who sailed the Magellanic sea”.
https://www.monumentos.gob.cl/monumentos/monumentos-historicos/proa-restos-casco-velero-lonsdale-ex-ville-du-havre
The Typical Zone in Punta Arenas
Punta Arenas was founded on December 18th, 1848. It was the main port and navegation route between the Atlantic and the Pacific oceans before the opening of the Panama canal in 1914. The city is very rich for its architecture, closely related to the colonization of the Patagonia, reflected in its streets and squares, such as the Plaza de Armas located in the historical city center. This area was declared National Monument in the category of Typical Zone on February 22nd, 1991 through Supreme Decree N° 67.
Natural Monuments
Los Pingüinos Natural Monument
Close to the city of Punta Arenas, Magdalena Island is home to a colony of the largest penguins in Chile, together with Marta Island , they are an unparalleled marine life observatory in the Patagonia where you can photograph and learn about the wildlife of these beautiful aquatic birds.
Puerto Natales
Location: 248 km north of Punta Arenas (3 hours drive approximately)
It is the tourism capital in the Region and a hotspot for gastronomy tourism. This city is the gateway to fiords, mountain ranges and natural monuments. Its waterfront offers a spectacular view of the Última Esperanza Bay and imposing mountain ranges. Various other attractions include the Municipal Historic Museum (Museo Histórico Municipal), Costanera Avenue (Avda. Costanera), Central Historical Square (Plaza de Armas), Ether Aike Handicraft Town and Puerto Bories (5 km north of the city).
Torres del Paine National Park
Location: 150 km from Puerto Natales (1 and a half hour drive approximately)
You definetly cannot miss Torres del Paine National Park, which concentrates the main ecosystems of Patagonia in a single place: pampas, forests, glaciers, mountains, lakes and rivers, characteristics that led to it being declared as a World Biosphere Reserve in 1978 by UNESCO.
Gray Lake and Glaciar
Location: Torres del Paine National Park.
Gray Lake was created from the action of the southern Ice Fields, and receives the huge icebergs that detach from the Gray Glacier. To look at the glacier and its icebergs, you can walk along the lakeside, and take a walk on the ice, or take an hour long walk across to the peninsula to a lookout point, an ideal place to take pictures of the glacier.
Milodon Cave Natural Monument
Location: 24 km north of Puerto Natales.
The Natural Monument Milodón Cave is formed by three caves and a rocky formation called the Devil’s Chair (“Silla del Diablo”). The biggest cave is located at a height of 150 meters and is 30 m tall, 80 m at the front and 200 m deep. The area is monitored by the National Forest Corporation (CONAF).
Salto Grande
Location: Torres del Paine National Park
Salto Grande connects Lakes Nordenskjöld and Pehoe, and is located in the Pehoé Sector, at only 2 km from the main route. It is a good place for a relaxing walk along Lake Nordenskjöld that leads to the Cuernos del Paine lookout point (one of the best views in the Park).