South of Puerto Montt, Chile's coastline breaks apart into one of the most intricate mazes of water on the planet. Fjords cut deep into the Andes, channels thread between thousands of islands, and glaciers pour down from the Patagonian ice fields to the sea. This gallery shows that wild coast and the mountains behind it.
The fjords and channels of Chile
The fjord coast begins at the Reloncaví Estuary, at about 42° South, and runs all the way to Cape Horn at 55° South. A fjord is a long, deep inlet carved by a glacier and later flooded by the sea; a channel is a passage of water between islands or between an island and the mainland. Southern Chile has both in huge numbers, which is why most of the region is easier to reach by boat than by road.
The best-known waterways include the Moraleda Channel, which leads south towards Laguna San Rafael, the Messier Channel, the Sarmiento Channel and, at the far south, the Strait of Magellan and the Beagle Channel. Chile treats all of them as internal waters and marks official navigation lanes through the labyrinth.
Canoe peoples, Spanish explorers and FitzRoy's charts
Long before Europeans arrived, these waters were home to canoe-using hunter-gatherers: the Chono in the north, the Alacalufe (Kawésqar) in the centre and the Yaghan in the far south, each with its own language.
Spanish expansion stalled at the Chiloé Archipelago, conquered in 1567. Later expeditions pushed south, among them Antonio de Vea's in 1675–76 and José de Moraleda's in 1792, partly in search of the mythical City of the Caesars. In the 19th century hydrographers such as Robert FitzRoy, captain of HMS Beagle, and the Chileans Francisco Hudson, Francisco Vidal Gormaz and Enrique Simpson charted the channels in detail.
Laguna San Rafael and the ice fields
The glaciers that shaped the fjords are still here. Laguna San Rafael National Park, created in 1959 in the Aysén Region, covers 17,420 km² and includes the Northern Patagonian Ice Field, where more than 6,000 mm of precipitation has been recorded in a year. The San Rafael Glacier has been a tidewater glacier since about the mid-1700s, and its retreat formed the lagoon that gives the park its name. UNESCO declared the area a biosphere reserve in 1979. Puerto Chacabuco is the nearest port for boat trips to the glacier.
How to travel the Patagonian fjords
- By ferry: ferries are the lifeline of the region, carrying people, cars and cargo. Ships sail the inside passage between Puerto Montt and Puerto Natales, a multi-day voyage through the channels.
- By cruise: expedition and cruise ships link Puerto Montt, Puerto Chacabuco, Puerto Natales and Punta Arenas, often with landings at glaciers.
- By road: the Carretera Austral runs south through Aysén but needs three ferry crossings, including a five-hour crossing from Hornopirén to Caleta Gonzalo.
- When to go: the southern summer, from December to March, brings the longest days. Expect rain at any time of year: this is one of the wettest coasts on Earth.
Pack waterproofs whatever the forecast says, because weather in the channels changes within the hour. For an overview of destinations, start with Chile’s official tourism information.
For an overland counterpart, follow Jakub Polomski’s journey through Chile and Argentina. For a port at the southern end of the region, explore Ushuaia and the Beagle Channel.
Related reading
- Torres del Paine and Its Patagonian Setting
- Jakub Polomski’s Patagonia Journey: 8,000 Kilometres Through Chile and Argentina
- Ventisquero Colgante: Ice, Water and Forest in Queulat
- Torres del Paine: Granite Towers, Glaciers and Changing Light
- Chilean Andes Snowboarding: Funner Filete
- Chile’s Marble Caves: Lake Light, Sculpted Rock and the Aysén Journey
- Montaña Mágica, Chile: A Forest Lodge with a Cascading Exterior
- Walking on Perito Moreno Glacier with Richard Watson
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