Guide · Getting there

How to get from Puerto Natales to Torres del Paine

Puerto Natales is the gateway town for the park, and three ways lead from it to the trails: the scheduled bus, a rental car or a tour with pickup. Here is how each works, how long it takes and which one suits your plans.

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Editorial team, torresdelpainehikingtours.comUpdated October 16, 2026Reading time about 6 minutes25 sources

On this topic: the tour Torres del Paine: Full-day hike to three viewpoints 4.9 (199 reviews) 13 hoursHotel pickup in Puerto NatalesHiking poles included from$100per person Check availabilityCancel for free up to 24 hrs ahead

Quick answer

01By bus: About two hours from Puerto Natales to Laguna Amarga, the first stop in the park.¹
02Distance: By Ruta 9, 112 km to the Sarmiento entrance or 129 km to Laguna Amarga.²
03Bus season: Daily buses at 7:00 and 12:00 from September to April.³
04Park ticket: Buy it online at least 24 hours before you enter.⁴
05Easiest: A guided day with pickup at your accommodation in Puerto Natales.

Puerto Natales, the gateway town

Almost every visit to Torres del Paine runs through Puerto Natales, a small town on a fjord in the Última Esperanza province. It has the bus terminal, the rental agencies, the tour offices, the supermarkets and most of the beds within reach of the park, and the drive north into the park is part of the experience: open steppe, lakes in impossible blues and, on a clear morning, the massif rising ahead of you long before you reach it.

Distances depend on which entrance you are heading for. By Ruta 9 it is 112 km to the Sarmiento entrance or 129 km to Laguna Amarga.² There is also the Y-290 road via Lago Porteño, an 80 km route linking Puerto Natales with the park.⁵ Chile Travel sums it up as Puerto Natales being 80 km from the park entrance.⁶

Whichever road you take, the trip takes a large slice of the day. Plan for that when you choose a hike: the long walks such as Base Torres have strict start times, and arriving late at the trailhead can end the day before it begins. That timing, more than the distance itself, is what makes the choice of transport important.

By bus

A bus day into the park

7:00

Leave the bus terminal

First daily departure in high season.³
About two hours later

Laguna Amarga

First stop in the park, for Base Torres and the east.¹
Next stops

Pudeto and Camping Pehoé

For Salto Grande and the boat across Lake Pehoé.⁷
End of the line

Hotel Lago Grey

The route takes about four hours in total.⁷
Evening

Back to town

Check the return time at the terminal before you set out.

By scheduled bus

Scheduled buses are the cheapest way into the park and leave from the Puerto Natales bus terminal. In high season, which Chile Travel defines as September to April, there are daily buses at 7:00 and 12:00.³ CONAF's own page lists four regular companies with departures at 7.30 and 14.30, serving Laguna Amarga, Pudeto and the park administration.⁸ The two sources differ, so check the current timetable at the terminal the day before.

The buses take about two hours to reach Laguna Amarga, their first stop in Torres del Paine.¹ After that they continue to Pudeto, Camping Pehoé, the administration and Hotel Lago Grey, a route of about four hours in total.⁷ Get off at Laguna Amarga for the east of the park and the Base Torres trail, or at Pudeto for the boat across Lake Pehoé.

Outside the main season the picture changes. Between May and August the frequency is different, and you should check schedules directly with each company because the weather can disrupt services.⁹ If you depend on a single bus to catch a fixed hike or a boat, build in a spare day, especially in the shoulder months.

Distances

Puerto Natales to the park, by entrance

Road distances from Puerto Natales as Chile Travel and CONAF give them.⁵ ²

Compare

Bus, car or tour

Option	Travel time	Best for	Watch out
Scheduled bus	About 2 h to Laguna Amarga	Budget, multi-day treks	Fixed times, fewer buses May to August
Rental car	Your own pace	Freedom, short walks	No fuel in or near the park
Tour with pickup	Door to door	First visit, day hikes	Park ticket usually extra

Bus time from Chile Travel; fuel from CONAF; tours from their listings.¹ ⁹ ¹⁰

With pickup

Three tours that start in Puerto Natales

Torres del paine: Trekking Miradores full day

This site's tour

Viewpoint hikes

Three walks, poles included

Duration: 13 hours
Rating: 4.91
Pickup: included

Check dates

Puerto Natales: Torres del Paine Full Day Tour

Most reviewed

Classic park tour

The road viewpoints

Duration: 12 hours
Group: up to 15
Rating: 4.82

Check dates

Puerto Natales: Full Day Torres del Paine + Milodon Cave

Two in one

Park and Milodon Cave

Plus a cave stop

Duration: 11 hours
Rating: 4.85
Reviews: 364

Check dates

Your way in

Which transport suits you

Pick the option that fits your hike and your budget.

I start a multi-day trek I want to start very early I travel in winter I want a guided hike I want to see the park from the road

Scheduled bus

Buses stop at Laguna Amarga and Pudeto, the usual starting points.⁷

Rental car or tour

The first bus in high season leaves at 7:00.³

Tour or car

Between May and August the bus frequency is different.⁹

Tour with pickup

This site's tour collects you in town and walks three viewpoints.

Classic park tour

From $75 for 12 hours.

The buses take about two hours to reach the Laguna Amarga sector, which is their first stop in Torres del Paine.

Chile Travel (Sernatur)translated, original in Spanish · Source 1

By rental car

A car gives you the most freedom: you can start before the buses, stop wherever the light is good and stay until the park closes. The park's general opening hours are 8:00 to 19:00.¹¹ With a car you can also reach the trailheads of the shorter walks, such as Salto Grande and Mirador Cuernos, without fitting your day around a bus.

The main practical issue is fuel. There are no fuel stations in the park or its surroundings,¹⁰ so fill up in Puerto Natales and keep an eye on the gauge. Long stretches of the park's roads are gravel, and wind can push a light car around, so drive slowly and leave plenty of distance behind vehicles that throw up stones.

Driving also makes it easier to combine the park with other sights on the way. Many visitors stop at viewpoints along the road, where the park's road route has 6 viewpoints with interpretive signs.¹² Just remember that parking at popular spots fills up in summer and that the return in the dark is slower than you expect.

Map

From Puerto Natales to the trails of Torres del Paine

Where the hikes start and what lies along them: the park entrances, the viewpoint trails of this tour, and the route of the W.

Map from Puerto Natales north to the Sarmiento and Laguna Amarga entrances of Torres del Paine — Puerto Natales to the park

Map of the W route from Hotel Las Torres past Los Cuernos to Paine Grande and Grey, with Mirador Cuernos and Mirador Cóndor — The W and the viewpoints

Map of the trail from Hotel Las Torres via Refugio Chileno to the Base Torres viewpoint — The Base Torres trail

Map of Chile from Santiago south to Punta Arenas and the Puerto Natales airfield — From Santiago to Patagonia

1
Puerto Natales
The town tours start from; by Ruta 9 it is 112 km to the Sarmiento entrance and 129 km to Laguna Amarga.²
In Google Maps ↗
2
Portería Sarmiento
The Lago Sarmiento entrance, where this tour begins its first walk on the Aonikenk Trail.
In Google Maps ↗
3
Laguna Amarga
The first stop of the scheduled buses from Puerto Natales, about two hours away.¹
In Google Maps ↗
4
Salto Grande
The waterfall in the Pudeto area, a stop on this tour before the walk to Mirador Cuernos.
In Google Maps ↗
5
Hotel Las Torres
Start of the Base Torres hike: 22 km out and back from here.¹³
In Google Maps ↗
6
Refugio Chileno
The first section from Hotel Las Torres is 5 km and takes about 2 hours.¹⁴
In Google Maps ↗
7
Mirador Base Torres
The final 1.4 km from the Torres ranger post take about 1 hour and are rated demanding.¹⁵
In Google Maps ↗
8
Refugio Los Cuernos
A stop on the W, 11.6 km from Hotel Las Torres.¹⁶
In Google Maps ↗
9
Mirador Cuernos
The viewpoint this tour walks to from Salto Grande, about 2 hours there and back.
In Google Maps ↗
10
Paine Grande
On the W; Campamento Italiano is 7.5 km away.¹⁷
In Google Maps ↗
11
Refugio Grey
From the Grey ranger post to Paine Grande is 11 km.¹⁸
In Google Maps ↗
12
Mirador Cóndor
The tour's afternoon climb, a round trip of about 2 hours up to about 350 m.
In Google Maps ↗
13
Santiago airport (SCL)
Flights to the Puerto Natales airfield take 3 hours 17 minutes, about 2,000 km.¹⁹
In Google Maps ↗
14
Punta Arenas airport (PUQ)
About 3 hours 27 minutes from Santiago; a bus then covers about 250 km to Puerto Natales.²⁰ ²¹
In Google Maps ↗
15
Natales airfield (PNT)
Teniente Julio Gallardo airfield; a taxi into town takes about 11 minutes.²²
In Google Maps ↗

Open the map in Google Maps

Before you set off

Checklist for the trip into the park

Book

Park ticket online, bought in advance
Bus seats or a tour with pickup
Refugio or campsite nights if you trek

Bring

Passport or ID
Food and water for the day
Warm, windproof layers

If you drive

A full tank from Puerto Natales
Time for gravel roads and stops

Tours from town

Cost of a day with pickup

Choose a tour and set your group size.

Viewpoint hikesGuided walksfrom $100 Classic park tourRoad viewpointsfrom $75 Park and caveWith Milodon Cavefrom $114

People 2

Total from$200

per head from $100

Check availabilityfree cancellation

Figures use each trek's GetYourGuide starting price per hiker, converted at the day's ECB rate; your booking confirmation carries the true amount.

Video

Things to Do in PUERTO NATALES & TORRES DEL PAINE, Chile

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On a tour with pickup

For many visitors the easiest answer to how to get from Puerto Natales to Torres del Paine is to let a tour do it. This site's hiking day starts with pickup at your accommodation in Puerto Natales between 06:30 and 07:00 and returns you to town around 19:00 in the evening. It starts from $100 and is rated 4.91 from 199 reviews.

If you want to see the park without long walks, classic full-day tours follow the road and its viewpoints. One of the most reviewed starts from $75, runs 12 hours and is limited to 15 participants. Another full-day tour adds the Milodon Cave and starts from $114, rated 4.85 from 364 reviews.

A tour costs more than a bus ticket, but it saves you the timetable, the transfer from the bus stop to the trailhead and the decision of where to go next. For a first day in the park, when you do not yet know the distances, that guidance is worth a lot. Buy your park ticket in advance either way, because most tours do not include the entry fee.

Buy the park ticket before you leave

Whatever transport you choose, you need a park ticket. It must be bought online at least 24 hours before you enter.⁴ Do it in Puerto Natales the evening before at the latest, and save the confirmation on your phone, because phone signal is scarce once you are on the road into the park.

In 2026 the park's daily pass for foreign visitors aged 18 and over costs 32,400 Chilean pesos, and a pass for 2 days or more costs 48,500.²³ Children up to 12 enter free under the same table.²³ Fees can change between seasons, so check the official page when you buy.

If you are heading for a multi-day trek, the ticket is not the only booking you need. Hikers on the W or the O must hold reservations at the refugios and campsites inside the park, or they cannot enter the mountain area.²⁴ Day visitors on trails such as Base Torres are not covered by that rule.²⁵

Arriving in Puerto Natales

Many travellers reach Puerto Natales by air or by bus from Punta Arenas. If you fly into Natales, a taxi takes about 11 minutes from the airfield to the town's bus terminal, where the buses to Torres del Paine leave.²² From Punta Arenas airport, a bus to Puerto Natales takes a little over three hours on Ruta 9, about 250 km.²¹

Give yourself a night in Puerto Natales before your first day in the park. Arriving in the afternoon and heading straight for the trails the next morning is a common plan, and it works well as long as you have your park ticket, your transport and your packed lunch sorted the evening before.

The town itself rewards an extra day. The waterfront is a fine place to watch the light over the fjord, outdoor shops rent and sell everything from gas canisters to waterproof trousers, and the tour offices can still help if you change your mind about how to see the park. Use it as a base, and the park is only a morning's drive away. Restaurants open early for hikers in the main season, and many guesthouses will pack a lunch if you ask the night before. It is also the place to fix whatever you forgot: spare batteries, a warmer hat, blister plasters, a second water bottle. On the way back from the park, the same road that felt endless at dawn is a fine place to watch the evening light fall across the steppe, so if you are driving, stop at a pull-out and let the day end slowly.

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