Punta Arenas

Just as San Pedro de Atacama feels far from the rest of the world, Punta Arenas (literally in Spanish: "Sandy Point") also feels far far away from the rest of ‘civilisation’…. indeed, it really is! It is the capital city of the Magellanes province in Patagonia, home of Austral beer, the most southerly brewery on the planet and the last place on earth before Antarctica.

It is almost permanently windy here. Winds tend to be strongest during the summer when city officials put up ropes in the downtown area to assist with unique wind currents created by the buildings?! You fly to Punta Arenas if visiting the Torres del Paine National Park, although in the summer months the small airport at Puerto Natales opens and will save you a three hour road trip up from Punta Arenas.

The Punta Arenas harbour, exposed to frequent storms, was considered one of the most important in Chile before the construction of the Panama Canal. It was used as a coaling station by the steamships transiting between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Today it is mostly used by cruise ships and scientific expeditions. The city is often a jumping-off point for exciting Antarctic expeditions. 

Punta Arenas has some interesting museums and if you are there over the Christmas period, then it will all seem faintly familiar as Christmas fairy lights spring up over trees and houses. The only difference to England being that it is light until about midnight!

Other popular attractions include the two nearby rookeries for Magellanic penguins.

Punta Arenas - More history...

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