Puerto Natales

Puerto Natales is the gateway to Torres del Paine National Park to the northwest and the port for boats touring the Patagonian fjords. This historic wharf was built in 1910 as a vital maritime hub during Patagonia's early 20th-century sheep-farming boom, exporting local wool, leather, and frozen meat to Europe. By the mid-20th century, large-scale regional ranching slowed down and the pier fell out of commercial use. What's left are these heavily photographed weathered wooden pilings.