Chile: What to do in Punta Arenas
Punta Arenas is a seafaring town with great restaurants and a lot of marine history. The town just celebrated 500 years since Fernando de Magallanes first sailed through the Straight of Magellan.
La Costanera
You absolutely must visit the walking and biking path along the coastline, called “costanera” in Spanish. It gives you a good appreciation for how the city is focused on the ocean and also has great artwork. The most recent addition is a giant orange sculpture that represents the globe, with a representation of Magellan’s ship inside.
El Mercado
The market has several great restaurants upstairs where you can get some of the freshest fish in town. Next to the market is the artisanal market, which is the best place in town to buy souvenirs. There are artists who work with everything from woodcuts to yarn made from local sheep. This is also the best place to find women-owned businesses.
Restaurants
If you like seafood, then you’re in luck. Many great restaurants in Punta Arenas have fantastic seafood. Some of my favorites were La Marmita, La Luna and La Cuisine. If you want to get take out, try Sabores de Mama.
If you’re ordering salmon, make sure to ask if it’s wild or farmed. Farmed salmon pose huge environmental concerns and wild caught isn’t as controversial as in North America because they’re not native to the area. Eating wild caught salmon is actually good for the environment!
Museums
The most popular museum in Punta Arenas is the Nao Victoria Museum, which has a collection of old wooden ships and focuses on regional sailing history.
Magiorinno Borgatello was my favorite, though you have to know going in that it takes the side of the Salesian missionaries. The museum has great exhibits of natural history (like the Milodon) and it also has good exhibits on colonial history. Salesian missionaries took the last members of the indigenous Selk’nam people to missions, where almost all died. It’s a brutal history that still has repercussions to this day.
Recommended guides
For boat tours of glaciers in Tierra del Fuego, contact Viejo Lobo de Mar Expediciones on Instagram or vldmexpediciones@gmail.com
For personalized tours anywhere in the region, contact KaNaturaleza kanaturaleza@gmail.com or WhatsApp+56923960855
KaNaturaleza owners Katalina Carretta & Ignacio Carrasco have three Instagram accounts @katarukinka @nachoexplorador @kanaturaleza
