Puerto Natales is a cute, pleasant, outpost type of town similar to what you would find in parts of Alaska or the Pacific Northwest. It is the capital of Chile’s Ultima Esperanza (Last Hope) province.
The city lies on a wide bay ringed by a park decorated with whimsical sculptures. In the evenings the leafy central plaza is filled with Nataleños riding go-carts, singing rap and strolling hand in hand.
Puerto Natales has an interesting backstory. With the spectacular natural attractions in the area such as Torres del Paine, Glaciares National Park, Perito Moreno and Patagonia in general, travelers would just stop in Puerto Natales overnight and quickly move on.
Sensing an opportunity, the merchants and officials of Puerto Natales met to discuss how they could capitalize on the town’s position as the kick-off point to a Torres del Paine National Park adventure and hold on to transient travelers and their tourist dollars for at least one more day. But what to offer?
The city had no significant historic attractions, no great natural beauty, no notable culture havens. Finally, the city hit on an idea. It would become the city where people went for exceptional local cuisine!
With a surprisingly large number of good restaurants for a remote town of 15,000 people, Puerto Natales now successfully tempts visitors to stay a while longer to sample reasonably-priced, tasty, authentic fare, impeccably served in inviting restaurants.