Things to Do in Patagonia - page 2

Situated in the popular Torres del Paine National Park, the Salto Grande Waterfall is fed by the ice-blue waters of Nordenskjöld Lake and tumbles 50 feet (15 meters) into Lake Pehoé below. Admire the Salto Grande Waterfall—one of the most impressive attractions in the park—during a beginner-friendly day hike and look out for grazing guanacos (camelids).

When Magellan passed through his eponymous strait bound for Chile for the first time, he cruised past the tiny Magdalena Island (Isla Magdalena). Today, travelers make it a point to stop at this scenic island just northeast of Punta Arenas to explore the rocky shores and observe the huge colony of Magellanic penguins at their critical breeding site.

Famed for its colony of adorable Magellanic penguins, Otway Sound (Seno Otway) houses one of the most easily visited penguin preserves in the world. In September, thousands of the smallish warm-weather penguins—all of them couples—make their way to this large inland bay in southern Chile and begin building nests.

The Villarrica Volcanic Caves, sometimes called the House of Devil, snake hundreds of yards into the side of the Villarrica Volcano, Chile’s most active volcano. Take a trek into the caves, which are the hardened remains of historic lava flows, and enjoy the mountaintop scenery.