Puerto Williams, Isla Navarino, Cabo de Hornos Commune
Returning from Cape Horn it’s a tradition upon arrivel at Puerto Williams, to visit the pub of the Micalvi Yacht Club and try a pisco sour.
Puerto Williams is a Chilean port, located on Isla Navarino facing the Beagle Channel. It is the capital of the Chilean Antarctic Province, one of four provinces located in the Magellan and Chilean Antartica Region. It has a population of a little over 2000, including both naval personnel and civilians, and most of the houses in Puerto Williams belong to the Chilean Navy. Puerto Williams is considered the southernmost town in the world.
The settlement was named after John Williams Wilson (an Irish captain born in 1798), who founded Fuerte Bulnes. Puerto Luisa was its original name. Since its foundation in 1953 the settlement has served primarily as a naval base. But recently navy personnel living in Puerto Williams have decreased while civil population have increased. In recent years tourism has contributed to an increase in economic activity at Puerto Williams. Universidad de Magallanes has a university centre in Puerto Williams.
Additional Info
The community has a small airport. Most lodgings for tourists are hostels. There are several trails for multi-day hikes and back-packing trips in the Dientes de Navarino mountains south of Puerto Williams. Remains of Indian campsites and fishtraps can be found along the coast east of the city. Puerto Williams is home to the Martin Gusinde Anthropological Museum, which depicts the lives of both the Yamana or Yahgan and Selknam peoples who once inhabited Tierra del Fuego. For easy exploration of some of the subantarctic forest, the Omora Ethnobotanical Park is five kilometres down the road to the west.
Martin Gusinde Anthropological Museum
Open
Touristic season, between the 1st of october and the 31st of march, from 09:00 to 13:00 and from 14:30 to 19:00 hours.
Saturdays and Sundays, from 14:30 to 18:30 hours.
Winter, between the 1st of april and the 30th of september, from 08:00 to 13:00 hours.
Saturdays, from 14:30 to 18:30 hours.
Dientes de Navarino Trekking Path
It is the southernmost trekking opportunity in the world. The 53 kms. route winds through an otherworldly landscape.
For the serious trekker, the five-day Dientes Circuit is a chance to experience unique terrain at what is literally the last scrap of land before the legendary Cape Horn. There are no refuges on the route. There is not even an entrance fee to pay. Trekkers are only required to check in with the carabineros in Puerto Williams. From there, the trailhead is just three kms from the tiny village of Puerto Williams with a good possibility that you won’t see anyone else in the course of the circuit.
Because of the difficulty of the route and the distance of Isla Navarino from the beaten path, the Dientes Circuit receives a fraction of Chile’s annual trekking visitors. The Dientes trekker needs to be self-reliant and good at route finding. The 38 trail points are spread over a 53 km route, with four significant passes to cross and a myriad maze of beaver ponds and dams to negotiate in the valleys between.
Weather is also a strong factor, particulary the strength of the winds that sweep up from the white continent and make the passes, especially the final pass, Paso Virginia, very dangerous. Blasts of wind strong enough to knock a heavily loaded trekker from their feet are not uncommon and come without warning.
