Bernardo O’Higgins National Park Glaciers

With 3,525,901 hectares, the Bernardo O’Higgins National Park is the largest in Chile. It covers the regions of Aysén and Magallanes in the provinces of Capitán Prat and Última Esperanza and the communes of Caleta Tortel, Villa O’Higgins, and Puerto Natales.

One of the many lagoons of glacier origin can be seen around the source of the Geikie River, the boundary between *Torres del Paine* and *Bernardo O’Higgins* National Parks.

The park’s territory has many canals in the western sector. At the park’s eastern sector is the southern Patagonian ice field from which numerous glaciers break off. Near Puerto Edén is The Pio XI glacier, where huge ice blocks break off. The ice wall is approximately 75 meters high (about 30 floors of a conventional building) and when it falls waves of more than 10 meters are formed. This glacier has 1265 kms2 and is the largest in South America.

The hanging glacier of *Monte* *Balmaceda* is within the limits of the park and is one of the most visited sectors each year by tourists.

Access to Bernardo O’Higgins National Park for excursionist

Access to this enormous National Park can be made by sea. There are sailings from Villa Serrano (on the border of Torres del Paine) and also from Puerto Natales that disembark in Puerto Toro; a place from where every day hundreds of tourists walk about 1 hour (round trip) to contemplate the lagoon and Serrano glacier, which is detached from Monte Balmaceda. There is also access from Puerto Eden and Caleta Tortel (also by sea). The more adventurous can do some hiking trails, but a guide is required because there are no marked trails. The photo gallery below shows a little of what can be seen in this unexplored area.