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Dientes de Navarino Circuit

Navarino Island, Chile

 

This is a page with tips for those who want to do Dientes de Navarino Circuit, being a complement to the book The Most Beautiful Trails of Patagonia. In this page you can see some photos and the list of trails that are part of the book. To purchase your book, send your zip code and country to livros@ricardoferes.com or WhatsApp +55 11 99314-3211 and I will send you the total cost, including shipping.

Days: 4
Distance: 44 km / 27 mi
Total ascent: 2,455 m / 8,054 ft
Download tracklog at Wikiloc

Best season
From mid-December to March. Some lagoons are likely to be frozen before mid-December.

How to get there
There are three options to get to Navarino Island, all expensive. The first is flying to Punta Arenas, in Chile, and from there to take another plane, this time a very small one, to Navarino Island. The disadvantage of taking this flight is that the price is even higher than going by boat and there is a luggage restriction, so you may have to buy food for the hike on Navarino Island, which will limit you a lot. The advantage is that you will not be depending on sea conditions, like those who choose to go by boat.

The second option is going to Ushuaia, in Argentina, and from there to take a big inflatable boat to make the crossing. After crossing the Beagle Channel, the same company will take you by van to the city of Puerto Williams. The advantages of going by boat are that the cost is a little lower, although it is still very expensive for the short journey, but mainly because you can take luggage without limitation in size and weight, which is useful especially for those who are traveling for a long time and carries more than the backpack. The main disadvantage is that, if the sea conditions are bad, which is not uncommon, the boat does not cross, so imagine the despair of those who are on Navarino Island needing to return to Ushuaia to catch the flight, and can’t go back. Attention: since the beginning of the pandemic, this route has stopped working and, so far (January 2023), it has not returned.

The third option is to take a cargo boat in Punta Arenas, which also takes passengers in simple cabins. The trip lasts 28 hours and passes through countless islands, fjords and glaciers, the problem is that the crossing happens only once a week.

The websites of these companies are in the section “Useful links”, in the end of this article.

Costs
As the circuit is not in a national park and you have to do wild camping, there are no costs.

Where to eat, sleep and trail marking
The trail is well marked in many sections, but in some, it is necessary to have a good sense of trail, so it is essential to know how to navigate and have a map + compass or GPS.

There are no shelters to sleep or buy supplies, you have to be totally independent.

Day by day
Some websites recommend doing the circuit in 5 days but I think it is too much. Four days is enough and, if you are in a good shape, you can do it in 3 days without much effort. Of course, it doesn’t make much sense to go so far and run to finish soon, but as the good weather windows tend to be short, it can be interesting to do in less days to be in the most beautiful spots with good weather.

Day 1
Puerto Williams – Laguna del Salto
Distance: 8.2 km / 5.1 mi
Total ascent: 650 m / 2,132 ft

If you don’t hire a taxi or take a ride until the beginning of the trail, you will walk 2 km / 1.2 mi to 4 km / 2.4 mi along a dirt road, depending on where you are sleeping.

The trail to the summit of Cerro Bandera is easy to follow as it is very used by those who want to do a day trip.

Then the path has some markings but, due to the landslides that happen every winter, in many places it is necessary to follow the footsteps of those who passed before. In fact, it is good to be careful because, as we walk sideways on a steep hill, it is not difficult to cause a small landslide.

Day 2
Laguna del Salto – Laguna Escondida
Distance: 14.5 km / 9 mi
Total ascent: 750 m / 2,460 ft

The second day starts with the Paso Australia crossing and it is the place that can be almost impossible to cross without snow equipment, if you go before the good season, which varies from year to year. I set the middle of December as the beginning of the season because then you shouldn’t have problems like the people that went only ten days before me, in December of 2019, and couldn’t cross Paso Australia.

In my opinion, the section between Paso Australia and Laguna Escondida is the most beautiful of the entire circuit, so don’t rush to cross it and enjoy every viewpoint, lagoon and peak. As it is a short section, I recommend that you do the side trip to the summit of Cerro Bettinelli, to have a view of the mountain range from a different angle and also to see the end of the South American continent, since it is possible to see even the islands of Cape Horn.

Instead of sleeping at Laguna Escondida, a good option is to spend the night a little earlier, at Laguna de los Dientes, making the next day not so short. I prefer to sleep at Escondida because, for me, it is the most beautiful of the whole circuit, but this is a very personal matter. If you really sleep at Escondida, you will see, as soon as you arrive, a peninsula with some points to pitch the tent. Although it is tempting to sleep in such a beautiful place, if the wind gets “Patagonian” during the night, it will be difficult to keep the tent in place. I decided to take a chance … And I had to run away at two in the morning.

Day 3
Laguna Escondida – Laguna Martillo
Distance: 6 km / 3.7 mi
Total ascent: 375 m / 1,230 ft

This is a very, very easy day, almost without walking. In fact, if you are in a good shape, you can perfectly join days 3 and 4, especially if you leave Laguna Escondida early in the morning.

Another option is to go from Laguna Martillo and spend the night at Laguna los Guanacos, the last one on the circuit, leaving a very short walk for the last day. This you can decide at the last minute, depending on your tiredness, available time and the weather.

Day 4
Laguna Martillo – Estrada Y-905
Distance: 15 km / 9.3 mi
Total ascent: 680 m / 2,231 ft

The attraction of the fourth day is the crossing of Paso Virginia, but it is also a point where it is necessary to have good weather to cross, as if there is a snowstorm, it is very likely to have a whiteout, being easy to have an accident. By the way, an accident occurred when I was there, with a group of 3 Americans, as it is explained in the book The Most Beautiful Trails of Patagonia.

Upon arriving on the road, if you didn’t scheduled anyone to pick you up, ask for a ride that you should have no problems finding someone that will take you to the village.

Useful links