Capitán Prat Province: Nature, Trails and Cultural Heritage

Patagonia National Park extends across the provinces of General Carrera and Capitán Prat, as well as the municipalities of Chile Chico and Cochrane. The park’s hiking trails include the short La Confluencia Trail. For your trip planning, it is worth considering trails and places individually.

Classifying hikes by time and trail length

The La Confluencia Trail runs through the Valle Chacabuco sector of Patagonia National Park. The trail is 3 kilometers long, takes about 40 minutes and is considered easy. As trail information can change with management conditions, check the latest information before setting out.

The hike up Cerro Bandera has a different time estimate: it starts at the Padre Antonio Ronchi footbridge, leads from the Río Baker delta and takes approximately two hours. The estimated hiking time is therefore quite different from the roughly 40 minutes for the La Confluencia Trail.

There are access points for hikers at Monte San Lorenzo, including the Ruta de Agostini and Laguna Río Tranquilo trails. Weather and season can affect conditions on these trails; check in advance. Another hike follows a trail about 7 kilometers long to the edge of Glaciar Calluqueo.

Protected areas and visitor conditions

Katalalixar National Reserve covers 674,500 hectares and is located in Tortel, in Capitán Prat Province. It has neither visitor services nor public infrastructure. Check the current conditions before visiting. This practical information distinguishes the reserve from the specific hiking trails described, for which length, duration or difficulty is provided.

In Capitán Prat Province, Bernardo O’Higgins National Park is administratively part of the municipality of Tortel. Its landscapes include mountains, ice fields, fjords and glaciers. In the Aisén Region, access to this national park is by boat from Tortel toward Glaciar Jorge Montt. Access in this remote area is regulated and must be checked in advance; the boat journey is therefore a separate planning consideration.

Cultural heritage along the Río Baker and in Caleta Tortel

In Caleta Tortel, streets have been replaced by wooden walkways made from Guaitecas cypress, which run throughout the town. This construction style shapes the routes through the settlement. Three kilometers from Caleta Tortel, at the mouth of the Río Baker, lies Isla de los Muertos. It has 33 wooden crosses, believed to be the remains of a series of individual graves from 1906.

Paso San Carlos is also connected with the Río Baker. It is a Historic Monument dating from 1901 and linked the lower and middle reaches of the river, bypassing El Saltón.

The Bordadoras del Baker were added to Chile’s National Register of Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2025. In Cochrane, the craft fair offers local handicrafts and native products. If you plan to visit the fair, check its current opening arrangements in advance.

Discover more destinations: O'higgins, Cochrane, Coihaique Province, General Carrera Province, Aisén Province.

Back to the main travel overview: Aisén Region.