Awesome and remote, this national park brings visitors face to face with the 30,000-year-old San Valentín glacier in Chile's northern ice field. Established in 1959, the 12,000-sq-km Unesco Biosphere Reserve is a major regional attraction. The park encompasses peaty wetlands, pristine temperate rainforest of southern beech and epiphytes, and 4058m Monte San Valentín, the southern Andes' highest peak. Scientific interest centers on the extreme fluctuation in water level of the glacier-fed lagoon.
Until recently, getting here was expensive and time consuming. Most visitors arrived by cruise, shifting to smaller craft and rubber rafts to approach the glacier's 60m face. Unfortunately, this approach permits only a few hours at the glacier without exploring the surrounding trails.
A new 77km gravel road travels Valle Exploradres from Puerto Río Tranquilo to Bahía Exploradores. The new route makes day trips possible from Río Tranquilo: outfitters provide a necessary boat crossing to continue on from where the road ends. Stay overnight to hear the sighs, splintering and booms of calving ice.
