Hiking the Dientes de Navarino Trail in Chile
Kraig AdamsMar 2025 · Solo
- Days
- 3 days
- Direction
- Loop from Puerto Williams, the reverse of the official direction
- Cost
- Registration and camping are free
- Lodging
- Tent
South America · Chile
Dientes de Navarino
Navarino Island, Chile
- Distance
- 32.1 mi51.6 km
- Days
- 3 days
- Elevation gain
- 6,627 ft2,020 m
- High point
- 2,808 ft856 m
- Season
- November to March
- Lodging
- Tent
Hikes / South America / Dientes de Navarino
In March 2025 I hiked the Dientes de Navarino circuit on Navarino Island, Chile: the southernmost trek in the world. About 32 miles in three days, a loop on foot from Puerto Williams around the jagged peaks of the Dientes (the "Teeth of Navarino"), past dozens of lakes and over five passes, with the Beagle Channel below. It's the trip from my film Hiking the Dientes de Navarino Trail in Chile.
Kraig Adams
Effort at this pace: Hard · about 11 mi (17 km) and 2,209 ft (673 m) of climbing a day over 3 days, up to 2,808 ft (856 m). Our grade for the days given, worked out from distance, climbing and altitude a day; it isn't the trail's usual difficulty rating (under Basics) and doesn't rate exposure, terrain or weather.
Where these numbers come from
From Kraig Adams's GPS recording and guide.
From Kraig Adams's GPS
The route, day by day
Elevation13–2,808 ft32.1 mi
From Kraig Adams's GPS. Terrain: Mapzen Terrain Tiles (SRTM, GMTED) on AWS · Rivers & lakes © OpenStreetMap contributors
Tap a day for his map of it
Download GPX928 KB · free
Each day and variant (3 files)
- Day 1: Puerto Williams west on the coast road past Bahía Virginia, then up to Laguna Los Guanacos (8.7 mi / 13.9 km) 251 KB
- Day 2: Paso Virginia, the lakes, Paso Guerrico, Paso Ventarrón and Laguna Escondida to Laguna de los Dientes (12.3 mi / 19.9 km) 358 KB
- Day 3: Paso de los Dientes, Paso Australia, Laguna del Salto and Cerro Bandera back to Puerto Williams (11.1 mi / 17.8 km) 319 KB
The film
Watch it first
Hiking the Dientes de Navarino Trail in Chile
Before you go
The basics
- Start
- Puerto Williams
- Finish
- Puerto Williams
- Direction
- Loop from Puerto Williams, the reverse of the official direction (which starts up Cerro Bandera)
- Usual difficulty
- Faint, badly marked trail, mud and bog, steep loose slopes, wind and fast weather. The municipality rates it medium to high
- Best time
- November to March; the main circuit is closed every year from early April to October 31 (April 1 in 2026). I walked March 1 to 3, 2025
- Permits
- Free and required: the Carabineros in Puerto Williams, before and after
- Getting there
- Puerto Williams. The town is the trailhead. It's on the north shore of Navarino Island, across the Beagle Channel from Ushuaia, Argentina, and it can only be reached by air from Punta Arenas or by boat. This was my third time in the area, after hiking the W and the O in Torres del Paine and a group trip with my wife and a bunch of subscribers.
- Lodging
- Tent
From Kraig Adams's guide
Costs and gear
From Kraig Adams's guide
Safety
Rescue numbers
- Emergency: Carabineros 133. Hospital Cristina Calderón, O'Higgins 246, +56 61 245 3635. No phone signal on the circuit: carry a satellite messenger.
Phone signal
- No.
- The municipality calls the route isolated, with no phone signal, no shelters and no permanent patrols, and says to carry satellite gear: a GPS messenger like an inReach, a VHF radio or a satellite phone.
Insurance
- Trip reports say to bring your passport and that the form asks about your experience, camps and insurance.
Bail-out points
- Day 1, Puerto Williams to Laguna Los Guanacos. Turn around: everything on Day 1 is within a few hours of the road, and the road goes back to town.
- Day 2, Laguna Los Guanacos to Laguna de los Dientes. Before Paso Virginia, go back down to the road the way you came. From Paso Virginia to the climb to Paso Ventarrón, the shortest way out is back over Paso Virginia to the coast road: from Laguna Martillo that's about 9.5 miles and one pass on my GPS, then 5 miles of road to town. Once you're over Paso Ventarrón, keep going: it's about 12 miles over Paso de los Dientes, Paso Australia and Cerro Bandera to the trailhead above town.
- Day 3, Laguna de los Dientes to Puerto Williams. From camp, Paso de los Dientes and Paso Australia are the way out, and from there it's downhill to Laguna del Salto and town. After Laguna del Salto you're on the busiest part of the circuit: day hikers walk up to the flag on Cerro Bandera from town.
From Kraig Adams's guide. For planning, not navigation: check before you go.
Their films and versions
Creators who've done it
1 creator so far: Kraig, 3 days, tent.
Hiking the Dientes de Navarino Trail in Chile
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Typical: 3 days (the hike's facts).
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Planning questions about Dientes de Navarino, answered only from this page's facts, the creators' versions and hikers' public tracks, with where each answer comes from. When the data doesn't say, the answer says "not given".
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Answered from the data
Questions people ask
How many days do you need for Dientes de Navarino?
I did it in three days of 9 to 12 miles. The municipality and Chile's tourism board say 4 to 5 days, and the official leaflet plans 5. Add a spare day for weather.
From Kraig Adams's trip and guide.
How much does Dientes de Navarino cost?
Registration and camping are free. DAP doesn't publish its fares outside its booking page; travel sites showed roughly CLP 100,000 to 120,000 one way from Punta Arenas in 2025-26 (check dapairline.com), plus CLP 2,000 a kilo over the baggage allowance. The Ushuaia boat and van was USD 160 one way with one operator in 2025-26. In March 2025 the notice board at the Hotel Forjadores in my photos listed a single room at CLP 70,000 a night with breakfast. Add a gas canister, and a guide if you want one.
From Kraig Adams's trip and guide.
When is the best time to hike Dientes de Navarino?
From November 1 to about the end of March. The main section is closed by municipal decree every year from early April to October 31; in 2026 the closure ran April 1 to October 31. The official leaflet says December to February is best.
From Kraig Adams's trip and guide.
Do you need a permit for Dientes de Navarino?
There's no permit or fee, but registering with the Carabineros in Puerto Williams (Piloto Pardo 287) before you start and again when you're back is mandatory.
From Kraig Adams's trip and guide.
How long is the Dientes de Navarino circuit?
My loop from Puerto Williams and back was 32.1 miles (51.6 km) on my GPS, with about 6,630 ft of climbing, in three days in March 2025. About 24.7 miles of it is trail; the rest is road at each end. The official leaflet gives about 41 km of trail and plans 5 days; the municipality says 4 to 5 days.
From Kraig Adams's trip and guide.
Is the Dientes de Navarino trail marked?
Poorly. The official leaflet calls it poorly marked and intermittent, with cairns on the passes and paint marks on trees in the last forest. Carry a GPX track offline and a backup way to navigate.
From Kraig Adams's trip and guide.
How do you get to Puerto Williams?
Aerovías DAP flies from Punta Arenas (in 2026 on Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays) with a 10 kg hold baggage limit on this route. The Yaghan ferry from Punta Arenas takes about 30 hours, and in season boats cross from Ushuaia to Puerto Navarino with a van to town. You can't fly with stove gas; buy it in Puerto Williams.
From Kraig Adams's trip and guide.
Is there phone signal on the Dientes de Navarino?
No. The municipality says the route has no phone signal, no shelters and no permanent patrols, and that you need satellite gear such as an inReach, a VHF radio or a satellite phone.
From Kraig Adams's trip and guide.