Reasons to explore Laguna San Rafael National Park

  • Travel by boat Laguna San Rafael National Park to see a glacier emerging from a temperate rainforest
  • Watch icebergs crash into the lagoon from icy cliffs, while looking for seals and dolphins
  • Explore the Chilean Fjords by cruise ship, on a glacier itinerary that also includes Chiloé island of Chiloé
  • Make a side trip to the beautiful Marble Caves on the shores of Lago General Carrera
  • Hike up the remote Leones Valley to find a private glacier of your own
  • Strap on crampons to go ice hiking on the back of the Exploradores glacier

About Laguna San Rafael National Park

San Rafael glacier

San Rafael glacier cliffs

The San Rafael Glacier is at the heart of Laguna San Rafael National Park. It is part of the Northern Patagonian Ice Field, and is one of the most dynamic glaciers in Patagonia, plunging steeply from the mountains into thick temperate rainforest.

Its wide 60m-high cliffs are visible for miles, and the rocks that flank it are perfect for scrambling up close. San Rafael can only be accessed by water, from the Laguna San Rafael that it calves icebergs into, creating tidal waves that will sway your vessel. But the glacier's real secret is its setting: the surrounding green rainforest contrasts beautifully with the blue ice.

There is plenty of birdlife to bee seen here: expect to see humming birds, herons, swans, chucao, steamer ducks and condors. From your boat, keep an eye out for marine mammals dolphins, sea lions and elephant seals which often visit the clear waters. You may even see a leopard seal dozing on an ice floe: a sight normally reserved for Antarctic cruises.

If you want to spend more time in the area, the Laguna San Rafael National Park covers a vast area and has some great hiking trails for really remote trekking.

What to see & do in Laguna San Rafael National Park

Boat trip to San Rafael glacier

The most common way to visit San Rafael glacier from within Aysen is to take a day trip on a small passenger boat from Bahia Exploradores. The trip starts by driving along the Exploradores Valley, before jumping in a boat through the fjords to Laguna San Rafael.

The boats are small but secure, and you can travel straight up to the glacier face to watch the ice show. If your guide scoops a small chunk from the water, listen carefully for the extraordinary sound of millennia-old air bubbles escaping from the ice. The boats are covered to protect you from the elements in bad weather.

As well as the glacier, the boat offers the chance to see dolphins, seals and sea lions.

Boat trip to San Rafael glacier

San Rafael glacier

Adventure cruise to San Rafael glacier

With the only way to approach San Rafael glacier being from the water, it’s a logical conclusion that one of the best ways to see it is on an adventure cruise through the Northern Chilean Fjords.

Sailing from Puerto Montt in the Chilean Lake District, the Skorpios ship spends six days sailing along the coast here. As well as spending the longest time at San Rafael glacier of all the ways to see it, the ship also calls at Chiloé Island, remote hot springs and sails across the Gulf of Corcovado: a known breeding spot for blue whales.

Cruising to San Rafael glacier on Skorpios ship

Cruising to San Rafael glacier

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It's hard to pick out a best moment at San Rafael – seeing a leopard seal against a backdrop of frozen cliffs, or celebrating with a drink cooled with 16,000 year old ice plucked from the water!

Sydney Miller Patagonia Specialist

Kayaking to San Rafael glacier

While visiting San Rafael glacier by boat is a great experience, there’s nothing quite like taking to a kayak, paddling silently through the water with the only sound the scraping of loose ice as it bobs past your craft.

For experienced kayakers only, this is a week-long expedition through the fjords to Laguna San Rafael. Camping on beaches at night and fending off strong headwinds by day, you'll watch the landscape and vegetation change as you get closer towards the highlight: the glacier face itself as it looms out of the rainforest.

Laguna San Rafael National Park

Kayaking at San Rafael glacier

Excursions near Laguna San Rafael National Park

The Marble Caves

The Marble Caves are one of Aysen’s most celebrated natural wonders: surreal caves emerging from a bright blue glacial lake and sculpted into fantastical shapes by the natural erosion of waves. It’s possible to explore them by small boat or paddling in a kayak.

The Marble Caves are found near the town of Puerto Rio Tranquillo, centrally located on the shores of Lago General Carrera, and close to some of the best accommodation in Aysen.

Laguna San Rafael National Park

Kayaking at the Marble Caves

Leones Valley hike

If you’re looking for a moderate level day of walking off the beaten track, the Leones glacier hike is a perfect adventure, and is a reminder that wherever you go in Patagonia, there is always one more beautiful and unexplored glacier to discover.

The walk involves a six mile (10 km) hike through the Leones Valley, which unfolds like an amazing geology textbook before meeting a small boat. A short ride across the lake takes you to the face of the glacier, where you’ll have a couple of hours to scramble and explore at its base, before returning across the lake for the hike back.

You’re almost guaranteed to have the entire valley to yourself, adding a pioneering sense of discovery to the adventure.

Laguna San Rafael National Park

Leones Valley hike

Ice hiking on Exploradores glacier

Travel to San Rafael glacier involves passing through the Exploradores Valley, but while San Rafael involves seeing the ice from the water, at Exploradores you can strap on crampons and walk on the very back of the glacier itself. 

This full day excursion begins with a walk through the forest before emerging onto the glacial moraine, in a scene surrounded by mountain views including Monte Valentine, Chile’s highest peak.

Deeper on the glacier, you put on crampons and hard hats to spend two hours walking across the raw glacier, crossing crevasses and even getting to explore deep blue ice caves for some dramatic photo opportunities.

Laguna San Rafael National Park

Exploradores glacier hike

Where to stay around San Rafael glacier

Unless you're visiting on the Skorpios cruise ship, the main place to base yourself to vist San Rafael glacier is at one of the lodges along the shore of Lago General Carrera, from Puerto Rio Tranquillo through to Puerto Guadal. This also puts you in prime position to visit the Marble Caves.  

The southern and western shores of the lake are home to a number of charming lakeside lodges. Some of our favourites here include the natural decor of El Mirador de Guadal at Puerto Guadal, and the nearby private land of Mallin Colorado Lodge. In Puerto Rio Tranquillo itself, El Puesto Lodge is another great option. 

Mallin Colorado Ecolodge in Aysen

Mallin Colorado Lodge

How to get to San Rafael glacier

Daily boat trips to San Rafael glacier depart from Bahia Exploradores, a two hour drive from Puerto Rio Tranquillo on the Carretera Austral highway, and home to the Marble Caves. Bahia Exploradores is also easily accessible from Puerto Guadal and other points on the south and west side of Lago General Carrera, as well as the town of Cochrane.

Travellers coming from Cerro Castillo National Park will need to overnight in one of these towns to be able to easily visit San Rafael glacier. 

If visiting the glacier on the Skorpios criuse ship, voyages start and finish in Puerto Montt in the Chilean Lake District. 

Pier for boats to San Rafael glacier in Aysen

Pier for boats to San Rafael glacier

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What our customers think of Laguna San Rafael National Park

Customer Image

Highlights of Aysen...the San Raphael glacier approached by boat on a day of swirling mists, ultimately bright sunshine and dead calm was incredibly atmospheric. Carlos the Condor doing a close fly-past as we approached Laguna Cerro Castillo.

Travelled: March 2017

Sarah and Charles - UK

Review:

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