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.

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.

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.

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 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.

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 blur ice caves for some dramatic photo opportunities.

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. 

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.