Puerto Natales
Puerto Natales is the capital of the Ultima Esperanza (Last Hope) province in Region 12 of Magellan and Antarctica Chile. With an intricate geography it is the point of entry to visit the famous Torres del Paine National Park, a province with a lot of natural beauty and diversity.
Ultima Esperanza was established in 1557 when the Spanish Captain Juan Ladrilleros discovered an intricate waterway leading to what is now known as Puerto Natales. Three hundred-thirty years later Captain Eberhard from the German Navy colonized and explored Ultima Esperanza. Eberhard started a small town in 1892 that today is called Puerto Natales.
The city was founded in 1911 and numbered 15,116 inhabitants. It was mostly colonized by Chileans originating from the beautiful island of Chiloe; they worked mostly on cattle ranches and exported the livestock to German and British colonies. These ranchers with their perseverance made Patagonia one of the principal producers and exporters of cattle in the world until the 1970s.
Today, tourism, cattle ranches, and artesian fishing are the principal economic activities.