Top 10 Glaciers in Chilean Patagonia
Chilean Patagonia hosts the bulk of the Northern Patagonian Ice Field (Campo de Hielo Norte) and large parts of the Southern (Campo de Hielo Sur), as well as smaller ice masses on Cordillera Darwin in Tierra del Fuego. The country's geography — a long fjord-and-channel coast — means most of these glaciers are reached by boat rather than road.
1. Grey
The headline glacier of Torres del Paine National Park. Day boats sail from Hosteria Grey to the three-armed calving face; iceberg-strewn lake on the south side.
2. Pio XI (Bruggen)
The largest glacier in South America by area, on the Southern Ice Field's western edge. Visited from Puerto Eden by chartered boat or expedition cruise.
3. Tyndall
Pours from the Southern Ice Field toward Last Hope Sound. The big mountaineering objective on most ice-field traverses.
4. San Rafael
A spectacular calving tidewater glacier in northern Patagonia, in Laguna San Rafael National Park. Reached by long boat trip from Puerto Chacabuco.
5. Exploradores
Connects the Northern Ice Field to the Aysen road network — a rare land-accessible Patagonian glacier. Guided ice walks from the road end.
6. Calluqueo
A retreating but very photogenic glacier on Monte San Lorenzo, near the Argentine border. Accessed from a remote ranch road near Cochrane.
7. Queulat
A hanging glacier in Queulat National Park on the Carretera Austral. Probably the easiest glacier viewpoint in Chilean Patagonia — a short walk from the road.
8. Marinelli
The largest glacier on Tierra del Fuego's Cordillera Darwin. Reached on expedition cruises out of Punta Arenas.
9. Schiaparelli
Another Cordillera Darwin tidewater, with one of the most dramatic calving fronts in the Beagle Channel system.
10. Yelcho
A small but accessible glacier hike in northern Patagonia near Futaleufu, with rare road-and-trail combination access.
When to go
November to March (Southern Hemisphere late spring/summer). Torres del Paine and Laguna San Rafael run year-round, but the Carretera Austral glaciers are easiest December to March when road conditions are stable.
See them all in one view
Filter to Chile on the interactive map to see every named outlet of both Patagonian ice fields, plus the Aysen cluster and Cordillera Darwin.