Parque Nacional Queulat and around

By far the most popular sight in the park and accessible from the park’s main entrance, is the incredible Ventisquero Colgante, or “hanging glacier”. Wedged between two peaks, forming a V-shaped mass of blue-white ice, the glacier indeed seems to hang suspended over a sheer rock face. Long fingers of ice feed two thundering waterfalls that plummet 150m down to a glacial lake. From the parking area by the Centro de Información Ambiental, follow the signposted 250m Sendero Miradór Panorámico to a spectacular viewpoint. If you cross the suspension bridge over the river and turn right, you will find the 600m Sendero Laguna Témpanos, which leads to its namesake lake through dense native forest, from where you get excellent views of the glacier.

Left of the bridge, the steep Sendero Ventisquero Colgante climbs 3.2km to a higher viewpoint. Another trail, the 6km Sendero Valle Río Ventisqueros, starts at the same car park and follows the southern bank of the Río Ventisquero Valley, passing through evergreen forest and numerous viewpoints overlooking the Ventisquero Colgante before ending up at a beautiful beach. Allow five hours for a return trip and consult the rangers regarding trail conditions.

The luxurious thermal baths, lodge and spa at TERMAS DE PUYUHUAPI enjoy a fantastic location, marooned on the edge of a peninsula on the opposite side of the fjord from the Carretera Austral. You don’t need to be an overnight guest to visit, but you should phone ahead to book.

The thermal baths used to be a handful of ramshackle cabins that were transformed into a series of low-lying, beautifully designed buildings made of reddish-brown alerce timber and lots of glass by the East German shipbuilding magnate Eberhard Kossman in the late 1980s. Apart from its spectacular location, the main reason to come here is to soak in the steaming hot springs, channelled into three outdoor pools reached by a short walk through the forest. Two of the pools are large enough to swim in, and sit right on the edge of the fjord, while the third one, containing the hottest water, is a small pond enclosed by overhanging ferns and native trees. There’s a state-of-the-art spa, specializing in a range of treatments and massage, whirlpools, a gym with an excellent view, a large indoor pool, a cold water pool, a children’s pool and two Jacuzzis.