Valparaíso's dramatic topography—45 cerros, or hills, overlooking the ocean—requires the use of winding pathways and wooden ascensores (funiculars) to get up many of the grades. The slopes are covered by candy-color houses—there are almost no apartments in the city—most of which have exteriors of corrugated metal peeled from shipping containers decades ago. Valparaíso has served as Santiago's port for centuries. Before the Panama Canal opened, Valparaíso was the busiest port in South America. Harsh realities—changing trade routes, industrial decline—have diminished its importance, but it remains Chile's principal port. Most shops, banks, restaurants, bars, and other businesses cluster along the handful of streets called El Plan (the flat area) that are closest to the shoreline. Porteños (which means "the residents of the port") live in the surrounding hills in an undulating array of colorful abodes. At the top of any of the dozens of stairways, the paseos (promenades) have spectacular views; many are named after prominent Yugoslavian, Basque, and German immigrants. Neighborhoods are named for the hills they cover. With the jumble of power lines overhead and the hundreds of buses that slow down—but never completely stop—to pick up agile riders, it's hard to forget you're in a city. Still, walking is the best way to experience Valparaíso. Be careful where you step, though—locals aren't very conscientious about curbing their dogs.

Great adventures of discovery lie ahead of you as your small expedition ship explores Chile’s northern fjords. New facets surprise at every turn: towering mountain landscapes, unique glaciers and diverse cultural encounters.

The stunning natural phenomena surrounding the city of Puerto Montt include snow-capped mountains, volcanoes, fjords and countless lakes. Thanks to its picturesque location on the Pacific Ocean, the town is also known as the gateway to Patagonia. The region is home to false elms and kingfishers – and it contains evidence of German immigrants, such as Black Forest gateau.

Equally stunning: the Isla de Chiloe, where the 43,000 ha (106,255 ac) national park invites you to go on excursions* to explore the nature. In the town of Castro, you will be enchanted by the wooden churches, which, like the colourful stilt houses, are UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Immerse yourself in the mythology of the Huilliche Indigenous people with your experts.

Your expedition ship is perfect for cruising through the northern fjords. In the labyrinth of canals and islands, you will experience the beauty of Chile up close. The inspiration Walk offers you the ideal place for this with the best views.

The journey is also the destination on an expedition route that few other ships can take. The picturesque interior route to Caleta Tortel will take you to the city of bridges – connected by walkways made of cypress wood that are 7.5 km (4.6 mi.) high. The place emphasises the remoteness of the fjord world and shows how small humans are in the face of majestic nature.

With only a couple dozen inhabitants, Puerto Eden reveals how idyllic it is to live in a village on the shore. It is the ancestral home of the Kaweskar Indigenous tribe, who have been living as sea nomads in Patagonia for over 6,000 years. Let your experts on board sensitise you to the way people, animals and nature interact.

The excitement mounts on board as the nautically demanding manoeuvres lead to spectacular scenes as you enjoy the far-reaching views from the extensive outside decks. The Pio XI Glacier is immense, with a height of up to 75 m (246 ft) and a kilometre-long ridge. With its bizarre craggy surface, it sparkles blue and white. You will glide between icebergs great and small as you take in the impressive views from your Zodiac.

Very few continents have such spectacular nature, such fascinating flora and fauna: your small and manoeuvrable ship can demonstrate its advantages as an expedition ship in the narrow waterways of Chile’s southern fjords.

As you approach the El Brujo Glacier, 2 km (1.2 mi.) wide, the imposing wall of ice rises spectacularly before you, with your joy of nature increasing. When the Zodiacs are put to water and you get close to the glacier’s ridge, awe and amazement accompany you at every turn. Flanked by dark rocks, this wall of ice gracefully calves into the waves.

On the way to the port city of Puerto Natales, which can often only be reached by plane, you may spot dolphins, whales and seals. It is the starting point for exploring the Torres del Paine National Park* with mountains that are almost 3,000 m (9,843 ft) high. Over 100 different animal species, including rheas, flamingos and Andean condors, live between rushing waterfalls, extensive forests and shimmering aquamarine mountain lakes.

Again the captain and crew will demonstration their great experience in expeditions. Only a small ship can master the passage through the Kirke Narrows and thus reach seldom-visited destinations via the Strait of Magellan. You will slowly navigate through the narrow passage that is approximately 100 m (328 ft) long. There are 1,300 m (4,265 ft) peaks on both sides as well as glaciers and an exceptional landscape. The captain will keep you up to date and give frequent status reports from the bridge until all the narrows and currents have been mastered with flying colours.

Join the rare visitors as your manoeuvrable ship navigates its way from the west coast of Tierra del Fuego to the Almirantazgo fjord. When you reach the majestic 40 m (131 ft) high glacier, you will be treated to another of Chile’s natural wonders. Keep a look out for sea lions, leopard seals and dolphins.

As you cruise through the southern fjords, the captain and crew will select the most fascinating routes to stunning experiences. Over thousands of years, the mountains have formed a gigantic picture book of the earth’s history – which your ship will take plenty of time to study in detail.

Impenetrable forests, impassable mountains, and endless fields of ice define Chilean Patagonia, and meant that the region went largely unexplored until the beginning of the 20th century. Located in the southernmost part of the country, this area is still sparsely inhabited, though you will find a few populated places—like the colorful provincial city of Punta Arenas, which looks like it's about to be swept into the Strait of Magellan. Some unique wildlife, particularly colonies of elephant seals and penguins, call this breathtaking topography home. To the north is Parque Nacional Torres del Paine, the country's most magnificent natural wonder, and whose snow-covered peaks seem to rise vertically from the plains below. The vistas, such as the fantastic Avenue of the Glaciers, are breathtaking; along this stretch of the Beagle Channel, you can pass six tremendous glaciers all within a stone's throw of each other.Cruise SightsPunta Arenas. Founded a little more than 150 years ago, Punta Arenas (Sandy Point) was Chile's first permanent settlement in Patagonia. Plaza Muñoz Gamero, the central square, is surrounded by evidence of that early prosperity: buildings whose then-opulent brick exteriors recall a time when this was one of Chile's wealthiest cities. The newer houses here have colorful tin roofs, best appreciated when seen from a high vantage point such as the Mirador Cerro la Cruz. Although the city as a whole may not be particularly attractive, look for details: the pink-and-white house on a corner, the bay window full of potted plants, parking attendants wearing the regional blue and yellow colors, and schoolchildren in identical naval pea coats that remind you that the city's fate is tied to the sea.The Museo Naval y Marítimo extols Chile's high-seas prowess, particularly concerning Antarctica. Its exhibits are worth a visit for anyone with an interest in ships and sailing, merchant and military alike. Part of the second floor is designed like the interior of a ship, including a map and radio room. Pedro Montt 989. Admission charged.Housed in what was once the mansion of the powerful Braun-Menéndez family, the Museo Regional de Magallanes is an intriguing glimpse into the daily life of a wealthy provincial family at the beginning of the 20th century. Lavish Carrara marble hearths, English bath fixtures, and cordovan leather walls are among the original accoutrements. The museum also has an excellent group of displays depicting Punta Arenas's past, from the first European contact to the town's decline after the opening of the Panama Canal. The museum is half a block north of the main square. Magallanes 949. Admission charged.The resplendent 1895 Palacio Sara Braun is a national landmark and an architectural showpiece of southern Patagonia. Designed by a French architect, the house was built from materials and by craftsmen imported from Europe during the four years of construction. The city's central plaza and surrounding buildings soon followed, ushering in the region's golden era. Noteworthy are the lavish bedrooms, magnificent parquet floors, marble fireplaces, and hand-painted ceilings. Don't miss the portraits of Braun and her husband José Nogueira in the music room. Afterwards, head to the cellar for a drink or snack in the warm public tavern (a good portion of the mansion is leased to a hotel). Plaza Muñoz Gamero 716. Admission charged.Commonly referred to simply as "El Salesiano," the Museo Salesiano de Maggiorino Borgatello is operated by Italian missionaries whose order arrived in Punta Arenas in the 19th century. The Salesians, most of whom spoke no Spanish, proved to be daring explorers. Traveling throughout the region, they collected the artifacts made by indigenous tribes that are currently on display. Av. Bulnes 398. Admission charged.Isla Magdalena. Punta Arenas is the launching point for a boat trip to the Isla Magdalena to see the more than 100,000 Magellanic penguins at the Monumento Natural Los Pingúinos. A single trail, marked off by rope, is accessible to humans. The boat trip to the island, in the middle of the Estrecho de Magallanes, takes about two hours. Make sure to bring along warm clothing, even in summer; the island can be chilly, particularly if a breeze is blowing across the water.Parque Nacional Torres del Paine. Some 12 million years ago, lava flows pushed up through the thick sedimentary crust that covered the southwestern coast of South America, cooling to form a granite mass. Glaciers then swept through the region, grinding away all but the ash-gray spires that rise over the landscape of one of the world's most beautiful natural phenomena, now the Parque Nacional Torres del Paine (established in 1959). Snow formations dazzle along every turn of road, and the sunset views are spectacular.Among the 2,420-square-km (934-square-mi) park's most beautiful attractions are its lakes of turquoise, aquamarine, and emerald green waters. Another draw is its unusual wildlife. Creatures like the guanaco (a woollier version of the llama) and the ñandú (resembling a small ostrich) abound. They are used to visitors and don't seem to be bothered by the proximity of automobile traffic and the snapping of cameras. Predators, like the gray fox, make less frequent appearances. You may also spot the dramatic aerobatics of a falcon and the graceful soaring of the endangered condor. The beautiful puma is especially elusive, but sightings have become more common. Admission charged.Pingúinera de Seno Otway. The road to this penguin sanctuary begins 30 km (18 mi) north of Punta Arenas. Magellanic penguins, which live up to 20 years in the wild, return to their birthplace here every year to mate with the same partner. For about 2,000 penguin couples—no single penguins make the trip—home is this desolate and windswept land off the Otway Sound. In late September, the penguins begin to arrive from the southern coast of Brazil and the Falkland Islands. They mate and lay their eggs in early October, and brood their eggs in November. Offspring hatch between mid-November and early December. If you're lucky, you may catch sight of one of the downy gray chicks that stick their heads out of the burrows when their parents return to feed them. Otherwise you might see scores of the ungainly adult penguins waddling to the ocean from their nesting burrows. They swim for food every eight hours and dive up to 100 feet deep. The penguins depart from the sound in late March. Note that the sanctuary is a 1-km (1/2-mi) walk from the parking lot. It gets chilly, so bring a windbreaker. Admission charged.Reserva Nacional Laguna Parillar. This 47,000-acre reserve lies west of Puerto Hambre, a tranquil fishing village, and is centered around a shimmering lake in a valley flanked by hills. It's a great place for a picnic, and there are a number of well-marked paths that offer sweeping vistas over the Estrecho de Magallanes. About 2 km (1 mi) west of Puerto Hambre is a small white monolith that marks the geographical center of Chile, the midway point between Chile's northern port Arica and the South Pole.Cruise ShoppingWool may no longer be king of the economy, but vast flocks of sheep still yield a high-quality product that is woven into the clothing here. Leather products are also common, but the prices are not necessarily low. About 3 km (2 mi) north of Punta Arenas is the Zona Franca (Av. Bulnes). This duty-free zone is where people from all around the region come for low-priced electronics and other consumer items.

Cruising off the Garibaldi Glacier reveals the beauty of nature in all its glory. Even from a distance, you can see the ice masses that extend to the water. In bright, shimmering shades of blue and with a play of light that changes the mood by the second. Ice floes drift in the fjord, and the silence of nature is broken only by the sounds of the sea lions. Look forward to thrilling experiences with the Zodiacs, depending on the local authorisations. As the expedition rubber boats approach the glacier, you will see the diverse mountain vegetation that frames the fjord and, with a bit of luck, you will be able to observe cormorants balancing on the rocks. Because ice can break off at any time and slide towards the water like an avalanche, you should keep a safe distance from the mighty ridge – but don’t let that dampen your sense of discovery.

During the passage through the Beagle Channel, Chile’s nature offers several spectacular highlights – and the famous “Glacier Allex” truly lives up to its name. The ship’s deck is your front-row seat for the gripping natural spectacles of the mighty calving ridges: five tidewater glaciers line the waterway between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. A fascinating habitat for a wide variety of flora and fauna. If nature allows, you will discover a colony of sea lions at one of the glaciers, which will initially lie quietly there and then greet you with great noise. The mysticism and deceleration that emanate from this region are intensified even further when a humpback whale comes close to the ship.

At 55 degrees latitude south, Ushuaia (pronounced oo-swy-ah) is closer to the South Pole than to Argentina's northern border with Bolivia. It is the capital and tourism base for Tierra del Fuego, the island at the southernmost tip of Argentina.Although its stark physical beauty is striking, Tierra del Fuego's historical allure is based more on its mythical past than on rugged reality. The island was inhabited for 6,000 years by Yámana, Haush, Selk'nam, and Alakaluf Indians. But in 1902 Argentina, eager to populate Patagonia to bolster its territorial claims, moved to initiate an Ushuaian penal colony, establishing the permanent settlement of its most southern territories and, by implication, everything in between.When the prison closed in 1947, Ushuaia had a population of about 3,000, made up mainly of former inmates and prison staff. Today the Indians of Darwin's "missing link" theory are long gone—wiped out by diseases brought by settlers and by indifference to their plight—and the 60,000 residents of Ushuaia are hitching their star to tourism.The city rightly (if perhaps too loudly) promotes itself as the southernmost city in the world (Puerto Williams, a few miles south on the Chilean side of the Beagle Channel, is a small town). You can make your way to the tourism office to get your clichéd, but oh-so-necessary, "Southernmost City in the World" passport stamp. Ushuaia feels like a frontier boomtown, at heart still a rugged, weather-beaten fishing village, but exhibiting the frayed edges of a city that quadrupled in size in the '70s and '80s and just keeps growing. Unpaved portions of Ruta 3, the last stretch of the Pan-American Highway, which connects Alaska to Tierra del Fuego, are finally being paved. The summer months (December through March) draw more than 120,000 visitors, and dozens of cruise ships. The city is trying to extend those visits with events like March's Marathon at the End of the World and by increasing the gamut of winter activities buoyed by the excellent snow conditions.A terrific trail winds through the town up to the Martial Glacier, where a ski lift can help cut down a steep kilometer of your journey. The chaotic and contradictory urban landscape includes a handful of luxury hotels amid the concrete of public housing projects. Scores of "sled houses" (wooden shacks) sit precariously on upright piers, ready for speedy displacement to a different site. But there are also many small, picturesque homes with tiny, carefully tended gardens. Many of the newer homes are built in a Swiss-chalet style, reinforcing the idea that this is a town into which tourism has breathed new life. At the same time, the weather-worn pastel colors that dominate the town's landscape remind you that Ushuaia was once just a tiny fishing village, snuggled at the end of the Earth.As you stand on the banks of the Canal Beagle (Beagle Channel) near Ushuaia, the spirit of the farthest corner of the world takes hold. What stands out is the light: at sundown the landscape is cast in a subdued, sensual tone; everything feels closer, softer, and more human in dimension despite the vastness of the setting. The snowcapped mountains reflect the setting sun back onto a stream rolling into the channel, as nearby peaks echo their image—on a windless day—in the still waters.Above the city rise the last mountains of the Andean Cordillera, and just south and west of Ushuaia they finally vanish into the often-stormy sea. Snow whitens the peaks well into summer. Nature is the principal attraction here, with trekking, fishing, horseback riding, wildlife spotting, and sailing among the most rewarding activities, especially in the Parque Nacional Tierra del Fuego (Tierra del Fuego National Park).