It is the final passenger port of call for the Navimag ferry sailing from Puerto Montt into the Señoret Channel as well as the primary transit point for travellers to Torres del Paine National Park, Chile.

The first Europeans to visit the area where the city is located were the expeditionaries led by Juan Ladrillero, a Spanish explorer who was looking for the Strait of Magellan's western passage in 1557.

[5] The city was settled in the late 19th century by European immigrants, primarily Germans, British, including English, Welsh and Scots, Croats, Greeks, Italians and Spaniards.

While winds, colds and thin soils limit horticulture in Puerto Natales there is still a small-scale local produce of zucchini, cherry tomatoes, strawberries, cucumbers and carrots.

[6] The province where Puerto Natales is located was named Última Esperanza (Last Hope) by the sailor Juan Ladrilleros, who was seeking the Strait of Magellan in the year 1557.

[7] Dixie wrote the book Across Patagonia, where she relates the first tourist expedition to Torres del Paine (the three granite spires) which she named as Cleopatra's needles.

During the last half of the 20th century the sheep industry declined and many people from Puerto Natales started to work in the coal mines of Río Turbio in Argentina.

The Cold-Storage Plant was constructed in "Post Victorian Industrial" architectural style and features of number of British machinery examples which reflect the technology of the beginning of the 20th century.

[12] Twenty four kilometres (15 mi) northwest of Puerto Natales, along the flanks of the Cerro Benitez Mountains, lies the Cueva del Milodón Natural Monument.

The Nao Victoria was one of the five ships (and the only one that survived) that sailed in the Spanish Armada de Molucca expedition which discovered the meeting point the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.

[16] Companies offering boat trips through the Patagonian fjords depart from Puerto Natales Pier and take tourists to view the region’s many icebergs.

Today, there are dozens of camping sites, hostels, hotels, bed & breakfasts, restaurants and transportation services to fit a variety of budgets.

[17] There are daily LATAM flights from Santiago, Chile’s capital city, to the Presidente Carlos Ibáñez del Campo International Airport in Punta Arenas.

The 2016-2020 alcalde is Fernando Paredes Mansilla (UDI), and the councilors are:[1][2] Within the electoral divisions of Chile, Puerto Natales is represented in the Chamber of Deputies by Carolina Goic (PDC) and Miodrag Marinovic (Ind.)