In this guide · 17 sections
- What this place actually is
- The gay scene: there isn't one
- Community and Pride
- Where to stay
- Getting here and around
- Safety
- Health
- Closed or changed: gone but still Googled
- A few words
- At a glance
- FAQ
- Is there a gay bar in Puerto Natales or Puerto Bories?
- Is Puerto Bories the same place as Puerto Natales?
- Can a same-sex couple share a room?
- Is there a Pride in Natales?
- Are there gay tours to Torres del Paine?
- Where's the nearest real gay scene?
The honest summary: Puerto Bories is a tiny old company village around a 1915 cold-storage plant, 5 km north of Puerto Natales, and neither place has a gay bar, sauna, club or cruising area that any source confirms. You come for Torres del Paine and the hotels. This page covers both Bories and Natales, because almost everything you will use is in Natales.
Legal in one line: Same-sex sex is legal, marriage has been open to same-sex couples since March 2022 (Ley 21.400), civil unions date from 2015 (Ley 20.830), and Chile's anti-discrimination law (Ley Zamudio) has applied since 2012.
What this place actually is
Puerto Bories grew up around the Frigorífico Bories, built in 1915 by the Sociedad Explotadora de Tierra del Fuego to process sheep from the estancias. At its peak it handled 150,000 to 250,000 animals a year, and commercial activity stopped in the 1990s (Wikipedia). The plant is now a national monument and houses The Singular Patagonia, which opened as a hotel around 2010 to 2011 and keeps the old machinery on display.
We couldn't find a population figure for Bories itself. It's a handful of houses and lodgings, not a town, and there are no shops or nightlife to speak of. Puerto Natales, 5 km south, had 21,152 people at the 2024 census (CityPopulation), or 24,152 across the commune. Earlier versions of this page called Bories an industrial port 30 km from Natales and a base for the Marble Caves and Perito Moreno. All of that was wrong: the Marble Caves are in Aysén, hundreds of kilometres north, and Perito Moreno is in Argentina, near El Calafate.
The gay scene: there isn't one
We searched in English and Spanish ("bar gay", "disco gay", "ambiente", "drag") and read the Google Maps results for both towns. Nothing self-describes as gay or queer, and no gay guide names a venue here. There is no gay neighbourhood. Apps will likely be your only way to meet anyone, and with a small population expect mostly a handful of locals and passing hikers. In a town this size, use the usual care about sharing your name, workplace or hotel.
Normal nightlife is concentrated in central Natales: craft beer at Baguales, cocktails at Onde Los Gatos, and weekend dancing at Bar de Papurri at Bulnes 731, whose Instagram shows Caribbean rumba and karaoke. These are mainstream places. They aren't known as gay, and they aren't known as hostile either, as far as we could find.
Community and Pride
The one organisation we found is Diversinat, the Red por la Diversidad Sexual Natales. It called the first Pride march in Puerto Natales on 22 June 2019, per Movilh's annual report as cited by Spanish Wikipedia, starting from Plaza Bernardo O'Higgins. Its Instagram shows HIV awareness and trans visibility work up to December 2023, and we found nothing newer. We couldn't confirm any march in Natales between 2022 and 2026, so treat Pride here as not announced at the time of writing.
Punta Arenas has held small Pride gatherings in June, and Santiago has the country's real Pride and scene. See our Punta Arenas page and Santiago page.
Where to stay
None of these is a gay hotel, and we found no LGBTQ+ certification for any of them. Same-sex couples sharing a room should be fine legally, because Chilean law covers discrimination, but we can't vouch for each front desk. The only outside signals are small: Out Adventures, a gay tour operator, has named NOI Indigo on its Chile itinerary, though that tour had no current departures when we checked. misterb&b also lists NOI Indigo and Remota, which is a booking listing, not an endorsement.
- In Bories itself: The Singular Patagonia (the former plant, luxury), BORIES Boutique Guest House, Puerto Bories House, Hotel HD Natales and Simple Patagonia at km 4.5.
- Along the road to Natales: Best Western Patagonia, Remota, Weskar Lodge, Appelgren House, Garden Domes and Cabañas Natalis.
- In central Natales, walkable: Hotel Costa Australis and NOI Indigo.
- In the park: Kau Río Serrano at Villa Río Serrano, far from Bories, for people who want to sleep close to the trails.
- Puerto Natales airport (PNT): about 7 km from Natales, close to Bories. Flights from Santiago take about 3 h 15 and run mainly from October to April. Patagonia Scout (June 2026) warns that runway works limit commercial flights mainly to weekends from January to March 2027, so check before booking that window.
- Punta Arenas airport (PUQ): about 250 km, 3 hours by bus on paved Ruta 9, with Bus-Sur, Ittsa and Buses Fernández at about CLP 10,000 to 16,000. If you land at PUQ, pre-book the bus pickup at the airport rather than going into Punta Arenas first (Patagonia Scout).
- From El Calafate, Argentina: 5 to 6 hours including the border at Río Don Guillermo, with Bus-Sur or Cootra. Daily in high season, fewer in winter.
- Torres del Paine: about 112 km from Natales to the Laguna Amarga entrance, around 2 hours (Swoop).
- Taxis: airport to town about CLP 10,000 to 12,000, within town CLP 3,000 to 5,000 (Patagonia Scout, 2026/27).
- "Gay bars in Puerto Bories": Pampa, Club Calafate, Onde Los Gatos, Bar de Papurri and even Simple Patagonia, which is a hotel, were labelled gay on this site by an old automatic import. No evidence supported it, and they're ordinary businesses. Pages elsewhere may still repeat it.
- The Singular's spa as a "gay sauna": same import, same error. It's a hotel spa.
- Aruba: a 2008 Radio Polar report describes a gay and lesbian disco with this name, but that was in Punta Arenas, not Natales, and we couldn't confirm it's still running.
- Hotel Cisne de Cuello Negro: now usually sold as Hotel HD Natales.
- ¿Tienen una cama matrimonial? Do you have a double bed?
- Es mi pareja / mi marido. This is my partner / my husband.
- Bar de ambiente. The local phrase for a gay bar.
- Prueba rápida de VIH. Rapid HIV test.
Our advice: pick Bories for The Singular or a quiet night by the fjord, and central Natales if you want to walk to dinner.
Getting here and around
Safety
Chile's law is good and Natales is a tourist town used to foreigners, but this is a small and conservative part of the country, and the record isn't spotless. El Pingüino reported a homophobic attack on a 15-year-old girl at Parque Campo de Hielo in April 2021. A lesbian couple reported harassment and vandalism of their car from March 2020 (Homosensual). Magallanes as a whole logged 4 complaints in 2023, in Punta Arenas and Natales (El Pingüino, March 2024). None of this concerned tourists, and we found no report of a traveller being targeted. Discreet is a reasonable default outside hotels at night.
Health
The Hospital de Puerto Natales is at Av. España 1650. El Pingüino reported in 2021 that its lab did free, confidential rapid HIV tests from Monday to Friday, with an ID and a 15-minute result. Regional press also reports free tests at Magallanes primary-care clinics, and Natales has CESFAM Dr. Juan Lozic Pérez. That reporting is old, so call first. Bring PrEP or any regular medication with you: don't count on getting it here.
Closed or changed: gone but still Googled
A few words
At a glance
| Gay bars or clubs | None confirmed in Bories or Natales |
|---|---|
| Gay saunas | None |
| Cruising areas | None found in any source |
| Pride | First march 22 June 2019; recent years not confirmed |
| Organisation | Diversinat, last visible activity December 2023 |
| Nearest airport | PNT, about 7 km from Natales; PUQ 250 km |
| Time zone | UTC−3 all year (America/Punta_Arenas) |
| Marriage | Legal since March 2022 |
FAQ
Is there a gay bar in Puerto Natales or Puerto Bories?
Not that we or any guide could confirm. Google can show local bars for that search, but it's matching on the words, and those bars don't describe themselves as gay.
Is Puerto Bories the same place as Puerto Natales?
No. Bories is a small settlement around the old cold-storage plant, about 5 km north of Natales along Ruta 9. Services, restaurants and tour offices are in Natales.
Can a same-sex couple share a room?
Yes, legally. Marriage is open to same-sex couples in Chile and the law bans discrimination. We have no specific reports either way about individual hotels here.
Is there a Pride in Natales?
A first march took place on 22 June 2019. We couldn't confirm any recent edition, so ask Diversinat if you'll be here in June and don't plan around it.
Are there gay tours to Torres del Paine?
Some exist. Outside the Square offers a custom W trek with no fixed dates, and Out Adventures runs Chile and Patagonia itineraries. Check each operator for current departures.
Where's the nearest real gay scene?
Santiago, by far. Punta Arenas has only an LGBTQ+-friendly café and occasional parties, and it's still 3 hours away.
Last verified: November 2026.
