Before or after the trek:

A Gin workshop in Puerto Natales

Anyone finishing the W or the O in Torres del Paine already has a mandatory night in Puerto Natales: the checks we cover in our Patagonia notes make that clear. What's less obvious is what to do with that night. Ginlab gives it a purpose: a hands-on distilling workshop that turns the same landscape travelers just spent days walking through into something they can bottle and take home.

What it actually is

Ginlab runs small, groups of 2 to 8 people, Tuesday through Saturday at 3pm, for three and a half hours. Each guest works at their own mini-still, building a gin recipe from a table of botanicals that includes the usual suspects ( coriander, angelica root ) alongside plants that only make sense here: calafate, murta, rica rica, and leaves from the lenga and ñirre trees that make up the region's native forests. A guide walks through what each botanical contributes before anyone starts measuring, so the choices are informed rather than random.

From recipe to bottle

Once the botanicals are chosen and balanced, each still does its work: vapor rising, condensing, and dripping out as spirit, with the process explained clearly enough that no prior distilling knowledge is needed. The session ends with a tasting: guests sample their own gin, compare it against a few local labels, and can adjust the proof before bottling. Every participant leaves with one full bottle of their own recipe; and if they want more to bring home, the bar will prepare additional bottles to the same formula on request.

Right next door

Bar Last Hope sits beside the workshop and is worth mentioning on its own: widely considered Puerto Natales' best bar, running signature cocktails alongside its own gin and whiskey production. A natural stop before or after the workshop for guests who want to see where the local spirits scene goes beyond the afternoon session.

Why it's worth adding to the itinerary

Every W and O client already needs a night in Puerto Natales before the trek and another after; nights that often go unplanned. Ginlab fills one of them with something specific to the region rather than a generic evening in town, and it works well as either a wind-down after the trek or a lighter activity the night before. It's a strong add-on to flag for adventure travelers who like a hands-on souvenir over a shopping stop, and for small groups who'll enjoy comparing recipes at the end.

Reach out to our Chile team to build it into an upcoming Patagonia program.