Carretera Austral

Chile'S Ruta 7, About 1,240 Km From Puerto Montt To Villa O'Higgins Through Northern Patagonia, Begun In 1976; One Of The Great Road Journeys Of The World · Coyhaique, Aysen

The Carretera Austral is the road through Chile's northern Patagonia, running about 1,240 kilometres south from Puerto Montt to the tiny village of Villa O'Higgins, where it ends at a lake and the only way on is by boat and on foot into Argentina. It was cut through the region from 1976, and for much of its length it is still gravel. It passes some of the wildest and emptiest country in South America: temperate rainforest dripping with ferns, the hanging glacier of Queulat above a green lagoon, turquoise rivers like the Futaleufu and the Baker, the Marble Caves carved into the shore of Lago General Carrera, the jagged towers of Cerro Castillo, and Caleta Tortel, a village built entirely on cypress boardwalks. Car ferries link the northern stretches, fuel stations are hours apart, and towns are small and few; Coyhaique, the regional capital, is the only real town. Most people drive it, cycle it or hitchhike it in summer over two to three weeks, and it rewards every slow day.

Ruta 7, Carretera Austral, Coyhaique, Aysen, Coyhaique, Aysen, Chile

The road is open all year, but the northern section depends on car ferries that run to a timetable and must be booked in summer, and snow, landslides and roadworks close sections at times. Fuel stations are far apart and some close early. Most lodges, campsites and tours run from about November to March.

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