Marble Caves of Lago General Carrera

A Nature Sanctuary Of Marble Caverns, Arches And Pillars Carved By The Waves Of Lago General Carrera, Reached By Boat Or Kayak From Puerto Rio Tranquilo · Puerto Rio Tranquilo, Aysen

The Marble Caves are a cluster of caverns, arches and pillars carved by thousands of years of waves into a peninsula of marble on the western shore of Lago General Carrera, the vast turquoise lake that Chile shares with Argentina. The rock is banded white, grey and blue, and inside the caves the light reflected off the water turns the smooth, swirling walls every shade of blue and green - the effect that has made them one of the most photographed natural sights in South America. There are three main formations, the Chapel, the Cathedral and the Cave, visited on short boat trips or longer guided kayak tours from the small village of Puerto Rio Tranquilo on the Carretera Austral. Boats slip right inside the larger caverns when the water is calm. The trip itself lasts only an hour or two, and the caves are remote - a long drive from Coyhaique on partly gravel roads - but almost nobody who makes the journey regrets it. Wind on the lake is the one thing that can stop a visit.

Puerto Rio Tranquilo, Lago General Carrera, Aysen, Puerto Rio Tranquilo, Aysen, Chile

Boats and kayak tours leave from the beach at Puerto Rio Tranquilo through the day in season, roughly October to April, and are cancelled whenever the lake is rough. Morning departures are usually calmest. Services in winter are few.

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