Top 10 Places to visit along the Carretera Austral, Chile
In this video guide I summed up my personal top 10 places to visit along the Carretera Austral in the most beautifula part of Chilean Patagonia
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The Carretera Austral is a mostly unpaved road that connects the most rural part of Patagonia in the very south of Chile. Tourism in this area is not as pronounced as it is in other parts of the country, as regular bus routes, accommodations and detailed info is hard to find.
But in this seclusion lies the attraction and a special charm. During my last trip I met very few travelers from Europe and North America. The locals welcomed me warmly and most attractions were not crowded.
After traveling this route twice via hitchhiking I thought it is about time that I put together a handy Carretera Austral guide which highlights the main sights along this 1200km long road. The video shows you my favorite places to visit from north to south, starting in Puerto Montt and finishing in Villa O’Higgins.
To do the Ruta 7 properly I recommend about 2 weeks - following I list all the places I visited & Things to do along the Carretera Austral:
- Fjords, Hornopiren, Pumalin Park, Chaiten
- Queulat National Park, Queulat Glacier, Puyuhuapi
- Rio Futaleufu, Futaleufu
- Cerro Castillo, Villa Cerro Castillo
- Marble Caves & Lago General Carrera, Puerto Rio Tranquilo
- Exploradores Glacier, Puerto Rio Tranquilo
- Rio Baker, Cochrane
- Caleta Tortel
- Villa O'Higgins
- O’Higgins Glacier
---About the Patagonia Expedition---
The Patagonian Expedition is a 95% self funded video documentary project following my trip in 2012/2013. Our aim is to show you the beauty of the rather unknown parts in Patagonia alongside with the famous spots.
Beside beautiful landscape you can expect loads of information and our personal experiences and struggles along the way:
➸
MY TRAVEL EQUIPMENT
▸ insurance
▸ packing list
▸ Online Language Course
The whole trip was executed over the course of 2 months using mostly local transport such as busses, cars and trucks. A big thank you goes to Lufthansa for providing the flights into and out of South America in their new Premium Economy Class!
MY HOTEL & HOSTEL RECOMMENDATIONS
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Chaiten, Puyuhuapi & Queulat NP, Carretera Austral in Chile (Patagonia Expedition #02)
In the second episode of our Patagonia Expedition we start hitchhiking the Carretera Austral in Chile and explore the Fjords north of Chaiten and the hanging glacier of Queulat near Puyuhuapi.
My Guide for Chile:
--- equipment used to produce this video ---
Cam1:Sony A7 II
Cam2: Sony NEX 5
Cam3: GoPro
Drone: Phantom 3 Pro
Drone Backpack: Manfrotto D1
Amazon Tripod
Joby Gorillapod
Audio Recorder: Zoom H2n
SDHC Memory Card
Waterproof Memory Card Case
Backpack Osprey Farpoint 40
The Carretera Austral is a 1200km long road in the south of Chile which connects the most remote areas of the country. The ruta 7 is a paradise for adventure seekers as it is a mostly unpaved road which brings you to the lesser known parts of Patagonia in the stunning Los Lagos and Aysen Region.
Our plan was to get from Puerto Montt till Villa O’Higgins by thumb to get in touch with locals and fellow adventurers along the way. But for the first stretch from Puerto Montt to Chaiten we chose public transport as you need to take 3 ferries to cross through the Fjords. The landscape with its fjords and temperate rainforests around the national parks of pumalin and hornopiren is stunning and reminded me of scandinavia.
Chaitén, once destroyed by a volcano was our first stop. We explored the city and I was surprised how it came back to live after my last visit 3 years ago - a lot of restaurants and shops opened and tourism is increasing with tours to the nearby volcano and to the Pumalin park.
On the next day we got up early, headed out of town and started hitchhiking. After just about 20 minutes we got our first ride which took us to Villa Santa Lucia where we got stuck as there were many like minded adventurers. Shortly before we gave up we got lucky again and got a lift to La Junta where we stayed for the night.
Another day of waiting, only a few cars passed us that day until..after about 6h…a big truck pulled over and offered to take us - we climbed into the back where a party was going on with a bunch of other hitchhikers who got picked up along the way. This ride from La Junta to Puyuhuapi turned out to be one of the most memorable hitchhiking experiences I’ve ever had.
Puyhuapi was our base for 3 days as we wanted to explore the nearby paqrque nacional Queulat with its impressive hanging glacier Queulat. The park is located 20km out of Puyuhuapi. This time Sergio who is the park ranger at Queulat gave us a ride and told us more details about the famous hanging glacier. With this early arrival we were the first to hike up to the viewpoint to get the best view of the glacier - simply overwhelming!
This part of the trip was executed within 1week by using the local buses and altogether 5 rides via hitchhiking - following I list all the places we visited & Things to do along the Carretera Austral:
- Puerto Montt
- Hornopiren
- Pumalin Park
- Chaiten
- Villa Santa Lucia
- La Junta
- Puyuhuapi
- Queulat National Park / Parque Nacional Queulat
- Queulat Glacier / ventisquero queulat (colgante)
I'm excited to share all our experiences in Patagonia over the course of the next 6 weeks with you. In the next episodes we will Hitchhike the central part of the Carretera Austral, trek through the most impressive mountain ranges, ice hike over the glaciers of the southern Patagonian Icefield and meet impressive characters along the way.
The Patagonian Expedition is a 95% self funded video documentary project following my trip in 2012/2013. Our aim is to show you the beauty of the rather unknown parts in Patagonia alongside with the famous spots.
Beside beautiful landscape you can expect loads of information and our personal experiences and struggles along the way.
--- my travel equipment ---
insurance
packing list
Online Language Course
The whole trip was executed over the course of 2 months using mostly local transport such as busses, cars and trucks. A big thank you goes to Lufthansa for providing the flights into and out of South America in their new Premium Economy Class!
===
My personal recommendations for Hotels & Hostels:
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Queulat National Park and The Hanging Glaciers of Chile -- Travel Vlog
The moral of today's vlog on the Carretera Austral: do as I say, not as I do.
Our drive down the Carretera Austral here in Chile continued today with a bunch of ferry journeys. The trip, well, what can I say, it was incredible. I think this must be the most beautiful drive in the entire world. If the carretera austral isn't on your bucket list, it should be. I've only done a couple drives anywhere in the world that even come close to this beautiful.
On the ferry from Hornopiren I got to shoot some hyperlapse footage of the boat going into the Chilean fjords which was amazing. And, even though I had to do some travel vlog editing down throughout the journey, the views out the window were incredible.
Then, after arriving on the other end of the ferry journeys we continued our long drive toward Quelet National Park and the hanging glaciers that are there just off the Carretera Austral. It was the spot we were hoping to hit for sunset, but with all our delays we were late.
Despite being late, we decided to hike up to the hanging glaciers in the dark. It probably wasn't the best idea, hence my advice to do as I say, not as I do. But, the reward made it worth it. The views of the hanging glaciers in Quelet National Park here in Chile are special, and the moon hit them in such a perfect way.
This travel vlog from here in Chile ends with some photos of the hanging glaciers.
Tomorrow, the vlog continues as we keep pushing south in Chile along the Carretera Austral. Stay tuned for more adventures.
Chaitén after Volcano Eruption - Hitchhiking the Carretera Austral in Chile (Part 4)
I went to Chaitén to find out more about the chaiten volcano eruption and the catastrophe which happened here in 2008 in the 4th episode of my Hitchhiking trip along the Carretera Austral.
Related article:
After as short stop in the former capital and seeing the massive destruction it was time to move on to the north to finally get to the end/start of the Road 7 in Puerto Montt.
--- my travel equipment ---
camera
insurance
packing list
Online Language Course
--- About the Carretera Austral in Patagonia ---
The Road number 7 connects the most remote areas of Chile and is one of the most beautiful roads in South America. It is an alternative road to the Panamericana which is located on the argentinean side of Patagonia.
Amongst Bikers and Cyclists this route is very popular due to the beautiful landscape even though the construction of the road was not done for tourism purpose.
In the 1970s there was a border conflict between Argentina and Chile in this part of Patagonia - the territories around the lago del desierto have not been clearly defined. Therefore Pinochet decided to build a road and populate the south of chile to claim the region and strengthen the position of Chile.
Nowadays the Ruta 7 is a mostly unpaved road and is located in 2 regions of Chile: Region Los Lagos in the northern part of the road and Region Aysen in the south.
To find out more about the Carretera Austral in Patagonia, Chile check out this mini documentary:
Spots and Sights in this Video:
- Futaleufú
- Chaitén
- Chaitén Volcano
- Pumalin National Park
- Hornopiren National Park
- Caleta Gonzalo
- Puerto Montt
- Puerto Varas
Map by Wikimedia:
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Petrohue Falls and The Carretera Austral -- Chile Travel Vlog
We started our journey down the Carretera Austral visited Petrohue Falls, and missed the boat.
Greg's Channel:
Day 1 of our journey down the famous Carretera Austral did not go as planned. We started the day off pretty brilliantly. We shot some photos on the Petrohue River and then went to Petrohue Falls to shoot some photos just after sunrise. And, everything was stunning. In fact, this might be the coolest view in all of South America.
We weren't allowed in Petrohue Falls for sunrise for some reason, but even at 9am when we finally got in, it was beautiful. From the falls, you have the incredible Osorno Volcano in the background. I'm not sure there's a more perfect view anywhere. Nature just blows me away.
Leaving Petrohue Falls, we headed south down the Carretera Austral. Unfortunately for us, we didn't realize that the ferry only travels once a day and we missed the boat.
So, we ended up stuck somewhere in Chile called Hornopiren for the night.
On the bright side, where we got stuck was pretty photogenic and we still managed to get out and shoot some photos.
Tomorrow, we continue our journey down the Carretera Austral here in Chile.
Google street view timelapse. Carretera Austral (Southern Chile) Part 1
The Carretera Austral (CH-7), formerly known as Carretera General Augusto Pinochet,[1][2] is the name given to Chile's Route 7. The highway runs about 1,240 kilometers (770 mi) from Puerto Montt to Villa O'Higgins through rural Patagonia.[3]
Carretera Austral provides road access to Chile's Aysén del General Carlos Ibáñez del Campo Region and southern part of Los Lagos Region. These areas are sparsely populated and despite its length, Carretera Austral provides access to only about 100,000 people. South of the highway's start in Puerto Montt, Coyhaique (population 44,850[4]) is the largest city along it. Construction of the highway was commenced in 1976 under the de facto presidency of Augusto Pinochet in order to connect a number of remote communities. Before that, in the 1950s and 1970s, there had been unsuccessful attempts to build access roads in the region.[5] It is among the most ambitious infrastructure projects developed in Chile during the 20th century.
Carretera Austral has a strategic meaning due to the difficult access by land to a significant portion of Chile's southern territory. This area is characterized by thick forests, fjords, glaciers, canals and steep mountains. Access by sea and air is also a complex task due to extreme winter weather conditions. For decades, most of the land transportation had to cross the border to Argentina in order to reach again Chile's Patagonia. These difficulties were deepened during the 1970s due to the Beagle Conflict crisis. In order to strengthen the Chilean presence in these isolated territories and ensure the land connection to the rest of the country, the government planned the construction of this road, which was executed by the Chilean Army's Engineering Command. More than 10,000 soldiers worked in its construction. Many of them lost their lives during this effort.
The highway opened to traffic in 1988, and by 1996 was completed to Puerto Yungay. The last 100 kilometers (62 mi) to Villa O'Higgins were opened in 2000. In 2003, a branch road to Caleta Tortel was finished.[6]
Exploradores Glacier & Villa O'Higgins, Carretera Austral in Chile (Patagonia Expedition #04)
In the 4th episode of the Patagonia Expedition we are going to ice hike on the Exploradores Glacier in the Laguna San Rafael National Park before we continue our way down to the end of the Carretera Austral in Villa O’Higgins.
My Guide for Chile:
Kristins Article:
--- equipment used to produce this video ---
Cam1:Sony A7 II
Cam2: Sony NEX 5
Cam3: GoPro
Drone: Phantom 3 Pro
Drone Backpack: Manfrotto D1
Amazon Tripod
Joby Gorillapod
Audio Recorder: Zoom H2n
SDHC Memory Card
Waterproof Memory Card Case
Backpack Osprey Farpoint 40
The Carretera Austral is a 1200km long road in the south of Chile which connects the most remote areas of the country. The ruta 7 is a paradise for adventure seekers as it is a mostly unpaved road which brings you to the lesser known parts of Patagonia in the stunning Los Lagos and Aysen Region.
Our plan was to get from Puerto Montt till Villa O’Higgins by thumb to get in touch with locals and fellow adventurers along the way. After making our way down from Puerto Montt to Puerto Rio Tranquilo in the last episodes we decided to stay in one place for a few days to be able to do more activities. In the last previous episode we finished with the visit of the Marble Caves, in this episode we went on a full day „big ice“ excursion at the Glaciar Exploradores.
The Exploradores Glacier is situated on the northeastern slope of Monte San Valentín inside the Laguna San Rafael National Park and is a part of the Northern Patagonian Icefield. This ice field is the smaller of two remnant parts in which the Patagonian Ice Sheet in the Andes Mountains of lower South America can be divided.
Nowadays it is completely contained within the boundaries of Laguna San Rafael National Park. Once the Patagonian Ice Sheet was an extensive ice sheet that covered all of Chilean Patagonia and the westernmost parts of Argentine Patagonia during the Quaternary glaciations. Today, with its glaciers largely in retreat and only an area of 4,200 km2 (1,600 sq mi), the northern patagonian ice field is still the second largest continuous mass of ice outside of the polar regions.
This part of the trip was executed within 1week by using altogether 3 public buses and one ferry - following I list all the places we visited & Things to do at the Carretera Austral:
- Exploradores Glacier / Laguna San Rafael National Park
- Northern Patagonian Ice Field
- Cochrane & Rio Baker
- Villa O'Higgins
- Cerro Altavista
- Puerto Rio Tranquilo
- Marble Caves / Capillas de Marmol
- Lago General Carrera
I'm excited to share all our experiences in Patagonia over the course of the next 6 weeks with you. In the next episode we will do a boat excursion to the impressive O’Higgins glacier, cross into Argentina on foot and meet impressive characters along the way.
The Patagonian Expedition is a 95% self funded video documentary project following my trip in 2012/2013. Our aim is to show you the beauty of the rather unknown parts in Patagonia alongside with the famous spots.
Beside beautiful landscape you can expect loads of information and our personal experiences and struggles along the way.
--- my travel equipment ---
insurance
packing list
Online Language Course
The whole trip was executed over the course of 2 months using mostly local transport such as busses, cars and trucks. A big thank you goes to Lufthansa for providing the flights into and out of South America in their new Premium Economy Class!
===
My personal recommendations for Hotels & Hostels:
===
Music:
epidemicsound.com
Follow me:
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Die Carretera Austral - Traumroute durch Patagonien & Südchile (Deutsche Doku)
Die Carretera Austral in Südchile gehört zu den beeindruckensten und abenteuerlichsten Routen in Patagonien. In dieser Dokumentation werden die Strecke, Geschichte und die Sehenswürdigkeiten erklärt.
In den folgenden Episoden trampe ich die gesamte Carretera Austral von Villa O'Higgins bis in den Norden nach Puerto Montt. Zusätzlich werde ich die Herausforderung annehmen von El Chaltén nach Candelario Mansilla zu wandern um von dort das Boot nach Villa O'Higgins zu nehmen - eine abenteuerliche 2 tägige Odysee!
--- Über die Carretera Austral in Chile ---
Die Ruta 7 verbindet die entlegensten Orte im Süden Chiles miteinander und zählt zu den schönsten Straßen Südamerikas. Sie ist zudem eine tolle Alternative zur Ruta 40 -- die Panamericana die auf argentinischer Seite gen Norden führt.
Bei Bikern und Radfahrer ist sie aufgrund ihrer Unwegsamkeit, aber vor allem aufgrund der Schönheit der Landschaft äußerst populär. Dabei wurde sie eigentlich nicht für den Tourismus sondern aus politischen Gründen gebaut - um die Souveränität der Region zu gewährleisten.
In den 1970ern gab es einen Grenzkonflikt zwischen Argentinien und Chile um die Territorien in diesem Teil Patagoniens, jede Seite beanspruchte die Gegend um den Lago del Desierto für sich. Vor einigen Jahren dann wurde der See Argentinien zugesprochen.
Die Carretera Austral befindet sich heute in 2 Regionen Chiles: der Region Los Lagos (nördlicher Teil) und der Region Aisen im südlichen Abschnitt.
Viele weitere Infos und Reiseführer über Patagonien und Südamerika findest du auf meiner Übersichtsseite:
Orte und Sehenswürdigkeiten in diesem Video:
- Villa O'Higgins
- Candelario Mansilla
- Lago O'Higgins
- Cochrane
- Coyhaique
- Puerto Rio Tranquilla
- Capillas de Marmol (Marmorhöhlen)
- Lago Bertrand
- Lago General Carrera
- Cerro Castillo
- Villa Manihuales
- Puyuhuapi
- La Junta
- Futaleufu
- Chaiten
- Hornopiren
- Puerto Montt
- Lago del Desierto
Map by Wikimedia:
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Chilean glacier sightseeing, March 2013, from Skorpios III north of Puerto Natales