The mythical Carreterra Austral stretches 1,240 km through Patagonian Chile, from Puerto Montt to Villa O’ Higgins. Today, it is one of the world’s iconic road trips.
A Pinochet vanity project to connect the remote southern villages of Chile, the Carretera Austral – or Ruta 7 – was never a practical proposition.
Nevertheless, it happened and it has endured and these days has become an iconic road trip, be it in a car, or by the increasingly popular bicycle. It is becoming more and more paved and those sections which are still gravel provide no challenge to even the most ordinary 2 wheel drive vehicle.
We drove south from Puerto Montt and at Villa O’Higgins we simply turned around and largely retraced our steps – it was that good!
These are the articles I wrote about the trip: just click on the links for further details.
1 The Carretera Austral, Puerto Montt to Chaitén, Chile (November 2023)
2 The Carretera Austral, Chaitén to Futaleufú, Chile (November 2023)
3 The Carretera Austral, Villa Santa Lucia to Quelat National Park, Chile (November 2023)
4 The Carretera Austral, Puerto Cisnes to Coyhaique, Chile (November 2023)
5 The Carretera Austral, Coyhaique to Cerro Castillo, Chile (November 2023)
6 The Carretera Austral, Villa Cerro Castillo to Puerto Río Tranquilo, Chile (December 2023)
7 The Carretera Austral, Lago General Carrera to Río Nadis, Chile (December 2023)
8 The Carretera Austral, Río Nadis to Caleta Tortel, Chile (December 2023)
9 The Carretera Austral, Villa O’Higgins, Chile (December 2023)
10 Patagonia National Park, Aysén, Chile (December 2023)
11 The Carretera Austral, Pumalin Douglas Tompkins National Park, Los Lagos, Chile (January 2024)