We went on an epic roadtrip down the Carretera Austral in Patagonia - Here's how it went (Travel Diaries Day 51)
- Nicoletta Dasara
- Jul 13
- 13 min read
Updated: Sep 21
A few months ago, well before we left for our trip in South America, Reid met a guy from Chile during a tennis match. They connected and chatted for a while, with Reid mentioning that we would soon be leaving for our adventure in South America, including Chile. The guy, who comes from Puerto Montt in the south of the country, immediately said: "If you go to Patagonia, you have to go to Carretera Austral, you won't regret it".
While we had heard of iconic spots in Patagonia such as Torres del Paine and El Chaltén, which we had already added to our "must-do" list for the trip, we had never heard of Carretera Austral. But now we were curious, so we looked it up.
What we learned about Carretera Austral fascinated us and convinced us that we absolutely had to include it to our itinerary. And so, soon after having completed the W Trek, we left Puerto Natales and flew to the city of Puerto Montt to start our epic roadtrip down Carretera Austral.
The Carretera Austral, or Ruta 7, is a highway that stretches about 1,240 kilometers (770 miles) from Puerto Montt to Villa O’Higgins, deep in Chilean Patagonia. It winds through some spectacular national parks and reserves, incredible mountain views, hanging glaciers, lakes, tiny charming fishing villages, and much more.
Although we wished we could spend as much time as we wanted to explore the region, we decided to allocate just 10 days for this roadtrip. Our 3-month itinerary in South America was really packed and there was still so much we were planning to do afterwards in northern Chile, Bolivia and Peru; but I believe 2-3 weeks would be better suited to properly see all of the Carretera.
Now, there are a few tricky things about driving down the Carretera Austral: not only is it very long, but also it's a dead end: once you reach Villa O'Higgins, the road just... ends. Villa O'Higgins is ridiculously close to El Chalten in Argentina, but there isn't a direct road connecting the two villages (yet). So upon arriving Villa O' Higgins, you have to turn around and drive back north. And to make things even more complicated, it is unfinished. There are long stretches where the road is unpaved, which will put to the test even the most resistant tires!
It took us a while to figure out the best way to do this. Lots of people go hitchhiking: this is actually very common along the Carretera, and something we considered doing. But eventually, we decided we would rather rent a car and keep the freedom of driving around on our own - possibly picking up hitchhikers ourselves!
The cheapest option when renting a car here is to pick up and return in the same location; let's say if we wanted to pick up the car in Puerto Montt, but return it in Balmaceda to then continue into Argentina, it would have cost us at least double the price! So we decided to pick up and return in Puerto Montt. This meant that we would have to drive all the way back, and with 10 days allocated to it, we wouldn't have time sadly to drive all the way down to Villa O' Higgins. We decided we would drive as far as 755 km to Villa Cerro Castillo, and turn our car around there to drive back to Puerto Montt.
So here is how we went on an epic roadtrip down the Carretera Austral in Patagonia, day by day!
Day 1 - Puerto Montt to Chaiten
240 km driven
After spending a day exploring Puerto Montt (and buying new hiking boots for myself to remedy the flop of the W Trek!), we picked up our car that would take us along this epic roadtrip: a lovely brand-new Peugeot 3008 AT.
Our goal for the day was to reach the town of Chaiten, 240km south of Puerto Montt. To reach Chaiten, we would have to take 3 ferries for a total of 6 hours.
We reached the first ferry (La Arena) pretty fast, after only 1 hour of driving. We boarded, paid 11.130 CLP$ for the car, and after 30 minutes we were already on the other side in Caleta Puelche.
Back on the road, I immediately noticed how green the landscape was. Much more lush than Torres del Paine! We learned that this area is called "Patagonia Verde" exactly because of its green forests, and that this is a temperate rainforest! It rains a lot around here: up to 6000 mm a year of rain in some areas! So it's not surprising that it's so lush and rich. Huge leaves, fern and lichens covering every surface, bamboo, and the most commong tree, the Alerce, some of which here are very old.
After driving for a bit, we took a break at Termas de Pichicolo. These are small thermal baths, with 5 pools with very hot water (up to 43°C). We paid 32.000 CLP$ per person, which is a bit on the higher end, but we really liked the area: it was very well maintained, with nice bathrooms and changing rooms, and clean pools. Not very crowded, so we could really relax!
Our next ferry was scheduled at 6PM, so we went to the pier in Hornopiren. Unfortunately, we found out it was delayed by 3 hours! With little else to occupy our time, we explored the town. It was larger than we expected, and actually quite charming with views over the fjord and mountains. It was a beautiful day, so we sat in the sun next to the waterfront - and right next to a tsunami alert sign?
Finally after a long wait, the ferry arrived and we could board. It was quite spacious, but it filled up fast. Luckily we had booked our tickets a month earlier, so we had a spot guaranteed. However, many other cars were queuing up without a reservation and could not make it onboard... no idea where they went next, since the area is super remote?!
This ferry took 5 hours, so we had all the time to relax. It goes through a beautiful fjord surrounded by volcanos, and we were lucky to see an incredible sunset on the upper deck.
At 23:30, way later than originally planned, we finally got off at Leptupù, where we had to drive for another 10 minutes to Fiordo Largo and board the last ferry of the day. This is part of the same ferry route and the only way to get to Chaiten. However, the second ferry is not as big as the first one, which means that not all cars will fit... Luckily, we managed to board, but many cars were left behind! The ferry takes 45 minutes to get to the other side in Caleta Gonzalo, and then it returns to Fiordo Largo to pick up the remaining cars. Which means that if your car doesn't make it the first time, you'd have to wait an extra 90 minutes before you can finally get on the ferry!
Finally, we arrived in Caleta Gonzalo at 00:45. Now, we only had 50km to drive to Chaiten... But with horror we realized that the road to Chaiten is one of those sections of Ruta 7 which is yet not paved. It was painfully slow. Zig zagging around big stones and trying to avoid potholes, it took us 1 hour only to go through the first 35km. To our delight, the last 15km were paved and going through it we felt like we were as fast as a Formula 1 car.
Long story short, we arrived at our guesthouse extremely late, at 2:10 am! Our host still awake waiting for us (bless him), we finally got to bed and immediately fell asleep.
Day 2 - Chaiten to Puyuhuapi
188 km driven
After an incredible breakfast prepared by our guesthouse host, it was already time to say goodbye. We went back in the car and drove 60km south to our first hike on the Carretera Austral.
The hike was to a mirador of a hanging glacier, Ventisquero Yelcho. It was a short hike of about 1 hour up through the lush Patagonian rainforest. The trail was a bit muddy, and there were some fallen trees on the way. The view from the mirador was nice but not that incredible (I guess we got spoiled in Torres del Paine...).
Afterwards, we kept driving south all the way down to Puyuhuapi (another 130km), stopping by a settlment called Villa Santa Lucia that literally consists of 10 houses and 1 fast food truck. This truck sold the most Chilean food ever: completo italiano, a hotdog with avocado, mayo and ketchup (yes, those are the colors of the Italian flag!).
Puyuhuapi looked a lot like Hornopiren, just smaller and more remote. We noticed that the air was filled with smoke, coming from the chimneys of every single home. In fact, most houses here are heated with wood stoves, and the cabin where we spent the night was exactly the same. Since the nights were quite cold, turning on the wood stove was really necessary.
That night, we relaxed on the couch in front of the fire in our cabin, and made a simple dinner at home. Sometimes slow evenings are needed, especially after a late night like the one we had the evening before!
Day 3 - Puyuhuapi to Puerto Cisnes and back
174 km driven
Today we wanted to hike to mirador Colgante in Queulat National Park. Colgante is a hanging glacier in front of a lake, and there are waterfalls coming out of it; the photos looked insane, and I was so looking forward to this hike. However we found out that it is mandatory to buy entrance tickets to the park in advance, and when we looked on the park website we found out that they were all sold out for that day! :(
That was a huge disappointment, but we decided that we would try again on another day. And so today, instead of hiking, we drove to the nearby fishing town of Puerto Cisnes. We weren't really sure what we were going to do there, but we learned that you could get a boat from the small port to Isla Magdalena, an island just off the coast of Puerto Cisnes where it's possible to see penguins.
However by the time we arrived to Puerto Cisnes, it was too late... all boats were already gone, and there was not much else left for us to do. Looking for a way to spend our time, we went to a random spot for lunch called La Panchita, where we had a surprisingly good salmon a la mantequilla.
By the time we got back in Puyuhuapi, we both started to not feel well. We were coming down with a cold, the cherry on top! We crashed in bed and called it for the day.
Day 4 - Puyuhuapi to Cerro Castillo
328 km driven
Today was going to be another loooong driving day. Our final destination: Villa Cerro Castillo, where we were going to hike to Cerro Castillo the following day.
Both Reid and I were not feeling well, clearly sick with a cold. Next to this, it was a very rainy day. So we were glad we had nothing planned other than driving.
On this day, we made a few stops: Villa Mañihuales, a super small conglomarate of houses where we saw some people randomly wearing traditional Mapuche dresses; Coyhaique, the main city along the Carretera, which felt huge to us compared to the towns we had been visiting until then; and finally Villa Cerro Castillo, the main base for the hikes around Cerro Castillo National park. It took us the whole day to drive here.
This time, we stayed in a cabin in the woods near the town. It was lovely, completely made of wood, with super nice finishes and all looking very new. Looking back, both Reid and I concur that this was the best accommodation we had during our time in South America! If you're in the area, we highly recommend this AirBnB.
Day 5 - Cerro Castillo hike
16 km hiked
On this day, we hiked to Cerro Castillo. This day deserves a whole post on its own, and therefore I've written all about it here: (Mis)adventure on Cerro Castillo. I'll just say: it was the most unnerving hike of the trip!
Day 6 - Cerro Castillo to Puerto Cisnes
269 km driven
Unfortunately our way down Carretera Austral would end here, as today we would turn around and start our drive back north to Puerto Montt.
In hindsight, I do wish we had gone a little bit more south to Puerto Tranquilo: this town is very popular for being the base to boat tours to Catedral de Marmol, the Marble Caves. They are cave formations sculped over thousands of years by the waves of the lake. They are famous for the visually striking reflection of the water on the rock. And they are arguably the main attraction of the Carretera. Everyone we met on the way raved about the Marble Caves, and I felt so bad knowing that we were skipping them! A hitchhiker whom we picked up on the road said: "It's like going to Rome and skipping the Colosseum". Thanks man!
And so, with a heavy heart but also thankful that we were still alive from the disadventure of the day before, we went back in our Peugeot and made our way north.
We didn't have a lot planned for the day, and we stopped in the town of Puerto Aysen for lunch. A charming fishing town with really nice mountain surroundings. We ate at a restaurant called El Meson De La Patiko and had one of the best meals on the Carretera!
That night, we stayed at Refugio Salvatierra, a nice cabin which at the time was still under construction. The owner, Luis, moved here from Santiago to renovate the place and make it a nice refugio. It sits right in front of the Cisnes river on the X25.
Here we tried to plan our following day, determined to get those tickets to hike to Mirador Colgante in Queulat. But unfortuantely AGAIN they were sold out for the day after! It was so sad. And a big learning (everyone please take note!): in high season, it's best to book Queulat in advance at least 2 days prior.
So, we tried calling a bunch of numbers to see if we could get a spot on the Isla Magdalena trip, thinking again it’d be a great backup plan. But, surprise surprise, everything was sold out! We were totally caught off guard because we didn’t expect all the spots to be booked way ahead of time. Clearly, planning these kinds of trips needs more foresight than we thought.
What really threw us off was how little these activities were advertised. Finding information felt like a treasure hunt. We had to chat with our host and other travelers at local spots to learn about these excursions. It became very clear to us that this is still an underdeveloped area for tourism, which to be honest makes it all the more special.
Day 7 - Puerto Cisnes to Chaitén
255 km driven
After a slow morning and nothing else to do, we drove all the way up to Chaitén. We were still disappointed for not being able to go to Queulat. Instead, we walked around Chaitén town and learn more about its history.
In May 2008, the long-dormant Chaitén volcano, which sits right next to the town of the same name, suddenly erupted for the first time in over 9,000 years. The eruption released massive ash clouds and caused lahars (volcanic mudflows) that flooded and destroyed much of Chaitén town. The entire town was evacuated, and around 80% of it was damaged. After years of uncertainty, rebuilding began in the original location, and today Chaitén has slowly recovered, though the volcano remains active and monitored.
After having learnt about this reassuring history, we went to the local pizza place for dinner to get our spirits up again. Of course as an Italian I wasn't expecting anything like pizza at home, but we got served a tasty crusty pizza and all in all I was very happy with it.
Day 8 - Pumalin Park
25 km driven
Chaiten sits right next to Pumalin Park. This reserve was created through private conservation efforts by Doug Tompkins (the founder of The North Face). It was later donated to the Chilean state and became a national park in 2018. Differently from Queulat Park, Pumalin is completely free and there is no need to book entrances in advance. Phew!!!
First things first, we went to Sendero Cascadas Escondidas, probably the most popular hike in the park. The trail was amazing, with lots of wood boards, fun stairs to climb, all surrounded by a lush, thick forest of alerce trees. Some parts were quite muddy, but we loved it all the same. There are 2 waterfalls that can be seen on this trail: the first waterfall was smaller, but magical, with mist going everywhere, creating beautiful rainbows. It felt like being in a fairytale. The second waterfall was much taller and imposing, an impressive sight.
In the afternoon, we went for a chill walk on the Darwin's frog trail. This is an easy loop trail, perfect for beginners and families. They say that here you can see the Darwin's frog, which is a small frog that lives in the area. For the whole trail, Reid and I were on the lookout for these tiny frogs... we almost gave up, until we reached a spot where we could clearly hear somethin' croaking! We looked everywhere - we were next to a pond, so they HAD to be there. And finally, I spotted the tiniest of frogs chilling on a large leaf - it was there right in front of me this whole time! It wasn't bigger than a thumb, so I was very proud of myself for spotting it.
Day 9 - Ferry back to Puerto Montt
With a tinge of melancholy, we realized that this was our final day in Patagonia! Today, we were going to board another ferry that would take us to Puerto Montt. Soon, we would return our dear Peugeot and take a flight to a very different place: Atacama desert.
Traveling along the Carretera Austral was an incredible experience. Its remoteness and untouched nature offered a rare sense of adventure. Every turn would surprise and amaze us, with its towering peaks, lush forests and turtuous rivers. We encountered charming towns that really embodied Patagonia's spirit. The locals, with their warmth and welcoming attitude, made us feel right at home.
While we were excited for new adventures, leaving the serene beauty of Patagonia felt bittersweet. The memories of its untouched landscapes will accompany us forever!
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