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Visit the Carretera Austral in Chilean Patagonia

If on your next trip you want to visit each place calmly, giving yourself the time to discover unknown or little explored places, then traveling by vehicle can be an excellent alternative. And for this, there is no better destination than Austral road Chilean. 

The Carretera Austral (or Route 7) is a true column of Chilean Patagonia. This route connects 1240 kilometers between Puerto Montt and Villa O'Higgins. The Carretera Austral can be traveled from north to south or vice versa, in sections:

  • Puerto Montt – The Board  
  • The Board – Coyhaique 
  • Coyhaique – Villa O'Higgins

Next, we share our selection of the 8 most beautiful and unmissable places in the Austral road.

8 must-sees on the Carretera Austral

To discover Chilean Patagonia through the Carretera Austral, we propose an itinerary with 8 places that include the main attractions of this extensive territory. The advantage is that you can access all of them by vehicle through route 7, and then proceed on foot, by bicycle or by boat.

1. Pumalin Douglas Tompkins Park

Created in 2018, this park has a total area of ​​402.392 hectares, of which more than half were donated by Tompkins Conservation to the Chilean state.

Located on the first stretch of the Carretera Austral, it is a park that you cannot miss on your itinerary. Pumalín is part of the Austral Andes Temperate Rain Forests Biosphere Reserve declared by UNESCO in 2007, due to its great biodiversity of global importance. 

2. Queulat National Park 

This park is located on the second section of the Carretera Austral. In fact, the highway crosses the park, which may partly explain why it is one of the most visited parks in Patagonia. 

It has evergreen forests, rivers and a hanging glacier, which can be admired from different points of the Tempanos Lagoon. A simple route for which there is a concessionaire that offers boat rides.

3. Puyuhuapi hot springs 

Located north of Coyhaique, these hot springs offer water that springs from the ground, with all its mineral wealth. Puyuhuapi also offers dream trails for trekking, with the fjords of Patagonia in sight. 

4. Baker River 

The Baker River is one of the most impressive and mightiest in Chile, which flows into Caleta Tortel. Ideal challenge for those who practice kayaking and rafting. The most recurrent access to the river is by vehicle through the Carretera Austral from north to south to Puerto Bertrand and take a boat that crosses the river; or from south to north from Villa O'Higgins, the terminus of the highway. 

5. General Carrera Lake and Marble Cathedrals 

General Carrera Lake is practically in the middle of the Carretera Austral. It is one of the largest lakes in the world. Its waters come from glaciers, surrounded by the Andes Mountains. 

In the western sector of the lake, the water and the intense Patagonian wind have spent thousands of years eroding the limestone that covered the marble strata hidden inside. The waves and the wind carved the marble, giving rise to the marvelous Marble Cathedrals.

6. Cove Tortel

In the third section of the Carretera Austral we come across this cove known to tourists as a small town linked by footbridges, stairs and cypress bridges. 

It has an amazing and diverse geography, marked by the mouth of the Baker River and crossed by other rivers, interior channels, estuaries, glaciers and narrow valleys. 

7. Southern Ice Field Glaciers

Continuing through the last 100 kilometers of the Carretera Austral to the south, and almost at the height of Villa O'Higgins, is this glacial body that can be traveled through boats that carry out excursion routes.

8. Glacier and Lake O'Higgins

Also known as Ventisquero Grande, it is one of the largest and most impressive glaciers in Patagonia, with a width of 3 kilometers and about 80 meters in height. It can be seen from the lake with the same name, thanks to boats that leave Villa O'Higgins in summer.
Do you want to explore Chilean Patagonia comfortably, safely and at your own pace? MITTA puts at your disposal the service of Rent-a-Car Austral in the branches of Puerto Montt and Coyhaique. Save time, quote and book online.

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