AN Antarctica Chilean Carretera Austral to Coyhaique

[DuckCL-LC120]

Last June, my friend Daniel asked me to accompany him because he was moving to Coyhaique, a southern city in Chile.
We leave from Santiago in a 1999 Toyota Hilux 2.8 (3L diesel engine) that he recently bought and is restoring and equipping. The trip took us 3 days, traveling 1.000 km (622 miles) along the Pan-American Highway or "Ruta 5", plus 600 km (373 miles) along "Ruta 7", better known as the *Carretera Austral*, with paved sections, others not, crossing canals and lakes on a ferry, and marveled at the incredible landscapes of the south of the country: Forests, volcanoes, glaciers, rivers, lakes, rain, snow, in short...a dream.
This is a video summary of the trip and some places we visited while in Coyhaique.

Greetings to all!


*Trail: [Chile] Carretera Austral - Coyhaique
*Date Traveled: June / 10, 11, 12 / 2022
*Location: Santiago / Hornopirén / Chaitén / Coyhaique
*Trail Travel Time: 3 days
*Length: 1.600 kms / 995 miles
*Difficulty: Mild to Moderate
*Vehicle: 1999 Toyota Hilux 2.8 (3L diesel engine)
*Modifications: In restoration. RTT, pickup rack.
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[John and Mandi]

We absolutely loved the Carretera Austral, spending almost three weeks along it in the summer of 2018 (Dec.). It is the only place we bought a map of with the intention of one day hanging it on a wall or making a table top out of it. If you ever get the chance, you and your friend should head over into Argentina and visit the Cueva de las Manos, just south of Perito Moreno. It is quite spectacular and free camping in the canyon is recommended! Thanks for sharing.

 

[DuckCL-LC120]

We absolutely loved the Carretera Austral, spending almost three weeks along it in the summer of 2018 (Dec.). It is the only place we bought a map of with the intention of one day hanging it on a wall or making a table top out of it. If you ever get the chance, you and your friend should head over into Argentina and visit the Cueva de las Manos, just south of Perito Moreno. It is quite spectacular and free camping in the canyon is recommended! Thanks for sharing.

Absolutely! That’s a route that was already considered pending. I’m lucky enough to know a large part of Chile, from north to south, but I was missing the Carretera Austral. This was my first trip further south from Chaitén, and I have yet to continue further south from Coyhaique! I hope to be able to do the entire route in my Toyota Prado (if I haven't changed it yet).

A few years ago I drove along Route 40 in Argentina, passing through Esquel and El Bolsón. I’ll try on the next trip to visit the Perito Moreno glacier. Thank you very much for your reply and suggestions John and Mandi.

 

[DuckCL-LC120]

Suggestion: I hope the admins consider adding South America as a region, instead of "Antarctica", to share routes and be able to label them better.

 

[John and Mandi]

Absolutely! That’s a route that was already considered pending. I’m lucky enough to know a large part of Chile, from north to south, but I was missing the Carretera Austral. This was my first trip further south from Chaitén, and I have yet to continue further south from Coyhaique! I hope to be able to do the entire route in my Toyota Prado (if I haven't changed it yet).

A few years ago I drove along Route 40 in Argentina, passing through Esquel and El Bolsón. I’ll try on the next trip to visit the Perito Moreno glacier. Thank you very much for your reply and suggestions John and Mandi.

Perito Moreno is definitely worth a visit, so is Fitz Roy. We managed a free camp along a river with just one spike of Fitz Roy visible from our spot, not sure if that is still an option though. You probably already know this, but the shoulder seasons are better than peak summer. We made it all the way to Ushuaia before the summer rush but the day before we started heading north, the crowds showed up. It was like someone flipped a switch. We went from having almost everything to ourselves with plenty of parking to no parking and people everywhere. Same for Pucon and Villarrica. When we first drove through in November it was great with very few crowds. We cut back over to Chile on our way north to find Pucon and Villarrica slammed with people, took 2 hrs to drive 10km. We still love both of those places, we just prefer the shoulder seasons. Another big highlight for us were the Marble Caves outside Bellavista, we visited the day after Christmas and it was perfect. Thinking about all the places in Southern Chile/Argentina makes us want to drive it again!

Fitz Roy, driving out from our free spot

 

[DuckCL-LC120]

Absolutely! That’s a route that was already considered pending. I’m lucky enough to know a large part of Chile, from north to south, but I was missing the Carretera Austral. This was my first trip further south from Chaitén, and I have yet to continue further south from Coyhaique! I hope to be able to do the entire route in my Toyota Prado (if I haven't changed it yet).

A few years ago I drove along Route 40 in Argentina, passing through Esquel and El Bolsón. I’ll try on the next trip to visit the Perito Moreno glacier. Thank you very much for your reply and suggestions John and Mandi.

Perito Moreno is definitely worth a visit, so is Fitz Roy. We managed a free camp along a river with just one spike of Fitz Roy visible from our spot, not sure if that is still an option though. You probably already know this, but the shoulder seasons are better than peak summer. We made it all the way to Ushuaia before the summer rush but the day before we started heading north, the crowds showed up. It was like someone flipped a switch. We went from having almost everything to ourselves with plenty of parking to no parking and people everywhere. Same for Pucon and Villarrica. When we first drove through in November it was great with very few crowds. We cut back over to Chile on our way north to find Pucon and Villarrica slammed with people, took 2 hrs to drive 10km. We still love both of those places, we just prefer the shoulder seasons. Another big highlight for us were the Marble Caves outside Bellavista, we visited the day after Christmas and it was perfect. Thinking about all the places in Southern Chile/Argentina makes us want to drive it again!

Fitz Roy, driving out from our free spot
View attachment 235702

In summer it is crazy (from December to March), the tourist places are saturated with people. That's why this summer I preferred to escape to the north of Chile, between lonely beaches, valleys, desert and salt flats. If you guys can do the trip again, Wonderful! don't hesitate to let me know and maybe I can join the route.

Update: Video from 2021, one of my trips to the northern Chile with friends and my son.

 

[John and Mandi]

In summer it is crazy (from December to March), the tourist places are saturated with people. That's why this summer I preferred to escape to the north of Chile, between lonely beaches, valleys, desert and salt flats. If you guys can do the trip again, Wonderful! don't hesitate to let me know and maybe I can join the route.

If we make it back down there we will definitely let you know. We entered Argentina from Bolivia so we missed northern Chile. There is a lot we'd still love to see and we skipped Brazil so getting back down there at some point is something we hope to do.

 

[Gustavo Amaral]

Carretera Austral is insane. We drove it all (plus some side roads) in Jan/2020. It was an amazing experience that we would like to repeat ASAP. Invite you to visit the thread - South America - routes and locations - I post there some of my travels around South America. But, actually, I created it for us!!! To exchange tips, pics, and routes around South America, at least while the platform doesn't have a "Region" for our "poor" continent! ;-)

 

[Gustavo Amaral]

If we make it back down there we will definitely let you know. We entered Argentina from Bolivia so we missed northern Chile. There is a lot we'd still love to see and we skipped Brazil so getting back down there at some point is something we hope to do.

Maybe Brazil is more difficult to be visited, but I encourage all overlanders to try it.
At least a few places, since Brazil is as big as it is distinct in their habits and culture in its different regions. It is definitely a complex country!

 

[John and Mandi]

Maybe Brazil is more difficult to be visited, but I encourage all overlanders to try it.
At least a few places, since Brazil is as big as it is distinct in their habits and culture in its different regions. It is definitely a complex country!

We have a lot of friends that drove through several parts of Brazil and a couple that drove all the way to Venezuela. Those that drove through Venezuela all had family there so that made it easier for them. We would love to ship south and drive north, this time sticking to the eastern side of S.A.

 

[Gustavo Amaral]

We have a lot of friends that drove through several parts of Brazil and a couple that drove all the way to Venezuela. Those that drove through Venezuela all had family there so that made it easier for them. We would love to ship south and drive north, this time sticking to the eastern side of S.A.

Great! So, you know about the challenge and the gains of visiting Brazil! ;-) I bet you will enjoy it a lot if you put this plan into practice one day! And if you do that, don't hesitate to contact me. Maybe we could meet up on de road!

 

[John and Mandi]

Great! So, you know about the challenge and the gains of visiting Brazil! ;-) I bet you will enjoy it a lot if you put this plan into practice one day! And if you do that, don't hesitate to contact me. Maybe we could meet up on de road!

If we make it back to S.A. we will definitely let you know!