PUELO & FUTALEUFU

Puelo - Futaleufu

Región de Aysén
General Carlos Ibáñez del Campo

The Carretera Austral

South of Puerto Montt, the population thins and the vegetation thickens. This is the region of northwest Patagonia commonly called the "Carretera Austral," named after the route that runs south to tiny Villa O'Higgins between 48º y 49º of latitude. It is a 1,240km gravel road that bends and twists through forest and virgin vegetation, past glacial-fed rivers and aquamarine lakes; jagged, white-capped peaks that rise above open valleys; and precipitous cliffs with cascading ribbons of waterfalls at every turn. If you like your scenery remote and rustic, this is the place for you. Though much less traveled than the famous Torres del Paine, in many ways, a journey down this road can be is the ideal Chilean road trip, and many of its natural attractions are as stunning as any you'll find further south. There are also some of the country's best cabins to stay in while practicing fishing, one of the world's top rivers for rafting, hot springs, and a sailing journey to one of Chile's most awe-inspiring glaciers. It is also home to fjords that are ideal for kayaking, and the rainforest jungle of Pumalín Park. The Carretera Austral runs from Puerto Montt in the north to Villa O'Higgins in the south, and passes through two regions: the southern portion of the Los Rios Region and the Region of Aisén, whose capital, Coyhaique, holds almost half the population of the region, home to less than one person per square kilometer. The area largely straddles the Andes, unlike most of Chile, where the range's summits form the eastern border. The first few roads appeared in the 30’s, but before the mid-70’s, much of the area could only be reached by ferry or plane, and trucks servicing its tiny villages had to enter from Argentina. Worried about a very real threat of war with Argentina in the 1970s, the dictator Augusto Pinochet sought to fortify Chile's presence in this isolated region by connecting the existing roads with the rest of the country. More than 30 years later and at a cost above $300 million pesos and the lives of more than two dozen men, work continues.

How Much Do We Love This Place?

The Good

It's an area of immense beauty with the remoteness that people expect from Patagonia
There are some of the best fly-fishing lodges
The Futaleufu is one of the world's top rivers for rafting
You can find lands laden with lush vegetation or layered in fields of ice