Balmaceda

The population of Balmaceda is close to 500 inhabitants. Balmaceda was founded on January 1, 1917 by a pilgrim named Jose Silva Ormeño, who tried to reunite his people, uniting immigrants of Argentina, in the same place. Balmaceda became the first town of Aisén and the locality nearest to the Andean country, where the local production was received in carts.

The design of the town considered a division of thousand sites; it was constructed like a Spanish style frontier place and school. In 1928, the State recognized it as a village. In 1945, the FACH (Air Force of Chile), installed an aerodrome that, five years later, began to decay, after the open way to Coyhaique (Camino Coyhaique). Currently, Balmaceda has the only national airport of the region and the border customs of the Huemules Step (Paso Los Huemules).

Going through Balmaceda, you will get to know the village in its totality. You can easily see the amount of empty sites that were never occupied or that were abandoned, due to fires. In front of the town, there is a modern airport and customs.

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
• A lake with pristine and calypso waters
• You can find lands laden with lush vegetation or layered in fields of ice

The Bad

• Few accommodation options
• Towns along the way are few and far between
• Some parts of the highway are deserted

Somewhere Special To Stay

HOTEL	FROM	iCATEGORY
Puyuhuapi Lodge	219 USD
Loberias del Sur	180 USD
Yelcho Patagonia	3000 USD
Hacienda Tres Lagos	276 USD