Carretera Austral
La Carretera Austral is a road in Chile, part of the region of Patagonia (Chile). It runs for 1240 km from Puerto Montt in the north to Villa O'Higgins in the south. Some call it the road after the end of the road, because it is not part of the Panamerican Highway that ends on the island of Chiloe Island.
UnderstandThe Carretera Austral (CH-7), formerly known as Carretera General Augusto Pinochet, is the name given to Chile's Route 7. Construction of the road started in the 1970s and is still going on.
PrepareMost of the road is gravel (ripio in Spanish) ranging from quite good quality to absolutely horrible. If you are driving, you will not need a 4WD but your car will be suffering.
Get inIf you start from the north, getting to Puerto Montt is straightforward.
GoCarretera Austral is one of the most popular routes in the world for cycling. The road conditions range from very bad to normal paved road (around Chaitén and Coyhaique).
Stay safeThere is not much traffic on the Carretera Austral. The road conditions usually don't allow driving at too high speed. However, some people still drive quite fast (usually locals).
Go nextEl Chalten and El Calafate in Argentina and on to Torres del Paine. See the Get In section for the border crossing procedure.
Sources and licences
- Guide text adapted from the Wikivoyage article "Carretera Austral" by its contributors, available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Read on Wikivoyage · Contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0