caretera
 

thanks guys

I think we should be there by the beguining or midle of December , hopefully the weather will be ok for the ride , 60 days and the trip will start we will start by Colombia and then go up so timing may change a bit while riding.

Carretera Austral onto Usahuaia (late Nov)
 

I plan to ride south the Carretera Austral from Santiago, heading to Ushuaia.

Can someone suggest a route from the south of the Carretera that involves heading to Puerto Natales (for a trek in TDP)

Should I look for route 40 in Argentina? Where would u suggest I cross the border and leave the Carretera Austral.

Thanks

David

Cross into Chile at Futaleufu, then a beautiful ride west to join the Austral, go south.

I would recommend going south on the Austral all the way to Cochrane, get gas, back track roughly 10 miles north then take the road to cross at Paso Roballo continue east on 41 and hit the 40 south at Bajo Caracoles. Its a very small village with a gas station and a hotel. Make sure you have a good fuel range as they could be out of gas at Bajo Caracoles.

If you have the time, I would recommend going to the end of the Austral at Villa O'Higgens for a visit. Then backtrack up to Cochrane, then cross at Paso Roballo.

Alternatively, you could cross over much further north. Head south from Coihaique to Ibanez, then head east along the north side of the lake, cross the border at a remote outpost, continue east and join the 40 at Perito Moreno.

There is also a ferry that goes from Ibanez to Chile Chico but they might not have room for you, its up the captains discretion and that seems to be hit or miss. Better off avoiding a ferry altogether since you dont have to take it.

Once on the 40, you head south again to get to Puerto Natales.

Do you have map? If not, you can buy a decent map at a larger Copec station when you are in Chile. Tell them you want the mapa de rutas. Its about 5 bucks IIRC. Gaston posted JPEGS of that map on the previous page of this thread.

Crashmaster has made some very good suggestions.

You could also follow the shore of Lago General Carrera on the south side - fuel at Puerto Río Tranquilo, Puerto La Poza and Chile Chico, you can visit the 'Catedral de Mármol' and the views are just breathtaking. Also, due to the weather currents (not sure if that's the right word in English...) it rarely rains on the southern route.

http://possu.smugmug.com/Travel/Ride...70_bEHWd-L.jpg

http://possu.smugmug.com/Travel/Carr...04_TUUKB-L.jpg

http://possu.smugmug.com/Travel/Carr...82_bEQFs-L.jpg

http://possu.smugmug.com/Travel/Carr...11_SkjzK-L.jpg

Btw, these photos were taken mid November last year.

Good luck and enjoy your trip! :mchappy: