As always when bikepacking, time passes incredibly quickly and so it comes that it’s already been five weeks since we set off northwards from O’Higgins at the southern end of the Carretera Austral. The Carretera Austral is a 1200 kilometre long road in southern Chile and pretty much the only one down here :D. It is considered one of the most beautiful ones in the world and is really impressive despite the miserable weather.
Unfortunately, we caught the beginning of autumn and therefore had bad weather for almost three weeks. On top of that, there are a lot of metres in altitude, many kilometres on gravel and we are both not quite fit for a few days – so we had a few short days.
On the other hand, we are travelling through a beautiful mountain landscape and often in the middle of the cold rainforest. Ferns and plants with huge leaves grow everywhere, reminding me a little of the South Island of New Zealand. All that’s missing are lianas and monkeys, and warmer temperatures, then the jungle book feeling would be complete 😀
Not many people live this far south, we mainly meet other cyclists and you can only shop occasionally at small mini-markets (where you can either just get biscuits and coke or the entire range of the DIY store, stationery shop and supermarket combined). We feel so safe that we often sleep right next to the road – but due to the weather we often have a second roof over our tent, such as in bus stops, under bridges or in abandoned huts.
The first day is really beautiful, and after a relaxed breakfast at the viewpoint right by the lake, we head back to the sign at the end of the Carretera Austral to take some photos. The whole day is uphill and downhill, the gravel is pleasant and there are waterfalls and glaciers everywhere you look.
Unfortunately, Sebi deflates a little too much air for a more comfortable ride and on one descent we actually get our first puncture of the tour, despite riding tubeless. But that doesn’t stop us for too long and the improvised patch still holds today 😉
Over the next few days, the route has a lot of steep climbs, with the bike computer often showing just under 20%. We meet an Australian travelling alone on a tandem – he simply rides with equipment for two people and anyone who wants to join can join him for a shorter or longer ride, so cool!
Following the recommendation of a German couple, who are also travelling by bike and who we met before El Chaltén, we make a short detour to a beautiful campsite in an almost even more beautiful valley. We have the whole place to ourselves, there’s a lovely refugio with a kitchen and two bathrooms, plenty of space to hang things up and a wood-fired sauna – a sauna! 😍 We finally wash our clothes after quite some time and fire up the stove for the sauna in the evening, what a luxury.
At some point, during a snack break, we bump into the Kiwi couple we already know from El Chaltén and cycle a bit with them. In the evening in Cochrane, the two girls who were with us in El Chaltén also happen to be there and we all meet up in a bar.
After a week of cycling, we are ready for a break and stay at a campsite for two nights in Villa Río Tranquilo. Despite the rain, we decide to take a boat trip to the marble caves (Capilla del Marmol) – which was really worthwhile and we happened to be on the boat in what felt like the only 1.5 hours of the day without rain 🙂
After 9 days of bumps and stones, the gravel road stops completely unexpectedly and we fly along on the best road surface (and, for once, good weather). That evening we sleep on the floor of a not-yet-officially-open campsite in the toilet block – it’s supposed to rain that night and if there’s nobody else around anyway, we don’t have to pack up a wet tent in the morning 🙂
After the village of Villa Cerro Castillo, we head up to an elevation of 1111 metres – it’s a cold and wet day and we even have a short fall of snow at the top. Later, as so often, we fight our way 40 kilometres against the wind to Coyhaique – the largest town on the Carretera and the first with traffic lights – and go out for pizza in the evening. We can finally send the postcards we’ve had to carry around with us for more than two weeks.
In Villa Ortega, the owner of a mini market persuades us to stay in her hostel and sleep in a room as the weather really isn’t great. There are some funny situations, because Sebi doesn’t really speak Spanish and she just keeps chattering at him in Spanish anyway, but is then somehow surprised that he doesn’t understand anything and comes to me almost a little upset with the words (in Spanish of course) ‘You don’t understand anything anyway, I’m talking to her’ 😀
In Quelat National Park we see hummingbirds and of course have to take photos. We are not able to go and have a look at the ‘famous’ hanging glacier (the park is almost always open, except on Mondays, and now guess what… :D)
On a very rainy day, we stop at a campsite that belongs to a hotel. Unfortunately, it’s already closed, but they take pity on us at the reception (we’re standing around in the hotel lobby dripping wet) and we’re allowed to pitch our tent at the campsite anyway. The toilet block is open and has hot water, and there’s even a shelter over the tent – we really don’t understand why it’s closed! We spend the evening and morning in the hotel lobby next to the stove, using the Wi-Fi.
On the ‘final stretch’ of the Carretera, we have to take three more ferries. The first two are a bit more complicated/adventurous with booking bike spaces, but even that works out well. We bivouac under the most beautiful clear sky in a bus stop and set off the next morning in the dark and at sub-zero temperatures (at sub-zero temperatures in the rainforest! Who would have thought…) towards the ferry. On the last day to Puerto Montt (and to kilometre 0.00 of the Ruta 7/Carretera Austral) it rains a lot again and we arrive soaking wet at the hostel where we want to stop for two nights. Despite all the water, the owner gives us a warm welcome and the next day we go straight to the next washing salon to wash all of our clothes.
Disclaimer: As much as I enjoy writing in English, I might not always have the time for it. This post was therefore translated with DeepL and proofread to match my style at least a little bit.