1. Basic geographical information
Regional capital: Coyhaique.
Located 1400 km south of Santiago.
Area: 108.494 km2 (20% of France)
Population: 91492 persons (0.15% of France)
Density: 0.8 person/km2
Half of the region is under state protection (National Park/Reserve)
2. How to get there ?
• by plane via Balmaceda airport (located 50 km south of Coyhaique)
www.lan.com
www.skyairline.cl
• by boat (Puerto Montt -> Puerto Chacabuco)
www.navimag.com
• by boat (Puerto Montt -> Chaiten)
www.navieraustral.cl
• by boat (Hormopiren -> Caleta Gonzalo)
www.navieraustral.cl
• by boat (Quellon -> Chaiten)
www.navieraustral.cl
• by car
from central chile, either going through Argentina or through the carretera austral after taking the boat from either Hornopiren or
Puerto Montt (outside the December to February period, some of these service are discontinued, contact the respective companies and make reservation in advance).
3. Minimum stay duration
At least one week (En patagonia, quien se apura pierde su tiempo !!)
If you want to cover the full carretera austral from Chaiten to Caleta Tortel or even Villa O'Higgins, reserve 2 weeks for it.
4. Best period for a visit
December to March (but April is great also when some of the tree leave turn red). However, do not be surprised
if you experience some snowfall as early as April !
5. Note about local weather conditions
• The weather is quite rainy in general, no wonder there are so nice forests !! However, the annual rainfall is
much larger near the coast (Puerto Cisnes, Chaiten, Puerto Aysen, Caleta Tortel) than inland. In particular
the area located near the lake General Carrera is protected from the pacific by the campo de hielo norte and
receives much less rain. If you get close to Argentina, then rainfall drops even further, explaining why there
are no forest in the argentinian pampa !
• The summer period lasts roughly from December to March and rainfall is reduced. However, you can get
3 days of rain in a row even during this period, this is not exceptional.
• You should be ready for conditions ranging from sunshine to snow any time of the year !!
6. Car rental
In Coyhaique or at the Balmaceda airport:
www.traeger.cl
www.varona.cl
www.international-rac.com
but there are also the standard ones (Hertz, Avis)
7. Driving tips
The roads are only paved for short sections in this region of Chile, most of them are dirt roads where care is
required to drive safely (especially as some other drivers are not very careful !!!). On unpaved road, do not
exceed 60 km/h in general and you should not plan on averaging more than 40 km/h even without stopping
(which would be a shame in this area !!!!!).
8. Local transportation
Buses go down the carretera austral basically on a daily basis
Empresa Don Carlos or Buses Sao Paulo
Timetable of all companies:
http://cochranepatagonia.cl/cms/images/stories/turismo/files/transporte.pdf
(always double check timetables with the companies before making plans)
9. Principal touristic attractions in the area
• Parque Pumalin www.parquepumalin.cl
This is a private park which was established by the famous american conservationist Douglas Thompkins. It stretches basically from Hornopiren in the north to El Amarillo (South of Chaiten). Park infrastructrure is very well maintained and several hikes are particularly recommendable. Of particular interest are the thousand year old Alerce trees next to Caleta Gonzalo.
• City of Chaiten
This Chaiten volcanoe erupted suddenly on May 01, 2008 after thousands years of inactivity. The city of Chaiten had to be fully evacuated at that time. Recently, the chilean government (uder the pressure of former inhabitants) decided to revive it although the volcanoe is still active. Huge amount of volcanic ashes which floaded most of Chaiten city is still visible in many surrounding areas as wel as downtown !
• Puyuhuapi area www.puertopuyuhuapi.cl
Funded in 1935 by german inmigrants, Puyuhuapi is a small fisherman village with some beautiful old german styled houses. It is located next to the Queulat National Park which is famous for its "Hanging glacier" (ventisquero colgante).
• Laguna San Rafael. It takes one day round trip and the boat leaves from Puerto Chacabuco (5 km from
Puerto Aysen) and costs roughly 300 USD per person. There is no regular service to go there between April
and November.
www.visitchile.cl/catamaranes_del_sur.htm
www.patagoniagreen.cl/sanrafael.htm
You can also fly from Coyhaique airfield but the small plane (usually for 5 passengers) does not land at the
laguna San Rafael and just fly over the glacier and the laguna. There is no regular service just charter.
Contact Don Carlos or Aerohein companies in Coyhaique.
• Lake General Carrera (BahiaMurta, Puerto Tranquilo, catedral de marmol, Puerto Guadal). This is the second
largest lake of south America (after Titicaca lake). Its color is very special !
• Exploradores valley and glacier (starting point is Puerto Tranquilo)
Beautiful area and very nice view on the mountains surrounding the northen ice field … whenever it is not
covered with clouds.
• Carretera austral towards south (down to Caleta Tortel and even Villa O'higgins ... but you need to take a
small boat in Pto Yungay)
• Rio Baker (where Hydroaysen unfortunately plans to build two dams)
You can do some white water rafting on the Baker river. The local agencies are all located in Puerto
Bertrand which is the starting point for trip ranging from 2 hours to 5 days !!!! An outstanding place where
to go next to Puerto Bertrand is the confuence of Baker and Nef rivers. ("confluencia del rio Baker con el
rio Nef"). The place is not well indicated as it is on private land. Something like 10 km south of Puerto
Bertrand, the road goes away from the Baker for a while and is straight for typically 1 Km. Watch out, there
is an entrance on the right just before the road gets close again to the Rio Baker. If you reach a big panel
saying "no a la inundacion de la Patagonia” next to the road, you have missed the entrance by roughly
1 km, you have to turn around ! From there, you have to walk 1 to 2 km after parking your car.
o Parking: -47 6.84 72
46.4 (approximate)
o Confluence: -47 7.25 72 46.55
(approximate)
• Future National Park Patagonia
www.conservacionpatagonica.org
This area is a sanctuary for the vicuñas, huemules and pumas. It is located slightly north east of Cochrane
in the Chacabuco valley and covers an area of approx. 70000 ha.
• Caleta Tortel (a place where you could only go by boat until some years ago, it has nice wooden walkways
above the fjord). It is lovely place located next to the fjord where you really feel being at the end of the world.
It is a starting point to go to see glaciers plunging into the fjord with fisherman boats (Jorge Montt or
Steffen)
but no regular timetable (it might be quite expensive if you are few people).
• In general the scenery is spectacular in most places along the carretera austral and contact with people is
very rewarding. It is worth noting that there are still few tourists (uncomparable to Puerto Natales area !)
• Lots of hiking possible (cerro Castillo, lago Leones, valle Exploradores, riverside of the lake general
Carrera between Puerto Sanchez and Puerto Cristal, area of San Lorenzo, reserva nacional de los
huemules near Cochrane, lago Jeinimeni near Chile Chico, ......)
10. Lodging (ordered roughly from North to South)
Price are approximate and only given when there is not a specific website associated.
• Caleta Gonzalo
There are very comfortable cabins in Caleta Gonzalo which are part of the Pumalin Park. There is
also a cafeteria serving good food next to it.
www.parquepumalin.cl/content/eng/index.htm
• La Junta
The mountain hotel Espacio y Tiempo offers a good place to rest and have a good meal.
• Puyuhuapi
Do not miss the hotel "Casa Ludwig" with lots of history behind it and very friendly tenants.
• Puerto Cisnes
The choice of lodging is not very large in the village itself. Cabanas "Portal del mar" offer good value.
• Coyhaique
Mirador Cabañas: very well located in Coyhaique within walking distance of the main square. Nice view,
clean and friendly. Avenida general Baquedano 848. Price around 40.000 pesos for a cabaña.
• Cerro Castillo
Residencial/Cabana Don Niba inside the village. The owner (Nibaldo) is very friendly and is very
knowledgeable about the tehuelche paintings you can find around. Better reserve in
advance.
www.casaturismorural.cl/alojamientos.html
(number 8 on the map)
Hospedaje Teushenkenk, B. O’higgins 428, Villa Cerro Castillo
Email: marsolarave@gmail.com
Hospedaje Villarica. Located downtown
Friendly and located next to a restaurant.
• Bahia Murta (also named Puerto Murta on some maps)
Cabana suizaike: loghouse-suizaike-patagonia.over-blog.com
The owners (Werner and Ninoschka) are very friendly in a beautiful spot
above the lake.
There are two ways to contact them:
o send a mail
( ninoska_540@hotmail.com ) or
o cell phone:
95975454
Entrance is ~4 km after Bahia Murta on the road going to Puerto
Sanchez. Car has to be parked
about 1 km from the cabaña, then one has to walk down, follow the
signs.
GPS
coordinates:
suizaike parking: -46deg28.690, 72deg39.916
suizaike house: -46deg28.984, 72deg40.170
• Puerto Tranquilo
El Puesto www.elpuesto.cl
Located downtown Puerto Tranquilo. A bit more expensive but very
nice and a good starting place
to go the Exploradores valley and Catedral de Marmol (worth it).
• Chile Chico
Hosteria de la Patagonia
www.hosteriadelapatagonia.cl
Downtown Chile Chico but 1 km from the main square in direction of
the argentinian border.
Very friendly and reasonably priced but Chile Chico in itself is not
so interesting (but the road from
Guadal to Chile Chico is fantastic in some places !!!). Only a place
to go if you are doing the full road
around the lake or want to go to the Jeinimeni Park.
• Puerto Guadal
Terra Luna www.terra-luna.cl
Located 2 km out of Puerto Guadal when going towards Chile Chico
A bit more expensive but with a nice view on the lake, Jaccuzi, good
restaurant, night club, ..... !!!!!
They offer lots of trips in the area (trekking, kayak rentals,
….)
• Puerto Bertrand
Hosteria and Cafeteria Konaiken
Located 4 km south of the village in direction of
Cochrane (just between the road and the Baker
river). The food is a bit pricey for the area but very
tasty, worth it. The cabañas with a nice view on
the Baker river are for 2 to 3 persons, price around
45.000 per cabaña per night. The owner Patricio
is very helpful.
Email contact: turismo_konaiken@yahoo.es
• Future Parque nacional Patagonia
The infrastructure of the park is being built and a guesthouse is already opened. Previous
reservation
is compulsory via Paula Herrera:
Email: pherrera@conservacionpatagonia.cl
• Caleta Tortel
Entre Hielos
www.entrehielostortel.cl
Opened in 2009 by a young couple. She is an
architect and together they converted an old house
in the village into a Lodge. Chilean wood design
everywhere! The big kitchen/living has space to
cook yourself, have meals, breakfast and enjoy the
warm oven and nice conversations with the
owners.
Phone: 56-2-1960271, Maria Paz Hargreaves
Brisas del Sur
Sector Playa Ancha (~9000 pesos per person)
Contacto: Valeria Landeros,
Note: There is an agro tourism network in Aysen (Suizaike belongs to it): www.casaturismorural.cl
11. Timetable of the boat linking Chile Chico and Puerto Ibanez
(reservations in advance strongly recommended in summer)
www.chilechico.cl/New%20Menu/Index/itinerario.htm
12. Crossing to Argentina with a vehicule
If you plan to cross to Argentina with a vehicule, make sure you have the required documentation.
In particular if your vehicule is rented, you need (besides possibly other documents) a notarized
authorization from the owner as well as a special insurance to drive in Argentina. This cannot be
improvised and you have to organize it with the car rental company well in advance.
Also for some border cross points you need to get in advance a “salvo conducto” that you can only get in
Coyhaique (or Santiago).
Finally the borders points are not open 24 hours a day, check details on the following web page:
www.difrol.cl/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=52&Itemid=10
Feedback, corrections and complementary tips
are welcome to keep
the information up to date.
