Carretera Austral

The Carretera Austral was built from the 1970s to join the isolated south of Chile to the rest of the country. It runs from Puerto Montt to Villa O'Higgins through temperate rainforest, past hanging glaciers such as the one at Queulat, along the shore of Lago General Carrera and its marble caves, and down the turquoise Río Baker to the boardwalk village of Caleta Tortel. Much of it is still gravel, and the villages along it are small.

It is a road journey of one or two weeks, rarely done whole. From Argentina it can be joined at several points: from Esquel through Futaleufú, from Los Antiguos through Chile Chico, or from Lago Posadas across the Paso Roballos, a route that runs south along the Río Baker towards the last village on the road at Villa O'Higgins. Each crossing turns a journey in Argentine Patagonia into a loop through both countries.

December to March is the season, when the ferries that link some sections run most often and the weather is kindest. Even then, rain is likely in the north.