The famed “Carretera Austral” is an intrepid bicyclist’s paradise through a full third of Chilean Patagonia. Paved only part of the way, which makes for a nice introduction to gravel riding, this road was started in 1976 during the regime of General Augusto Pinochet. The Carretera Austral – also known as Route 7 – connects some of Chile’s most remote communities located across a wild and mountainous, fjord-laden region whose snow-capped volcanoes, dense forests, stunning lakes, impressive rivers, and glaciated peaks are largely protected within national parks and preserves. This once-in-a-lifetime tour follows a partially-paved Route 7 from Puerto Montt to the southern shores of General Carrera Lake. We’ll pedal a few long stretches of “ripio” (Spanish for gravel) near the tour’s end. Whether you come for the scenic beauty, the remote wildness or the challenging cycling, you’ll never forget this experience.
Please note: Hard tail 29″ mountain bikes with 1.5″ touring tires will be used on the majority of this tour. Wider, 2.1″ knobby tires are available for the last three days of riding when conditions are 100 percent gravel.
Highlights
8 National Parks/National reserves, Lagos Yelcho, Rosselot and Risopatron, Chacabuco, fjords, pristine Patagonian landscape
Includes
17 days, 16 nights accommodation, 16 breakfasts, 14 lunches, 12 dinners. Lunches are packed lunches on the road and picnics. Full van support. Price includes all tips including tour leader gratuities. Ferries on Days 2, 3 and 16. Day 17 shuttle from Coyhaique to the Balmaceda airport. Options on days off to hike, kayak are included. Not Included is the excursion on day 8 to visit San Rafael glaciers on a full day trip from Puerto Chacabuco.
We work hard to maintain consistency across all of our tours, but some trips have unique differences. Here are some things to keep in mind about this tour.
– Expeditions require that you be prepared for anything and a sense of adventure will be your most valuable asset! – 29″ mountain bikes with 1.5″ touring tires will be used on the majority of this tour. Wider, 2.1″ knobby tires are available for the last three days of riding when conditions are 100 percent gravel. – Due to poor road conditions there may be a few sections of road you will have to shuttle. – You will travel to remote areas with very basic accommodations. – Private Rooms may not be available every night.
Learn more about what is included and what to expect on your Expedition tour here.
Total distance1030 km (640 miles), including 106 km (57 nautical miles) of boat travel
Average daily distanceAverage 93 km / 57 miles
Tour styleExpedition
Tour level
5.0
Highlights: Puerto Varas, Llanquihue Lake
We meet in Puerto Varas today, a small but bustling town on the shores of Lake Llanquihue in Chile. Just 35 minutes from the airport in Puerto Montt and with its craft market and lakeside views of Osorno Volcano, this is the perfect place to come stay a night before your trip starts. We’ll meet in the afternoon to fit bikes and take a quick test ride along the lake.
Highlights: Beginning of Carretera Austral, Alerce Andino National Park, Hornopiren National Park & Reloncaví estuary.
Today we shuttle from Puerto Varas to Caleta Puelche, just after the ferry on the shores of the Reloncavi estuary. Our ride follows the rim of the coast until Hualaihue, where we pedal inland on rolling, forested hills until Hornopiren, our destination for the evening.
Highlights: Douglas Tompkins Pumalin National Park, crossing Comau-Leptepu Fjord, Michimahuida volcano
This morning we’ll span the length of the Fiordo Comau-Leptepu on a 4-hour ferry ride with views east to the mountains of Pumalin National Park and part of Vodudahue National Reserve. Once in Leptepu, we transfer over 10 km of gravel road to Fiordo Largo for our second ferry crossing (45-minutes later) to Caleta Gonzalo, where we finally begin pedaling our way to Chaiten within sight of the Michinmahuida Volcano.
Today’s ride 35 km gravel, 22 km pavement.
Meals : Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner Lodging : Hotel Mi Casa
Highlights: Yelcho lake, Corcovado National Park
Today we pedal a beautiful glacier valley along the Carretera Austral until arriving at the shores of Lago Yelcho, renowned for world-class fly fishing. We’ll rub elbows with anglers tonight at one of the area’s many lodges.
Highlights: Melimoyu National Park, Lago Rosselot, National Reserve Palena River
Just outside Yelcho we’ll pass the Yelcho hanging glacier. The rest of the day we’re surrounded by stunning views as we pedal by Corcovado National Park and then into Melimoyu National Park and Palena River. Our destination tonight is the small town of La Junta. This evening we’ll visit the Tepaluma Distillery.
Our ride today is short and we end at the edge of Queulat National Park. This afternoon you can choose to take a hike or take it easy in our beautiful lodge nestled in the forest. Take a dip in the hot tub or swimming pool or warm up in the sauna. Or curl up with a book as you rest your legs before tomorrow’s big ride.
Due to sparse lodging, we start the day with a long shuttle (66 km) before embarking on the longest ride of this tour. This day is a dynamic ride through Queulat National Park, with incredible views of the park’s namesake hanging glacier. We’ll pedal through a broad fluvial valley before veering off the Carretera Austral to follow the pristine Cisnes River until our destination for the next two nights in Puerto Chacabuco. If you want to do a full 100 miles this is your day!
Puerto Chacabuco is the region’s most important seaport with connection to Puerto Montt and gateway to the Laguna San Rafael Glacier, a major outlet glacier of the Northern Patagonian Ice Field. You’ll have the option to experience a full day’s excursion of the glacier or relax on the hotel grounds for a quiet day of reading. Cost for this excursion is extra and we’ll send details closer to the trip date.
Highlights: Río Simpson National Reserve, “Al Virgen” and “Velo de la novia” waterfalls
Our ride leads us to the major city of Coyhaique, the capital of Chile’s Aysen district. Growing interest in the cattle industry helped populate Coyhaique from 1930s on. Today, Coyhaique is a bustling town and is surrounded by the Rio Simpson and Coyhaique National Reserve, as well as stunning water falls and rivers, known for its fly fishing.
The landscape changes considerably today as we leave behind rolling hills dotted with cattle and enter a Ñirre lenga, or forest. At 50 feet in height, Ñirre (Genus Nothofagus) are deciduous trees common to the Pilmaquén pampa, between 2,300 and 2,600 feet in elevation. Keep your eye out today for endemic Huemul deer as we ride through Cerro Castillo National Park.
If you wanted a big day, today is your day. We leave the pavement behind and you can ride over a metric century today as we head south to General Carrera Lake, the biggest Lake in Chile and second biggest in South America. Our destination is Puerto Rio Tranquilo, founded in 1955 and colonized by ranching and farming families.
Pavement: 105 gravel, 14 paved
Highlights: Catedrales de Marmól, Glacier Exploration
A much deserved rest day is in store today. If you want, we’ve arranged for a boat ride (and possibly a kayak trip if you prefer) to explore the beautiful marble caves just off the coast of Lago General Carrera. These caves are over 6000 years old and are formed by the water eroding the edge of the lake. Light plays off of the water and the walls as you drift through the stunning marble columns in the aptly named “cathedral” of the lake. A sight not to be missed and a great way to spend the day off the bike.
Your ride today follows the shores of General Carrera Lake (known in Argentina as Lago Buenos Aires) that actually has a border through it. In the indigenous language it is called Lago Chelenko. The glacial waters contribute to the beautiful color of the water, and although the surrounding mountains are often wet, the lake has a temperate and sunny microclimate that made it attractive to the European and criollo immigrants in the early 1900s. You’ll have the afternoon to relax, hike, or horseback from the lodge.
Today’s ride is all on gravel.
We leave the Carretera Austral behind today and head east, contouring the southern shore of General Carrera on a gravel road that winds around headlands and through occasional forest. Every corner offers a new view of the 1,800-square kilometer lake whose deepest point is lower than sea level. We’ll stay the night at a peaceful lakeside lodge.
Today’s ride is all gravel.
Our final day of riding encapsulates the natural beauty and diversity of Chile’s Aysen region. Enjoy sweeping views of snow-capped peaks surrounding General Carrera Lake for the first 50 kilometers of gravel riding. Then, the Patagonian Steppe emerges as Ruta 265 departs from the lake shore and leads us toward the small but important border town of Chile Chico.
Today’s ride is all on gravel.
Highlights: Ferry Trip across General Carrera Lake
Just six miles west of the Argentine border, Chile Chico has the only car ferry across General Carrera Lake and we’ll take it this morning to the small town of Puerto Ingeniero Ibáñez. From here we’ll soon rejoin the Carretera Austral as we head north back to Coyhaique. Enjoy the views from off the bike as we head back the way we came. Tonight we’ll celebrate the end of an unforgettable journey.
Highlights: Farewell to the 2024 Carretera Austral Expedition
After breakfast in Coyhaique, we’ll shuttle to the Balmeceda airport where we’ll finally say ‘adios.’ Whether you’re connecting to Santiago for flights back home, exploring more of Patagonia, or venturing elsewhere in South America, may this Expedition rank as your top experience of 2024.
Meals : Breakfast
Visit our Tour Level page to learn more about terrain levels and how we determine day and tour levels.
Bikes
Mountain (Chile and Argentina)
Arrival & departure
Meeting time 3 p.m. – on Day 1, meet your fellow cyclists and Tour Leaders at the Day 1 Hotel specified on the itinerary.
Note:
As you are planning, remember that the hotels listed in our itineraries are our primary hotels and are – in rare cases – subject to change. Before you make arrangements, check with us if your tour departure is guaranteed. If your tour departure is out further than 6 months, please also check with us as there might be slight changes to the itinerary.
The below information will help you plan your arrival. For more tips or other routes, you might like Rome2Rio.
We recommend flying into the Puerto Montt Airport (PMC).
Taxi to the Day 1 hotel (30 min/Chilean pesos 40,000 (around USD 50)
or
Private shuttle (30 min/Chilean pesos 30,000 (around USD 50) – contact us for arrangements.
Tips on flights:
Puerto Montt Airport (PMC) has connections to Santiago, Chile (SCL), Buenos Aires International Airport (EZE), and Buenos Aires Domestic Airport (AEP) see LATAM
Connecting in Santiago, Chile: LATAM offers several 1.5 hour direct flights from Santiago.
Connecting in Buenos Aires: LATAM offers several flights daily from both Buenos Aires Airports – you may have to connect through Santiago). It is a 4.5 to 5.5 hour flight. We would recommend connecting through Santiago rather than Buenos Aires.
For more travel planning tips, including our packing lists, visit our Travel Planning Pages.
On the final tour day, we shuttle you to the Balmaceda Airport (BBA). Your spot on the shuttle is already saved.
Schedule your flight at 12 noon or later. The transfer takes about 1 hour and the shuttle arrives around 10 a.m.
The below information will help you plan your departure. For more tips or other routes, you might like Rome2Rio. The fare and timing information listed below is approximate.
Balmaceda (BBA) has connections to Santiago, Chile (SCL), see LATAM
Connecting in Santiago, Chile: LATAM offers some direct flights to Santiago.
Most international flights from South America leave in the late evening, so it is possible to connect with an international flight the day the tour ends.
Beautiful and tranquil location, amazing scenery, itinerary was great – including timing of rest days, activities on rest days, accommodations, food, cultural components. The times when I was completely alone in the beautiful places with only sounds and smells of nature (and knowing that someone was not too far away, ready to take care of all of my needs).
Roseanna N., Lafayette, CO – January 2023
Tour was superb. The team was outstanding and the route perfect, even the weather obliged. A chance to see a nearly untouched magical part of the world by the best means possible with the best people.
