El Calafate and the Glaciers
While EL Chalten gives access to the Northern part of Parque Nacional Los Glaciares the big glaciers are in the South of the park and most can be accessed via El Calafate which lies just over 200km by sealed road South.
El Calafate is a much bigger town with a big supermarket (for which we were very grateful) but is still very much a tourist town.
We had timed our arrival to meet up with some friends, the same group we had Thanksgiving with, as Team Liferemotely.com had announced that they were going to roast a whole lamb. We couldn’t miss out on another meat fest.
The evening was great fun and as ever the food was fantastic.
We love big ice so we arranged a boat trip to see the big glaciers in the area. The most famous glacier, Perito Moreno, can be seen from land but the other two biggies in the area, Upsala and Spegazzini, can only be seen by boat.
The trip was reasonably priced the downside being that they cram the fast catamarans full of people and we have discovered that Argentinians are not averse to a bit of pushing and shoving to get where they want to go !
To board the boat we had to drive 40km from El Calafate to a small port on Lago Argentino where we boarded a two deck catamaran. We were pretty much last on board so only got some middle seats although this didn’t matter as we were out on the deck most of the time.
As soon as we got going all the Argentinians rushed outside to get pictures of each other on the bow but the cold wind soon drove them indoors so we were left on the prow alone. The first glacier we were visiting was Upsala which is the biggest glacier in South America (60km long and 4km wide with a surface area of 595 sq. km). As soon as we turned down the arm of the lake holding the glacier we started having to dodge small icebergs that became bigger and bigger as we got closer to the face of the glacier.
We stopped close to a big one with some amazing colours and the crew hauled some ice on board for people’s drinks – a good way to sell more drinks !
The boat cruised to within 300m of the ice face giving an amazing view of this glacier with its 80m high wall.
After around 20 minutes for viewing the glacier we started heading towards the Spegazzini glacier. This one has the highest face of any in Argentina (at between 80-135m high) and when we got close it dwarfed the boat that we were on.
The final stop of the trip was to see the North face of the Perito Moreno glacier. It was here that we saw some chunks carving off the ice and smashing into the water. The Perito Moreno glacier is famous as it is one of the only glaciers in South America that is not retreating. In fact it regularly advances across the small channel from one side of the lake to the other causing a dam. The water in the dammed side starts rising until it carves a hole in the ice and an ice arch is created. The collapse of these ice arches is a national news event and pretty spectacular (you can see videos of it at the Glaciarium in El Calafate).
After we left the Perito Moreno glacier the boat headed back to the port. We hadn’t had enough, and because we’d paid the park entry fee for the day already, we decided to drive up to the land based viewing platforms for Perito Moreno.
Viewing the glacier from land is actually a better experience than from the boat. Firstly you get closer. The boat can’t get too close because of the danger of waves from calving events. Secondly you are up higher than the water level so can see up the glacier. On the boat the view is blocked by the wall which is around 60m high.
You could spend hours watching the glacier as there is a constant backdrop of cracks and other noises. Every few minutes chunks fall off the glacier into the water causing large waves to crash against the shore. It’s an amazing sight.
After a night bushcamping by Lago Argentino we returned to the campsite in El Calafate in order to spend a day doing some chores: changing the truck oil and fuel filter, greasing our nipples (on the truck!), changing a wiper blade etc. All the sort of chores that need doing periodically.
We did visit the Glaciarium, just outside Calafate, which is a modern museum of Glaciology. It was intersting but probably not worth the entrance fee. There were some nice films however.
El Chalten
After spending 3 weeks on the Carretera Austral we were hankering after some civilization or at least a good supermarket. However this was not to be. After driving through Los Antiguos we drove down a good paved road until around 30km before Bajo Caracoles and then we were forced to drive down a bumpy gravel road alongside a perfectly new paved road.
Bajo Caracoles is something of a wasteland – a hostel and some gas pumps and that’s it. We were done for the day and managed to find the one wind sheltered spot in the whole place to spend the night.
In the morning we got underway again and discovered that there was paved road where the map showed none so made great progress. However after 100km the road became a very good gravel surface (deep dry furrows at the edges showed how bad it could be in the wet though). This held up until the last 30km or so which was much rougher but then we hit pavement again all the way to El Chalten.
The drive down the spur road to the town is spectacular as you drive towards the mountains that are are just behind the town. Cerro Torre and Cerro Fitz Roy are particularly prominent.
The town itself is very much a tourist town with lots of restaurants and bars. We wasted no time at all in sampling some locally brewed beer and a freshly made pizza to go with it.
Patagonia has a reputation for wind and unpredictable weather but we were lucky enough to experience hot sunny days while in El Chalten which gave us continual amazing views of the mountain peaks.
Our first morning we woke early in order to get a start on a 20km hike to Laguna Torre which lies right under the jagged peaks of Cerro Torre. The trailheads for hikes in this area start right in the middle of town.
The hike starts off with a climb up and over a ridge but after the first 4km the climbing is over and the rest is pretty flat with stunning views straight through to the mountains.
We reached the end of the hike which is a glacial lake with more stunning views after around 3.5 hrs and on our way back passed loads of people who were late starters coming up the trail. Our early start had certainly paid off.
Our second day in El Chalten we had pretty tired legs so spent some time hanging out in town after a late start. We did make a short 5km hike to some viewpoints above the excellent visitor centre. We also visited a waterfall and were rewarded by seeing a Pygmy Owl.
El Chalten is billed as the hiking capital of Argentina and it definitely does not disappoint.
Chile to Argentina at Chile Chico
These border crossings seem to be getting easier ! This one was simplicity in itself.
First we arrived at the Chilean side of the border where we had to enter a building, after parking to the right just in front.
There were two desks – the first was for passports (and a check of your Vehicle TIP) and the second was for customs and the guy took the vehicle TIP. That was it. There were good toilets here as well.
The Argentinian side of the border is 7km away on a good paved road and is definitely less grand than the Chilean side but the processes are no more onerous.
We parked in a small parking area to the right before the border station and went inside. Again there were two desks. We first went to the migracion where our passports were stamped and we were given a tourist card. We had filled in the first part of the tourist card while we were in the queue.
The second desk was customs and the friendly lady took my passport and registration to process our Temporary Import document. It only took a couple of minutes until we were done. We got 8 months import for the truck.
There were a couple of people doing checks on vehicles for food etc however we drove through and weren’t asked to pull over.
And that was it we were in Argentina again.
Carretera Austral Part 2 – The South
We had planned to spend the night in Coyhaique but were pretty unimpressed with the town so we decided to keep going after stocking up on groceries.
Its not too far south from Coyhaique when the pavement runs out but just before this happens there is a national park (Cerro Castillo) with a nice wooded campsite next to Laguna Chagua. We decided to spend a night here and go on a hike on a trail from the campsite. The trail was lovely climbing through some forest to a view of the laguna before continuing to climb up to a viewpoint over the valley. We continued going up which meant scrambling up a steep scree slope until we were way above the valley but we didn’t make it over the ridge as the slope got too loose and steep.
We carried on heading South on a very windy day and got to Puerto Rio Tranquillo after passing over a very beautiful ridge with great mountain views. We drove around trying to find somewhere to spend the night and ended up parking on the lake shore. Lago General Carrera is one of the largest lakes in South America and we were lucky to see it in bad weather and good. The contrast couldn’t have been greater.
Puerto Rio Tranquillo is the launching spot for trips to the Marble caves. We decided to give it go. The weather wasn’t great and the high winds created large waves on the lake which our little fishing boat battled through.
The caves themselves are OK though not spectacular but the small boats do enable you to go right into the caves and the rock really is marble. However it was the crystal clear aqua marine water in the sheltered bay that won it for me and made you want to grab a snorkel and dive right in, until you remembered you were in Patagonia not the Med and it was bloody freezing!
The return trip was slower as it was into the waves and much wetter, but the boat captain handed out full length waterproof ponchos, so we hunkered down against the cold waves and stopped off for a much needed hot chocolate once we were safely back on dry land.
The next day we took a side road from the Carretera Austral – Valle Exploradores. We drove this 50k route in pouring rain on the way out and were delighted with all the waterfalls pouring off every surface. However we arrived at our destination, Glacier Exploradores, in appalling weather so we decided to wait out the storm and hope for an improvement in the weather the following day and we weren’t disappointed. We set out early to hike up the terminal moraine of the Glacier to get a good view, but we were a little disappointed as the actual glacier front was still a long way away.
Our drive out of the valley was beautiful in the sunshine although many of the wet weather waterfalls had disappeared. After re-joining the Carretera Austral we continued to head south towards the town of Cochrane and spent the night in a very scenic location overlooking Rio Baker.
Cochrane itself is a lovely little town where we had a nice lunch and picked up some groceries. More importantly we managed to buy a replacement bottle jack after we discovered that ours had rusted shut (and then broke when I tried to open it). Luckily we had discovered this trying to help someone else and not stranded at the side of the road with a flat tyre ourselves.
We took another side trip from the Carretera Austral to the town of Caleta Tortel. This is built right on the hillside of a fjord and until 2000 was only accessible by boat. The town itself has no streets or pavements just boardwalks to navigate around and vehicles are left in a large parking area at the top of the hill. It’s very pretty but I wouldn’t rely on being able to buy anything there !
A bit further South of Caleta Tortel there is a free ferry which bridges the Mitchell Fjord to the Southern most section of the Carretera Austral. The last 100km of the drive is very beautiful and the road ends in the one horse town of Villa O’Higgins.
A quick scout around town didn’t keep us there very long so we found a beautiful camping spot right on a river a few km’s outside town. A few hours after we arrived our friends from www.liferemotely.com joined us having clocked us from across the river !
We had heard a rumour that crossing the border was possible from Villa O’Higgins in a vehicle but on investigation in town we learnt that although maps may show a road there was a bridge missing and no road on the Argentinian side – the victim of alleged political corruption !
We decided to head back North and cross into Argentina at Chile Chico which meant driving round Lago General Carrera. The sun shone and the views over the lake were amazing.
The Carretera Austral treated us well with mostly blazing sunshine, blue skies and no wind. The views were incredible and the sense of remoteness blissful. Others have had less luck and terrible weather has dampened their experience – its all the luck of the draw in Patagonia, let’s hope our luck holds out!
Other Overlanders
Since we’ve been in Argentina and Chile we’ve been seeing a lot of other Overlanders with some great vehicles. Here is a selection:
Carretera Austral Part 1 – The North
The Carretera Austral is a modern legend. It was only completed in 2000 and is one of the few positives of the Pinochet years. Before the construction of the road there was no overland route linking Southern Chile with the North. The road was originally 1240km of dirt but now it is being asphalted bit by bit and one of the great overland routes is becoming more accessible – this will bring development and diminish the experience. Do it now before its ruined !
This part of Chile is actually under severe risk from a number of hydroelectric schemes that the government are trying to push through which will flood large portions of the landscape and will also lead to a chain of plyons being erected spoiling the views.
It is already one of the most productive areas in the world for farmed salmon.
Our ferry to the port of Chaiten in the Northern Section of the Carretera Austral was scheduled to leave at midnight for a seven hour crossing. We were the last vehicle loaded and I had to back down a steep ramp and then up into the ship.
On boarding it seemed like everyone on board staked down a section of the common area to bed down and go to sleep. This was easier said than done as there were a number of children charging up and down the aisles between the seats. Every time they seemed to be quietening down their parents fed them more sugary drinks and the noise resumed !
Eventually we slept and woke in the morning to find that we were still moored off the port of Quellon. It turns out there was a problem with the tides – don’t they have tide tables ! We left at around 8am and by 11am had arrived at Chaiten – so much for a seven hour crossing.
We were pretty tired after a terrible nights sleep so we drove around 60 miles before finding a nice campsite next to a suspension bridge. We did try to spend the night at some thermals just off the main road but were told there was no camping – even in the car park.
Our second day we left the short initial stretch of paved road and drove South, however we decided to explore a side road up the Futulefu valley. The weather didn’t really co-operate with us and it was cloudy and drizzly. We camped in this valley but the next day made our way back to the main road and down to the town of La Junta.
It was pouring with rain all day so we found a place to camp (next to a bridge) and hunkered down to wait out the rain.
We were rewarded with blue skies and sunshine the next day so we quickly drove South to the Quelat National Park. The first hike we did in Quelat was to the viewpoint of a hanging glacier. After Hiking up and along a lateral moraine we arrived at a stunning view of the glacier with waterfalls pouring out from underneath. Simply breathtaking.
The next day we again had amazing weather and drove a bit further South to another hike – the enchanted forest. We didn’t really know what to expect from this one and the first hour lived up to the title as we climbed through a twisted and dank rainforest.
However eventually we emerged into a glacial bowl with a number of waterfalls. Eventually we ended up on a ridge overlooking a lake brimming with icebergs with a glacier feeding into it. The view was amazing.
We spent the night off the Carretera Austral at the port of Puerto Cisnes which is reached by a beautiful drive along a river.
The next day we explored the small town and then headed back to the main road. We didn’t make it too far though before spotting Lago Las Torres which was absolutely gorgeous and just happened to have a campsite right on the shore. We settled down for a relaxing afternoon in the sun.
The next morning the weather was not quite so good so we packed up and headed for the midway point on the Carretera Austral which is the town of Coyhaique, stopping at a couple of waterfalls on the way.
Northern Chile Camping
Los Perales, San Pedro de Atacama (S22 54.794 W68 12.045, 2429m)
Cost: Ch$5000 per person per night. Hot showers (solar), Water (others have reported paying for water fill but we didn’t), electricitu from kitchen. Small kitchen with gas cooker (no oven).less than 5 minutes to square where there is free WIFI (slow).
El Tatio Geysers (S22 21.012 W68 00.928, 4311m)
We camped at the control office on the hill overlooking the geysers. Free with purchase of tickets. Toilets available in park opening hours.
Valle de Luna Overlook (S22 54.936 W68 14.880, 2610m)
Exposed spot on cliff overlooking Valle de Luna. Very quiet after sunset. No Facilities. Free.
Copec/McDonalds
Large Copec with onsite McDonalds in separate building. There is a quiet parking area next to McDonalds with all night security. The site is in the middle of the divided highway so there is some traffic noise at night. WIFI available both from McDonalds and Copec. Toilets. FREE.
2nd Hand Car Sales Lot, Santiago Fuenzalida (S33 18.594 W70 42.221, 534m)
2nd hand car dealership. US10 per night to park here. You can’t stay in the truck. We had got these coordinates from a fellow traveller but the owner was very surprised when we asked to park here for a few days. We had agreed a price but when we returned it went up to US50 per night but we negotiated back down to 10. Very secure. Easy transport link to central Santiago (take collective taxi from peaje on main road).
Los Robles, Seite Tazas National Park (S33 28.260 W70 59.480, 1099m)
National park camping. Sign says Ch10k per site however we paid nothing. I believe payment is only required in Jan/Feb. There were sites with power points (not working) and grills (quite old). There was also a central bathroom with showers, toilets and limited water. The loop road was too small for us to make it all the way round but there was plenty of room at the start to turn round, so the first few sites were accessible.
Copec, Parral (S36 08.011 W71 48.521, 166m)
Copec camping. Free. Toilets and showers. WIFI.
El Rinconcito, Salto de Laja (S37 13.187 W72 22.992, 134m)
Expensive but full service campsite. Each site has a sink, grill, power, picnic table, water and lights. The power and lights did not work while we were there. Its across the road from the falls. It was empty while we were there. CH$15000 per night. There is a restaurant on site but its only open at weekends. There is a shower and toilet block. Hot water is only available during limited hours.
Terpel, Victoria (S38 16.875 W72 22.021, 134m)
Free. Toilets and WIFI. In Terpel WIFI is only with purchase in the shop and you get 1 hour free.
Camping La Poza, Pucon (S39 16.861 W71 58.733, 221m)
Overlanders meet up spot (overland trucks also stay here). Wooded camping area with a river running through it. Grassy clearing as well as sites in shade. Electricity, portable grills, water, picnic tables. Hot showers (limited hours) and toilets. 5 minute walk from centre of town. Cost CH$3500 per person per night.
Conaripe Lakeside (S39 33.785 W72 00.654, 215m)
Free. Camping on level spot on shore of lake behind monument for those killed in volcano eruption. No Facilites. Very quiet overnight.
Lakeside, Entre Lagos (S40 40.833 W72 35.901, 211m)
Level area by boat launch on lake. Free. Quiet overnight but some activity during the day. Free. No Facilities.
Camping Molino, Puerto Octay (S40 58.633 W72 53.000, 54m)
Beautiful campsite on peninsula. We stayed on concrete pad at end of campground right on lake. Electricity, water, hot showers and toilets. 5 minute walk to plaza. CH$8000 per night (negotiated down from 10,000).
Camping Montana, Ensenada (S41 12.420 W72 32.406, 64m)
Beautiful camping spot. There are two sites right on the lake past a sign that says 4×4 only. Getting there was tight in a truck our size but doable. Electricity, shelter, showers (they told us they were hot but we couldn’t get hot water), toilets. Fogon (common building with fire), WIFI. Cost CH$10,000.
Copec, Puerto Varas (S41 21.048, W72 38.879, 7m)
Free. Copec camping. WIFI. Showers (hot water). Toilets. Shop and restaurant.
Playa Gaviotas, Ancud (S41 51.889 W73 45.707, 7m)
Nice campground although a little run down. Individual sites with hedges for wind protection. Each site has a covered picnic table and covered tent area (with sand floor). Electricity in each of the sites. There are rundown sinks with water at each end of the camping area. A path is a 5 minute walk to the beach. There is a large Fogon with tables, table football, covered grilling area and large fireplace. It rains a lot in Ancud !
Chiloe
We drove South from the Lake District and headed to Chiloe in the worst weather we had seen so far. Driving rain reduced our speed on the highway to 20mph and we would have pulled over in rain that was any heavier.
However we reached the ferry to Chiloe in one piece just as it was loading, so we drove straight on. The ride across to Chiloe is only 30 minutes. The ferry was very easy and you can buy your ticket once onboard from the comfort of your own cab. A complete surprise was that the ferry had WIFI !
Once we reached the island we drove straight to Ancud to suss out campgrounds for Christmas. We also had a wander around town – and realised that there wasn’t much to see in Ancud. I had been really wanting to try the local speciality dish of Curanto so we went out to a restaurant in town, Kuranton. I wasn’t disappointed with the Curanto, traditionally cooked in an earth oven but in restaurants in a pot, which is a mix of smoked meat, chicken, chorizo, potatoes and potato dumplings mixed with shellfish, as well as a shellfish broth. It was absolutely steaming hot when it arrived and delicious.
After Christmas we headed straight South as we had booked a ferry to Chaiten and the Carretera Austral for two days later. Our first port of call was the town of Castro which is the biggest town on Chiloe.
Castro is famous for its fisherman’s cottages known as Palafitos which are built on stilts over the sea.
Castro also has a very pretty central plaza which has one of the brightest painted churches I have ever seen.
We stayed overnight in Castro, free camping at a mirador and then continued to move South. Our lunch stop was at the refreshingly untouristy and fading but still pretty, town of Chonchi. Here there was another psychedelic church and a number of old shingled buildings in various states of disrepair.
The Southernmost town on Chiloe is called Quellon and where the ferry leaves from.
This town is the site of the Southern end of the Pan American Highway which stretches all the way from Anchorage Alaska. We had been driving down this road on and off the whole length of the Americas so it was a major milestone to reach the marker for the end of the road.
We spent a few hours in Quellon before reporting to the ferry terminal at 10pm for our ferry which was supposed to leave at midnight – it actually didn’t leave until 7am the next morning but that’s another story !
Christmas in Ancud
We had arranged with our friends from www.liferemotely.com to meet up in a campsite in Ancud so that we could spend Christmas together.
We arrived in Chiloe a day before them so we scoped out the campsites in around Ancud and decided on Playa Gaviotas which was actually a few Km’s outside town. Its major selling points were wind protection in the campsites and a big shed called a Fogon with a huge iron fireplace, a grill and tables and chairs. These were major considerations given the wind and rain that was forecast. A nice beach was also a plus but not so relevant given the weather.
When Kobus, Jessica and Jared arrived they told us that we could expect Luis and Lacey from Lostworldexpedition.com to join us so Christmas was going to be a proper party.
As we’ve come to expect when we get together with the Remotelys Christmas was a real feast. It started on Christmas Eve with a massive salmon roasted on the grill. The rain was coming down incessantly and it was really cold so we moved festivities into the Fogon and lit a huge fire to warm the room.
The real feast was to come on Christmas day. The previous day Jared had used our small walmart BBQ to smoke some Salmon and this was to be the centrepiece of some amazing wontons for lunch. Luis cooked up some South American pancakes called Arrepas and I made some pigs in blankets.
After lunch I did some needed maintenance on the truck – namely fixing a light at the back which had a loose connection (with some great help from Kobus).
This worked up an appetite for dinner which was a joint of beef that Jared expertly roasted on the BBQ and made some incredible stuffing. This capped of a lovely Christmas day with some great people.
So a big thank to Kobus, Jared, Jessica, Lacey and Luis for helping to make a great Christmas on the road.
The Chilean Lake District
Maybe it’s the name but the Lake District in the UK is known for its perpetually wet weather and we found similar conditions in the Lake District in Chile. The lakes here are surrounded by beautiful snow-capped volcanoes but we were only teased with occasional glimpses of the snowline.
However the Lake District is very beautiful even in the rain and we managed to enjoy ourselves regardless.
Our first stop was 17km up a narrow dirt road from Conaripe at what are considered to be the nicest Thermals in the area, Termas Geometrica, and we were definitely impressed. Unfortunately they wouldn’t let us camp in the car park but we managed to have two good soaking sessions. The pools are on either side of a narrow valley with a waterfall at its head. There are 17 pools in total all bounded by the sheer cliff walls of the valley, slate floors and red wooden walkways giving the place a real Asian flavour.
After we’d finished soaking which was heaven sent in the cold rainy conditions we drove back down the dirt road to Conaripe where we found a place to camp right on the shore of Lago Calafquen.
With no change in the weather the next day we decided to head South looking for improvement and drove to Entre Lagos which is on the banks of Lago Puyehue. On the way we visited Panguipulli to see its unusual church.
The weather in Entre Lagos was still bad though so we again found a lake side camping spot and spent the night.
Continuing to push south on scenic gravel roads, well they would be if the cloud level wasn’t about 100m, we arrived at Puerto Octay, a pretty village (apparently surrounded by 3 volcanos of which we saw none) founded by Germans in the mid 1800’s and situated on the banks of Lago Llanquihue.
After a few nights free camping we decided we wanted a touch of luxury and checked into a really lovely campground where we could park on a concrete pad (necessary with the pouring rain) right on the lake.
The rain continued to pound down but interspersed with short sunny breaks in which we managed to explore the town.
Still no improvement in the on/off rain so we again drove South around the eastern side of Llanguihue Lake to Ensenada. The road was entirely paved, a nice surprise as our 2012 map had it as mostly gravel, so we made good time.
We first visited the Saltos de Petrohue which are some short but immensely powerful waterfalls on the massive fast-flowing river between Lagos Todos Los Santos and Lago Llanquihue.
We then drove 5kms further on a badly pot-holed gravel road to the shores of Lago Todos Los Santos (All Saints Lake), considered to be one of the most beautiful lakes in the District.
The campground where we stayed in Ensenada had two sites right on beach, down a 4×4 track that we just managed to fit down having to squeeze between some trees, but it was definitely worth it.
The place was so gorgeous, despite the weather, that we decided to stay two nights and enjoy the location. The campsite is right in the shadow of a snow-capped Volcano but unfortunately we never saw it !
Our last stop in the Lake District was at Puerto Varas which is the biggest town in the area. However it was very busy and difficult to find parking. We did manage to wander round for an hour or two but didn’t see anything that would make us want to stay so decided to continue on our way. There is a very unusual church however !
FromAtoB 