Chile's wild southern highway threads through rainforest, glaciers and turquoise rivers, mostly on gravel and entirely on its own terms.
The road at the end of the world
Chile's Carretera Austral runs for some 1,200 kilometres through northern Patagonia, much of it gravel, all of it spectacular — a ribbon of road threading temperate rainforest, hanging glaciers and rivers the colour of mouthwash. It is a drive to be savoured, not rushed; the surface alone keeps you honest.
Between towns there is often nothing but forest and the occasional gaucho on horseback, which is precisely why people come.
Driving it well
- Hire a high-clearance vehicle and carry a spare tyre, fuel and food — services are thin.
- Detour to the Marble Caves on Lake General Carrera, best by boat in the morning calm.
- Build in slack days for weather and washouts; the road does not always cooperate.
Allow at least a week and resist the urge to cover distance. The Carretera Austral is one of the great road trips precisely because the driving is slow, the traffic is almost none, and every bend seems to offer a reason to stop.
