Carretera Austral

Although advertized by big panels, you have to go off the main road to see some animals.

Cerro Castillo is the imposing landmark of the region. Several walks of different difficulty open beautiful views on the surroundings and lake General Carrera.

Cerro Campana close to Cerro Castillo is another impressive mountain.

Just worth looking.

Extensive areas were affected by the erruption of the Hudson vulcano.

Forrests of dead trees remind of the volcano erruption.

General Carrera lake, which is called Lago Buenos Aires on the Argentinian side, is the 3rd biggest lake on the american continent.

General Carrera lake, close to Puerto Rio Tranquilo.

Puerto Rio Tranquilo is the base for visits to the marble cathedrals and the first stop coming from Cerro Castillo.

A number of excursions of 1 to 2 hours are proposed to visit the Marble caves close to Puerto Rio Tranquilo.

Marbel cathedral on a thin pillar.

The erosion created beautiful sculptures in the marbel blocks.

The erosion created beautiful sculptures in the marbel blocks.

How long will this block resist on its thin legs?.

The road to the Bahia Exploradores is still under construction (2013).

Mount San Valentin is the highest elevation in Patagonia. It is also at the origin of the San Rafael glacier.

Beautiful waterfalls can be seen all along the road to the Exploradores.

Lake General Carreras is framed on all sides by snow capped mountain ranges.

The color of the water changes in time and location.

View from the south shore of lago General Carreras on the surroounding mountain chain.

Rio Baker, Chile's widest river, originates from Lago Bertrand which in turn is fed by lake General Carreras.

View from Lago Negro/Lago Bertrand on Lago General Carreras.

Keep a sharp lookout; the carretera Austral is used by everyone, including bikers, horses and back-packers.

Strong torrents rush into Rio Baker.

A typical passage of the carretera Austral.

Caleta Tortel is a lumber settlement founded in 1955. The Rio Baker outlet flows into the bay.

The cypress wood which is cut here is used everywhere to build the local footbridges and gangways.

From Cochrane the road leads between waterfalls and forests of cypress trees to the lakes of Esmeralda, Brown, Chacabuco and Vargas. The road to Villa O'Higgins passes by Lago Tigre and Lago Cisnes before crossing rio Mayer.

Cerro Mayer close to Villa O'Higgins is one of the frontier marks with Argentina.

From Villa O'Higgins it is only possible to go by boat on Lago O'Higgins to the South and enter Argentinia by passing the laguna del Desierto.

The first ice blocks appear on the approach of the O'Higgins snow drift which is one of the four major glaciers of Patagonia with a surfacce of 754 km2.

The glacier wall has a width of 3 km and rises up to 80 m from the surface of the lake.

Valle Chacabuco is part of the Tamango national reserve. It is a attractive area to observe the local fauna.

Very curious but not courageous.

Valle Chacabuco leads to the Roballo pass at the border with Argentinia.

Flamengos can be observed in some of the lakes in valle Chacabuco.

Rio Baker and Neff.

Rio Baker with its famous rapides. Rafting is one of the major activities in the region of Puerto Bertrand.