Bradt Carretera Austral Guide

The latest edition of the only dedicated English-language guide to the Carretera Austral.

About this guide to the Carretera Austral

This updated Bradt Carretera Austral Guidebook is written by resident expert Hugh Sinclair and remains a unique guide to this stunning and remote part of the world, complete with information which in some instances has taken over a decade of experience to compile.

This is the only guidebook focusing entirely on the magnificent and historic road uniting northern and southern Patagonia. The few hardy travellers that embark on this journey struggle to find even basic information about the region. The book provides visitors to the often-visited Bariloche and Chilean Lake District with a spectacular alternative means to reach the southern extremes of Patagonia.

Completing three entirely new traverses of the Carretera Austral and speaking to countless visitors encountered along the way, the authors have updated the guide comprehensively while offering an expanded suggested itineraries section to aid in planning. Meanwhile increased focus on conservation is helping to preserve the region’s pristine beauty.

The guide is packed with everything you need for a successful trip, including:-

• Practical advice such as accommodation and eating options en-route to history, culture, trekking and rafting
• New features and information including the Route of the Parks
• Details of new ferry services
• Coverage of islands previously not included
• An expanded section on micro-breweries
• New maps
• Further details on parks and reserves

Increasingly established as one of the definitive road-trips worldwide, the Carretera Austral continues to evolve, firmly placing it as the definitive means to travel between northern Patagonia and the deep south. This updated Bradt Carretera Austral Guidebook offers everything you need to plan and complete a successful trip from the high Andes to the remote Pacific coast.

Before ordering ebooks from us, please check out our ebook information.

Contents

Introduction

PART ONE: GENERAL INFORMATION 
Chapter 1 Background Information 
Geography, Climate, Natural history and conservation, History of the Carretera Austral – an overview, Government and politics, Economy, People and culture, Language

Chapter 2 Planning 
When to visit , Highlights, Suggested itineraries

Chapter 3 Practical Information
Tour operators, Tourist information, Red tape, Embassies, Getting there and away, Health, Safety, Women travellers, LGBTQ+ travellers,
Travelling with a disability, Travelling with kids, What to take, Money and budgeting, Getting around, Accommodation, Eating and drinking, Public holidays, Shopping, Activities along the Carretera Austral, Media and communications, Cultural etiquette

PART TWO: THE NORTHERN CARRETERA AUSTRAL

Chapter 4 Puerto Montt
History, Getting there and around, Tourist information and tour operators, Where to stay, Where to eat and drink, Entertainment and nightlife, Shopping, Other practicalities, What to see and do

Chapter 5 Puerto Montt to Villa Santa Lucía
Towards Hornopirén, Hornopirén, Parque Nacional Hornopirén, Around Hornopirén, Towards Chaitén, Chaitén, Parque Nacional
Pumalín Douglas Tompkins, El Amarillo to Villa Santa Lucía 

PART THREE: THE CLASSIC ROUTE

Chapter 6 Futaleufú to La Junta 
Futaleufú, Palena – a detour, Puerto Ramírez, La Junta and around, Raúl Marín Balmaceda – a detour, Lago Verde – a detour

Chapter 7 La Junta to Puyuhuapi and Cisnes
Puyuhuapi, Puerto Cisnes – a detour, Villa Amengual and a detour to Paso Río Frías-Apeleg

Chapter 8 Puerto Aysén and Chacabuco 
Mañihuales and around, Puerto Aysén/Puerto Chacabuco, Reserva Nacional Río Simpson

Chapter 9 Coyhaique
History, Getting there, Tour operators, Where to stay, Where to eat and drink, Entertainment and nightlife, Shopping, Other practicalities, Sightseeing and excursions

Chapter 10 South of Coyhaique: to Cruce El Maitén via Lago General Carrera 
Lakes south of Coyhaique, Balmaceda – exiting the Carretera Austral, Puerto Ibáñez and the Levicán Peninsula – a detour, Cerro Castillo, Bahía Murta and Puerto Sánchez – a detour, Puerto Río Tranquilo, Cruce El Maitén, Cruce El Maitén to Chile Chico – a detour

PART FOUR: THE SOUTHERN CARRETERA AUSTRAL

Chapter 11 The Deep South: Cruce El Maitén to Caleta Tortel
Puerto Bertrand, Parque Nacional Patagonia, Cochrane, Caleta Tortel – a detour

Chapter 12 Exiting/Entering the Carretera Austral: Villa O’Higgins and beyond 
Villa O’Higgins and around, Crossing into Argentina, El Chaltén (Argentina)

Appendix 1 Islands and Villages Inaccessible by Land
Appendix 2 Language 
Appendix 3 Further Information 
Index 
Index of Advertisers

About the author and updater

Hugh Sinclair lives in Bariloche (Argentina) with his Dutch wife and two daughters. He is an author, economist, former investment banker, and has worked in the development finance sector for the last two decades. In 2001 he successfully established the Guinness World Record for the fastest traverse of the Americas (Prudhoe Bay, Alaska to Ushuaia, Argentina) by motorbike, fully sponsored and raising money for UK charity Action Aid. He has traversed the entire Carretera Austral fifteen times, by car and motorbike, including one trip with his heavily pregnant wife, and three trips with his eldest daughter, now aged 9, and a contributor to the ‘travelling with kids’ section.

This edition has been updated with the help of Edward Menard, a gap year student who was looking to do something exciting and innovative before starting his degree at UCL when he became involved with the Carretera Austral. With family in Bariloche and a love of the great outdoors, and unburdened by jobs and studies, he became an obsessive Carretera expert and spent days wondering about why huemuls are dying out and buses don’t ever arrive when expected, hoping that such insights may help others to explore this glorious region. Based in the south of England, he speaks Spanish and German.