Why this ride
From Puerto Montt it runs 240 km to Chaitén; allow about 7 h 50 of riding. A steady touring day rather than a sprint.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Carretera Austral: Puerto Montt to Chaiten
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 240 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 7 h 50
- Journey
- One way; return travel is separate
Distance and timing basis
Ordered leg totals agree within rounding. Stop distances are approximate sums of rounded legs. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Puerto Montt
Puerto Montt is where the Carretera Austral starts, though few people would call it a pretty town. It is a busy port and salmon-farming centre on the Reloncaví Sound, with a grey waterfront, fish stalls and a rain record to match, and it was founded in 1853 by German colonists brought in under the direction of Vicente Pérez Rosales. Across the water, if the clouds allow, the cone of Osorno volcano shows up white against the sky, and the lakeside towns to the north, Puerto Varas and Frutillar, still show their Bavarian-style wooden houses.
Read the complete Puerto Montt write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Puerto Montt is where the day begins. Next is Hornopiren.
2. Hornopirén
Hornopirén is where the road gives up and the sea takes over. Here, on the edge of a long fjord, the Carretera Austral reaches a gap that engineers have never filled, and anyone heading south has to take a ferry for several hours through channels and inlets before the road resumes in Pumalín country. For riders coming from Puerto Montt, it is the first real taste of the end of the world: the town is small and weather-beaten, strung along the shore with wooden houses, boatyards and stacks of fishing gear.
Read the complete Hornopiren write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Hornopirén comes up about 106 km into the recorded legs. Next is Chaiten.
3. Chaitén
Chaitén is a town that was almost removed from the map. In May 2008 the volcano of the same name, which nobody had thought to be dangerous, erupted without warning after thousands of years asleep. Ash covered the whole region, the Río Blanco burst its banks and carved a new channel straight through the middle of the town, and the government ordered a complete evacuation. For a while there were plans to abandon the place and build a new capital elsewhere. Many people returned anyway, and today Chaitén has a few thousand people, rebuilt streets, and a lingering sense of resilience. On the hills above, the volcano still steams, and you can see the grey scar of the lava dome from the road.
Read the complete Chaiten write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
The route ends here after 240 km.
Leg by leg
Puerto Montt to Hornopiren
Puerto Montt → Hornopiren is 106 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Hornopirén to Chaiten
Hornopirén → Chaiten is 134 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.