Why this ride
The stored terrain estimate reaches about 950 m; a measured road-elevation profile is not available. It suits an unhurried touring pace.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Carretera Austral: Puerto Rio Tranquilo to Caleta Tortel
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 240 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 3 h 45
- 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 Río Tranquilo
Puerto Río Tranquilo is a small settlement on the western shore of Lago General Carrera, the vast lake that Chile shares with Argentina, where it is known as Lago Buenos Aires. The water here has a startling colour, a milky turquoise caused by glacial flour, and the lake is so big that the far shore is lost in haze. The village itself is a handful of streets with wooden houses, guesthouses and boat operators, and a population of only a few hundred.
Read the complete Puerto Rio Tranquilo write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Puerto Río Tranquilo is where the day begins. Next is Cochrane.
2. Cochrane
Cochrane is the town you remember because it is the last proper one. South of here the Carretera Austral thins out into a road with more rivers than villages, and the whole way down to Villa O'Higgins it will be mostly gravel, with only a few small settlements. Cochrane has around three thousand people, a tidy square, a handful of hospedajes and shops, and one of the last reliable fuel pumps in the region, so this is where you fill up and eat something properly before continuing.
Read the complete Cochrane write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Cochrane comes up about 114 km into the recorded legs. Next is Caleta Tortel.
3. Caleta Tortel
Caleta Tortel has no streets. The village hangs off the rocky shore of a fjord in southern Chilean Patagonia, and everything, from the church to the post office to the family houses, is joined by boardwalks and stairways of cypress timber that rise and fall with the slope. Wheels are left at the top, and so are motorbikes, because the whole place is a footpath. The wood is the local ciprés de las Guaitecas, which resists rot in the constant rain, and the walkways give off a damp, resinous smell that you notice as soon as you step off the road.
Read the complete Caleta Tortel 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 Río Tranquilo to Cochrane
Puerto Río Tranquilo → Cochrane is 114 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Cochrane to Caleta Tortel
Cochrane → Caleta Tortel is 126 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.