Why this ride
A remote long-distance corridor with sparse services and distinctive scenery. It links naturally to Patagonian steppe and Cueva de las Manos region.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Ruta 40 Bajo Caracoles to Gobernador Gregores
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 225 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 2 h 39
- Journey
- Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
The recorded total and the leg detail need reconciliation. Inspect the leg notes before using this record for timing or navigation. 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.
Editorial context
Coordinates are curated start-via-end route seeds. They are not a surveyed centreline or navigation geometry. Run road snapping, topology checks, access checks and a live-status review before publication.
Access context
Do not auto-publish. Snap to a routable road network, verify current closures, legal motorcycle access, surface, permits, border controls and local safety information.
Seasonal context
Nov-Mar
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Bajo Caracoles
Bajo Caracoles is hardly a town at all, and that is exactly why it is famous. Out on the Patagonian steppe in northern Santa Cruz, on one of the most remote stretches of Ruta 40, a handful of buildings stand beside the road: an old general store and hotel, a fuel pump, a few houses and a lot of sky. Its name, meaning low place of the snails, refers to the fossil shells found in the surrounding ground, and the whole area is a dry seabed that was lifted up when the Andes formed.
Read the complete Bajo Caracoles write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Bajo Caracoles sits at 0 km, early in the day. Next is Gobernador Gregores.
2. Gobernador Gregores
Gobernador Gregores is a small town of about three thousand people in the middle of Santa Cruz, a long way from anything else, and it is one of the few real service points on this huge stretch of Patagonia. It sits on a broad, wind-swept plateau of steppe, where sheep farming has been the main business since the early twentieth century, and the nearby estancias, some of them enormous, sprawl across tens of thousands of hectares. The town has the orderly, slightly spare look of a place laid out on a grid and built for practicality, with wide streets and low houses.
Read the complete Gobernador Gregores write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Gobernador Gregores comes up 225 km in.