Why this ride
A shore-hugging corridor with open water, cliffs, bays or maritime landscapes. It links naturally to Pumalin Douglas Tompkins National Park.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Carretera Austral Hornopiren to Chaiten
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 134 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 5 h 33
- 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
Dec-Mar
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. 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 sits at 0 km, early in the day. Next is Chaiten.
2. 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
Chaitén comes up 134 km in.