Chile Argentina Patagonia

The journey’s route from Ushuaia to Temuco is in reverse order.

Day 1 - Flight Departure 

Day 2 - Arrival Temuco 
After a change-over in Santiago de Chile we arrive in Temuco, the beginning of our motor tour. During the afternoon you’ll get acquainted with your motorbike and receive some necessary information regarding the way we travel, and about your bike.

Day 3 - Temuco -  Junin de los Andes  
Today we leave Chile via a beautiful, partly unpaved route over the Andes mountains. We follow the Melipueco River and come across some picturesque little villages.  The whole border between Chile and Argentina is formed by the Atlas mountain range.  This results in whole stretches of no man’s land. We continue on a magnificent high pass which takes us to the Argentinian part of the border. The area around the border is characterised by the many indigenous monkey puzzle trees. In Argentina we follow the road that runs parallel to the Aluminé river and arrive at the quiet town of the same name, Aluminé, in northern Patagonia. We drive on to Junin de los Andes.

Day 4 - Junin de los Andes  - San Carlos de Bariloche
Via Ruta 40 we follow the Andes mountain range southwards. Here we enjoy the motor ride and the fantastic views of the majestic mountains.  We go past the tourist village Villa La Angostura.  The Dutch queen Maxima owns two plots of land in Villa La Angostura, her brother owns a restaurant there. From here it is approx. 60 km to San Carlos. The city lies in the heart of the Nahuel Huapi National Park and on the shores of lake Nahuel Huapi.  Bariloch is also referred to as the little Switzerland of Argentina.

Day 5 - San Carlos de Bariloche - Esquel

We still find ourselves in the Argentine part of the lake district. The morning route will almost continuously keep one or more lakes in view. We follow Route 258 and after 130 km of unspoilt scenery El Boston is the first place we come to. This town is known for its regular UFO sightings. It is also very environmentally conscious and in contrast to the rest of Patagonia you find many vegetarian and organic eateries here. This is our lunch stop. A little further on we leave the main road and ride our bikes over an unpaved road into the large Los Alerces National Park. You will see more stunning lakes here than you can count on the fingers of one hand. For the last 30km to Esquel we ride on paved roads again.

Day 6 - Esquel - Puyuhuapi
We continue our trip southwards early in the morning. Before we get to the Chilean border we come to the town of Trevelin. Here we find the largest Welsh community in Argentina, and that’s quite obvious. You can see the red dragon pictured everywhere as well as the green-white colours of the Welsh flag. From here on the road becomes unpaved and will remain so for now. Via a beautiful route we reach the border. It is a small post consisting of a small house and a caravan. A little bit further on, the Chilean border post looks a lot bigger. We take a break in Futaleufu and prepare ourselves for the amazing ride planned for the afternoon. Because the rest of the day we ride the Carretera Austral and the fantastic, beautiful natural scenery on this route will take your breath away. Around every bend the landscape offers views of yet another lake, waterfall or river. And to top it all the almost continuous vistas of the white mountain tops of the Andes to your left. A bleak landscape for all that. The only fellow travellers you may come across are shepherds on horseback followed by substantial herds of cows or sheep.

We spend the night in Puyuhuapi on Lago Ventisquero. Many Germans ended up in this area, so that even the street names in this town are German. We spend the night in the beautiful Casa Ludwig.

Day 7 - Puyuhuapi - Coihaique
Today’s scenery possibly outshines that of yesterday. It is the second part of the impressive Carretera Austral, passing through beautiful dark green rainforest with its numerous lakes and rivers. This is northern Patagonia at it’s best. We ride through 2 national parks: Queulat National Park, and Lago Las Torres. We ride at a leisurely pace and include many photo opportunities so we can enjoy this beautiful environment to the full. We stay overnight in a hotel in the centre of Coyhaique.

Day 8 - Coihaique - Puerto Guadal
We carry on southwards riding over the unpaved Highway 7 and arrive in the province of Carrera. This is a empty, desoliae province that has only one road, this leads us past the shores of the azure blue Lagos Buenos Aires. Half of this lake lies in the neighbouring country of Argentina. From the southernmost point of the lake it is a short distance’s ride to the small town of Puerto Guadal in Chile.

Day 9 - Puerto Guadal - stay
Today  you can rest, sleep, swim, use the internet. But you can also optionally take a helicopter flight above the glacier. Maybe a beer this afternoon.

Day 10 - Puerto Guadal - Gobernador Gregores
We’re now on the other side of the Andes in the Argentine part of Patagonia. The effect of the Andes causes the west side to be much drier that the Chilean side. All of a sudden we find ourselves in a completely different world. Perito Moreno is the first place we come to. We tank here and take in some supplies as this is the last opportunity for a while. It’s a long day’s ride through a vast remote area. This is the most isolated part of the Ruta 49.  This route is the Argentine version of the Ruta 66 and runs from the Bolivian border in the north to Tierra del Fuego in the south. The majority of this 4600 km road is still unpaved, and that’s also the case for our 400km long route today. The only signs of life we come across are the Rheas (a South American ostrich) and the Guanaco (a wild type of lama). We’re surrounded by low growing dry yellow grass lands which completes the ‘Prairie feel’.

Day 11 - Gobernador Gregores  - El Calafate
For the second part of our trip we again pass through desolate stretches of seemingly never ending country roads. First we follow the somewhat narrow Ruta 29 before re-joining the famous Ruta 40. This takes us through a possibly even more desolate area than we travelled through yesterday. We stop at the village petrol station of Tres Lagos and carry on down the Ruta 40.  We ride alongside the east side of Lago Viedma and pass the largest lake of Argentina: Lago Argentino. The last 30km stretch of road to the tourist town El Calafate is a good quality road. In El Calafate we have a wide choice of restaurants and souvenir shops. Tourists come her to visit the glaciers.

Day 12 - El Calafate - Daytrip to Clacier Perito Moreno
The Perito Moreno glacier is one of the two glaciers on earth that are ‘on the move’. The gigantic ice-mass is 30km long and just about a couple kilometres wide. This mass of ice moves 2 metres further into the sea every day. And that is a noisy event!  Even from a sizeable distance away we can hear the mighty crunch of the millions of kilos of ice. The sound reverberates in the mountains and provides an enormous echo. You can only really experience these gigantic glaciers from near by. Chunks of ice weighing several hundreds of kilos crash into the water. Because pieces of ice fly every which way we are only allowed to admire this spectacle from a safe distance of at least one kilometre. This is an unforgettable experience.

Day 13 - El Calafate - Cerro Sombrero
We are heading to Tierra del Fuego. We continue to go further south and you don't only notice that due to the temperature. The landscape is also changing. Groups of trees are everywhere between the yellow grass clumps. Most of these are bare, but give a special atmosphere to the landscape due to their large amount of branches. We drive over the paved RT 5 to the southernmost border post with Chile. With the crossing we gain another hour due to the time difference and we need that time. We still have to make a ferry crossing to get to the island of Tierra del Fuego and after that it is unpaved another 40 kilometers to CerroSombrero a small place located in the beautiful surroundings formed by the extreme natural conditions.

Day 14 - Cerro Sombrero - Ushuala
Half of the island of Tierra del Fuego is Chilean and that is where we are now. Because the south of Chile can only be reached via Argentinian roads, the Argentinian part of Tierra del Fuego can only be reached on Chilean roads. And here our goal is the southernmost city on earth the end of the world. We still have about four hundred kilometers to go. We pass beautiful Lago Fagnano and brave the ever-present wind on this side of the island. Trees grow only one side on the branches of each tree all point in the same direction formed by the wind. The place Ushuaia is beautifully situated between the snow-covered peaks of Tierra del Fuego. You arrived in the most accessible southernmost city in the world by road located at the 55th latitude and thus as the crow flies only 1000 kilometers away from Antarctica.

Day 15 - Ushuala - stay - daytrip Lapatala
You can use today to go on a tour of discovery round the charming city and may be photograph the colourful houses and meet with the friendly inhabitants. There’s an option to take a boat to Puerto Williams, in Chile. This place lies even further to the south and you can’t get any more southern than that. On the way there you can see penguins and sea lions.

Day 16 - Ushuala - Porvenir
A long day of driving today. We leave on time and return along Lago Fagnano and again strong wind! Watch out. We cross the border back to Chile. Povernir is the largest place on the Chilean part of Tierra del Fuego. The landscape is rugged with lakes, rivers, glaciers and icy mountains. The rivers are full of trout, salmon and a beaver here and there. Penguins and sea lions can also be seen on the rocky cliffs.

Day 17 - Porvenir - Puerto Natales 
oday we continue north again. We drive about 40 km on dirt roads to the ferry to leave Tierra del Fuego. We cross, the rugged landscape changes from bare trees to yellow dry grass.

Day 18 - Puerto Natales - verblijf
Similar to the park Los Glaciers that we have visited from El Chalten is the National Park Torres del Pain. The greatness of nature is equally impressive here. We drive to the park in the early morning and optionally take a short walk there. It is also possible to take a tour through the park. In any case, it is a wonderful conclusion to this impressive journey through unforgettable nature. Back in Puerto Natalis the motorcycles are put on the boat. These will be back in Osorno after four days.

Day 19 - Puerto Natales - departure
While the motorcycles are already on their way back, we leave by bus to Punta Arenas. From here we fly to Santiago for our connecting flight back home,

Day 20 - Arrival - Home