Patagonia and Altiplano Expedition | #35 – Villa Cerro Castillo

From Puerto Rio Tranquilo we continued north on the Carretera Austral. Our next destination was Villa Cerro Castillo. Similar to Puerto Rio Tranquilo this is another place at the Carretera where it’s worth stopping for a few days to explore the abundant nearby highlights.

(Editor’s note: We have several months of delay between real life and our blog posts. We were in Villa Cerro Castillo in February)

To get to Villa Cerro Castillo it’s a 120 km drive. The Carretera Austral is all gravel and very bumpy and corrugated at this section.

Villa Cerro Castillo

Villa Cerro Castillo is a small village with a few restaurants, mini-markets, hostels, and campgrounds. It’s not very interesting and besides a charming sandwich shop in an old bus, there is not much to see in the village. The main attraction is the spectacular nature surrounding the village.

The big change compared to my last visit in 2019 was, that there is now a gas station. In 2019 we had to buy petrol in small bottles from a mini-market because we were running out of fuel with our Toyota 4Runner (see here). But that’s history. Nowadays if you want to drive the Carretera Austral including most of the sidetracks there is no need to carry jerry cans anymore. There are plenty of Gas stations now.

We rented a cabin in Villa Cerro Castillo for a few days and used this village as our base camp to explore the surroundings.

Paredón de las Manos and Museo de la Escuela

One of the cultural highlights near Villa Cerro Castillo is the Paredón de las Manos. It’s located 3 km south of the village next to the Museo de la Escuela.

In this museum, you get some interesting information about the historic school in this area and the challenges of children’s education in a very vast and remote area without much infrastructure.

But far more interesting are the historic cave paintings of the Tehuelche natives at the Paredón de las Manos. It’s a short walk from the parking lot at the school. Normally, you have to pay an entrance fee (and sometimes a guide is mandatory). But when we arrived there, the gate was open and there was nobody to collect any money.

The site is not as large as the Cueva de las Manos in Argentina, but the big advantage of this site is that you are pretty much alone there and don’t have to share your experience with hundreds of other tourists.

Some of the paintings are estimated to be more than 3,000 years old. They are impressive and well worth the short visit.

Ruta X-720

Villa Cerro Castillo offers several very interesting back-roads.

On our first excursion, we drove along the X-720 on the north shore of the Río Ibáñez to the Laguna Cerro Castillo trailhead and then another 10 km until the road suddenly ended at the Río Ibáñez.

At this place, we were able to watch an armadillo for a couple of minutes.

Puerto Ingeniero Ibáñez and Salto del Río Ibáñez

Next, we drove the X-65 from Villa Cerro Castillo to Puerto Ingeniero Ibáñez, a small village at the Lago General Carrera. It’s an easy 37 km drive. Puerto Ingeniero Ibáñez is also the place where Naomi’s ferry from Chile Chico arrived a few weeks ago (see here).

The highlight near Puerto Ingeniero Ibáñez is the Salto del Río Ibáñez, a spectacular waterfall that is always very challenging to photograph (high contrast from the sun, very strong wind, and lots of water spray in the air).

Península Levicán and Puerto Rey

From Puerto Ingeniero Ibáñez we continued along the X-735 to the Península Levicán (see map above). This small offroad track leads through a spectacular landscape and ends at a lovely bay near Puerto Rey.

Back-Roads X-723 and X-725

From Puerto Ingeniero Ibáñez we took the back-roads X-723 and X-725 back north to the Carretera Austral. These roads led at first through a stunning canyon and then later along many beautiful lakes. It’s a spectacular 68 km drive and should not be missed.

Torres del Avellano and X-727

At the Carretera Austral, 20 km south of Villa Cerro Castillo, starts the X-727, which leads high up in the mountains to the Torres del Avellano. 14 km after the start you have to register before you are allowed to drive the remaining track. It’s free but you have to fill out a long form. The landscape along the X-727 was again very beautiful.

Another 10 km after the registration we reached the following obstacle.

Since we were alone there and it was already getting dark the risk of getting stuck there with no tools for self-recovery was just too high and we decided to turn around. With a second vehicle for recovery, we would have definitely tried to cross these logs. Although we didn’t reach the Torres del Avellano it was still worth the try.

Mirador Río Ibáñez

One of the best viewpoints in this area is the Mirador Río Ibáñez. It’s located directly at the Carretera Austral, just 6 km west of Villa Cerro Castillo.

Mirador Confluencia Río Ibáñez at Sunset

But my favorite viewpoint near Villa Cerro Castillo (and one of the best in Patagonia) is the Mirador Confluencia Río Ibáñez, 18 km west of Villa Cerro Castillo.

The grand vista is just stunning. I have been there many times in the past and just love this place. If you are lucky, you can get some lovely colors at sunset. But even with dark storm clouds, this place can look awesome.

Just be careful when you visit this place. I have experienced some of the strongest winds in my life there. Often, it is impossible to keep on your feet. On my more than 10 visits to the place, it was never calm there.

Mirador Confluencia Río Ibáñez at Sunrise

On a clear night, this place is just magic.

Just before sunrise, you can experience some of the most intense colors which makes this place appear out of this world.

Mirador Confluencia Río Ibáñez Drone Images

Despite the extremely strong winds, I tried this time to get some drone shots of this place.

While I was flying, there wasn’t one minute without a high wind warning of my drone, and many times I wasn’t sure if I would be able to get the drone back to the starting point at all. But I think the result was worth the effort and risk.