We had now driven nearly the complete Carretera Austral. Only the ferry ride from Caleta Gonzalo to Hornopirén was missing. Our Patagonia road trip was soon coming to an end.
(Editor’s note: We have driven this last section of the Carretera Austral in March 2023.)
After 5 days of exploring the Chaitén area, it was finally time to leave the stunning Pumalin National Park. I would have loved to spend a few more days there but since we had booked the Caleta Gonzola ferry at a fixed date well in advance (which is highly recommended in high season), this was not an option.
Caleta Gonzalo
About 2 hours after leaving our cabin near Chaitén we were back again in Caleta Gonzalo. The ferry was already waiting in the fjord.
Half an hour later, the ferry arrived at the jetty and the loading of the vehicles started.
The ferry ride from Caleta Gonzalo to Hornopirén consists of two separate sections with a short drive of 10 km on land in between. The first ferry across the Reñihué Fjord takes only a couple of minutes.
The second ferry ride across the Comao Fjord from Leptepu to Hornopirén is much longer and takes about 4 hours.
Hornopirén
Then we were back in Hornopirén, which we had visited already 6 months earlier during our Cochamo loop.
A quick exploration of Hornopirén revealed something new that we hadn’t fully noticed during our last visit. There are countless beautiful graffiti throughout the village. A pleasant surprise that you normally wouldn’t expect in a remote place in Patagonia.
Close to Hornopirén, we rented a cabin for one night.
The next morning, we continued our trip to Puerto Varas. To get there we had another short ferry ride.
Puerto Varas and Frutillar
In Puerto Varas, we rented the same modern cabin for a full week that we had already booked a couple of times in the past. We needed some time to clean our clothes, do some repairs, and relax a bit from the Carretera Austral and process all the stunning impressions during the last months. In addition, we wanted to do the 30,000 km service at Ford Difor in Puerto Montt to not lose the warranty for our car. This justified a one-week break in Puerto Varas.
But it was not only about getting things done. We also visited nearby Frutillar a couple of times and enjoyed our time in this picturesque village.
Due to the German heritage of this place, we even got some good German bread in Frutillar (in the Kuchenladen near the theatre).
One week later, we left Puerto Varas and continued our trip north. Our next destination was Puerto Fuy.
Panguipulli
Halfway, we had a quick break in Panguipulli. You can find some interesting monuments and a big wooden church there.
Puerto Fuy
In Puerto Fuy, we rented a beautiful tiny house near the lake for one night.
After a pizza at the beer garden in Huilo Huilo, we watched the sunset at the beach of Puerto Fuy.
Lago Pirihueico
The next morning, we wanted to take the ferry across the Lago Pirihueico to explore a new border crossing to Argentina.
The ferry wasn’t completely full, but in high season it’s always good to reserve this ferry in advance.
We had beautiful sunny weather while crossing the long lake.
The ferry takes about 90 minutes and costs 25€ (for a car with 3 people).
At the end of the lake, we reached the Pirihueico port, where we left the ferry. From there it’s a short 10 km drive to the border between Chile and Argentina at the Paso Hua Hum. The border crossing was uneventful. But the following gravel road from Hua Hum to San Martín de los Andes was surprisingly rough with huge corrugations and potholes comparable to the worst parts of the Carretera Austral.
San Martín de los Andes
In San Martín de los Andes we had another 4 days break at the same Cabañas Nonthue where we stayed last time.
There were a couple of reasons for this additional break. First, we really love San Martín de los Andes. It’s probably our favorite place in Patagonia. Second, this was the end of our Patagonia expedition and we wanted to celebrate it in the awesome little restaurants in San Martín de los Andes. And third, we still felt a bit exhausted and needed some more time to relax.
And San Martín de los Andes is the perfect place to recover from an exhausting trip. It has a very calm and relaxed atmosphere, a nice beach, awesome restaurants and chocolate shops, and compared to Chilean Patagonia very stable weather.
The local paragliders landed directly on the crowded city beach. That would be completely impossible in Europe (not sure if it’s actually allowed in Argentina or if they just did it).
On our last evening in San Martín de los Andes, we celebrated the end of our time in Patagonia in the Berlin restaurant.
Our next plan was to drive the famous Ruta 40 up to the Altiplano in Bolivia and explore this area in the remaining 3-4 months of our trip.
Patagonia will always have a very special place in my heart. And I will return for sure.
Wild Places 