Circuit 3: Villa O’Higgins to the community chapel built by Padre Ronchi and the Mayer River
Trail photos
Author
Trail stats
- Distance
- 29.61 mi
- Elevation gain
- 2,283 ft
- Technical difficulty
- Easy
- Elevation loss
- 2,283 ft
- Max elevation
- 1,818 ft
- TrailRank
- 25
- Min elevation
- 850 ft
- Trail type
- Loop
- Coordinates
- 335
- Uploaded
- July 6, 2014
- Recorded
- July 2014
near Villa O'Higgins, Aisén (Chile)
Viewed 611 times, downloaded 2 times
Trail photos
Itinerary description
• Distance: 52 km, out and back.
• Duration: 5 - 6 hours.
• Seasonality: Year round.
• The Route: Ride north from town on the Carretera Austral for 7.5 km to the crossroad for Entrada Mayer, just before the Van Schouwen Bridge. Turn right to follow this side road. The route passes forests, wetlands and many lagoons alongside the road. You will have good chances to spot Huemules and a variety of Patagonian birds, including the ringed kingfisher and the Magellanic or black woodpecker. This route ends at the charming little chapel, set back in a small meadow on the right side of the road, built by the local community and Fr. Antonio Ronchi, about 18 km from the crossing.
To rent bikes, contact Hans Silva, Villa O'Higgins Expeditions – Carretera Austral, Km 1240; (067) 2431831 - 2431832; contacto@villaohiggins.com; www.villaohiggins.com, or the Robinson Crusoe - Deep Patagonia Lodge, located on the other side of the Carretera Austral (02) 23341503 -23341504 / (067) 2431909; info@robinsoncrusoe.com; www.robinsoncrusoe.com.
Waypoints
Waypoint
0 ft
Carretera Austral
By this point in your travels along the Carretera Austral, you’ve likely passed almost as many cyclists as sheep. With fully loaded bikes that carry all their supplies, these hard-core road warriors travel the world over, on multi-month, or in some cases, multi-year journeys. Chile’s Carretera Austral is the Holy Grail for distance cyclers. Most begin their journey through this part of Patagonia some 1,240 kilometers north of Villa O’Higgins, in the city of Puerto Montt and follow the Carretera Austral south for its entirety, stopping only for obligatory crossings in ferries. As these bikers descend, the world surrounding them becomes wilder and more remote, and the road degrades from pavement to gravel. They press on, in their quest for the ultimate prize; reaching the docks of Puerto Bahamondes where they can pose for a picture under the sign indicating “The end of the Carretera Austral” before boarding El Quetru, to take them across Lago O’Higgins for passage into Argentina.
Waypoint
0 ft
Villa O'Higgins
Just about the time that you begin to take the Patagonia landscapes for granted, you’ll reach Villa O'Higgins and your amazement and wonder will return. O’Higgins is one of the most remote villages in Chile, situated at the end of the Carretera Austral and surrounded by the peaks of the southern Andes, the deepest lake in the Americas, the fjords of the Pacific, and the Southern Patagonia Ice Fields. Several lodges and operators have opened doors in Villa O'Higgins offering a range of activities in the local area including hiking, horse treks, fly-fishing, and trips to the Southern Patagonia Ice Fields. Nevertheless, Villa O’Higgins is still very much an authentic Patagonian pueblo, maintaining its traditional economic activities which revolve around ranching and forest resources. Many pioneer traditions remain intact, including the daily dependence on horses, woodworking, using native woods and rustic tools, knitting, smoking meats, etc. Being a remote community limits access to modern luxuries, but if you are prepared for that, you'll find Villa O'Higgins full of simple comforts, including excellent options for lodging, cellular service and Internet, a rural first-aid post, grocery and hardware stores, great restaurants, travel companies and guiding services. In fact, you can even find some creative luxuries, like a wood-burning stove assisted sauna at the El Mosco hostel, and the wood-burning hot tubs at the Robinson Crusoe Lodge.
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