Route 2: Villa O’Higgins to Cisnes Lake.
Trail photos
Author
Trail stats
- Distance
- 18.26 mi
- Elevation gain
- 640 ft
- Technical difficulty
- Easy
- Elevation loss
- 653 ft
- Max elevation
- 1,033 ft
- TrailRank
- 32
- Min elevation
- 834 ft
- Trail type
- Loop
- Coordinates
- 707
- Uploaded
- July 6, 2014
- Recorded
- July 2014
near Villa O'Higgins, Aisén (Chile)
Viewed 808 times, downloaded 5 times
Trail photos
Itinerary description
• Duration: 2 - 4 hours.
• Seasonality: Year round.
• The Circuit: Head north along the Carretera Austral, passing through beautiful native forests and over the Mayer River, via the Van Schouwen Bridge. Continue along the road to the shores of Cisnes Lake. Here you can explore the southeast shore of the lake, turning around at the bridge that crosses the river, which is the drainage of the lake. This route is great for combining bird watching or fishing activities. There are many places where you can leave your bike and approach to the lake or advance into the forest.
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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