Cochamó - La Junta
Trail photos
Author
Trail stats
- Distance
- 30.32 mi
- Elevation gain
- 2,418 ft
- Technical difficulty
- Moderate
- Elevation loss
- 1,942 ft
- Max elevation
- 1,100 ft
- TrailRank
- 75
- Min elevation
- -275 ft
- Trail type
- One Way
- Time
- 2 days 22 hours one minute
- Coordinates
- 2406
- Uploaded
- October 22, 2016
- Recorded
- May 2014
near Cochamó, Los Lagos (Chile)
Viewed 9689 times, downloaded 252 times
Trail photos
Itinerary description
In the hostels of Puerto Montt and Puerto Varas you hear some rumour and some tale about Cochamó, but it is considered as a far and difficult place, where only few dare to venture.
The trail to La Junta is actually a bit harsh, in that for most of it you walk on wet terrain, or actually in the middle of mud and even water. But you are rewarded at the final arrival at La Junta, in the midst of a first-class granite scenery, for which the place is also dubbed as the "Andine Yosemite". You should not be satisfied with La Junta, however: namely, it is only the "base camp" for very rewarding walks to Cerro Arco Iris (the one that I did, and which will be the subject of a neighbouring track of mine) or, on the other side of the valley, to the Cerros Gorilla and Trinidad, the most beloved by climbers.
I was there in late May, that is, in advanced autumn. The refuge at La Junta was closed and the only people whom I met were the family living at the cottage where you register, and some shepherds with horses and sheep.
You may also wish to read the information provided at
www.panorama-photo.net/panorama.php?pid=19594
Reading the description and turning on the labels in
www.panorama-photo.net/panorama.php?pid=20551
a 360° showing the valley from above, you get a thorough acquaintance with the region.
PHOTOS AND DOCUMENTATION: WORK IN PROGRESS
Waypoints
Waypoint
3 ft
Pueblo Hundido
Waypoint
151 ft
Avenida El Bosque
Intersection
Bridge
339 ft
Arroyo
Hikers are reported to get sometimes lost here, by turning left into a side valley.
Waypoint
890 ft
Carved stretch
Due to water erosion, here the path at times seems to have been manually carved.
Waypoint
1,005 ft
River loop
Waypoint
1,008 ft
Tent place
It would be forbidden to camp at other places than La Junta, but I arrived here with darkness, and I stopped accordingly since it was difficult to push on with the sole aid of the headlamp.
Panorama
Waypoint
1,049 ft
Fogon
Religious site
Mountain hut
106 ft
La Ollita
Recommended restaurant, with some rooms. Here I met the poet Flóridor Pérez, who was born in Cochamó, and had been invited by the alcalde for a visit to the local school. He had been long in prison under Pinochet, and his Cartas de Prisonero (Letters of a prisoner) had been a best-seller during the previous months in Chile.
Comments (2)
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Hi Alberto. I heard that this trek has just 12km. Why do your treklog has 48km?
Cochamó - registration, by bicycle: 12 km
Registration - La Junta, walking: 12 km
La Junta - registration: 12 km
Registration - Cochamó: 12 km