Where We’ve Been: January, February, March, and April 2023 Road Trip Driving Route in Chile & Argentina

The first few months of 2023 were jam-packed as we scrambled to see and do as much as possible in Patagonia in the southern reaches of South America before the end of the short (but sweet) summer season in the southern hemisphere. This meant that we got way behind in our (usually) monthly Where We’ve Been posts, so we’re doing a mega version that covers where we traveled in January, February, March, and April of 2023 including 2,250 miles, six ferries, and five crossings of the Andes that make up the border between Chile and Argentina.

We started the month of January at the northern end of Chile’s famous Carretera Austral. From there we continued north, mostly on the Argentinian side of the Andes, picking off the few things we’d missed in Argentinean Patagonia. Upon reaching the northern part of Patagonia, we crossed back into Chile to visit the few places we missed south of Santiago, slowly making our way north to explore Chile’s famous Colchagua Valley wine region. We then crossed back into Argentina in April to spend more time in one of our favorite areas, the wine region of Mendoza, Argentina.

South American Road Trip Driving Route for January 2023 in Chile

January was all about driving the entirety of Chile’s famed Carretera Austral from north to south. We drove some of this iconic road in 2020, but this time we were intent on doing the whole damn thing. We began January in the town of Hornopiren, just south of the northern terminus of the Carretera Austral which is in Puerto Montt. From Hornopiren you can drive north through Chile for 1,982 miles (3,189 km) until you reach the Chile/Peru border. However, there is no road heading south from Hornopiren. To continue south on the Carretera Austral you must get on a ferry and head to Caleta Gonzalo 49 miles (78 km) to the south. On New Year’s Day 2023, that’s exactly what we did.

From Caleta Gonzalo, the Carretera Austral continues south for 645 miles (1,038 km) to the tiny town of Villa O’Higgins where the road ends. This scenic route is dotted with national parks and national reserves. Upon reaching the end of the road at Villa O’Higgins, there’s no choice but to retrace your steps, so we returned north until we reached Patagonia National Park where we ended the month of January.

Check out our January 2023 road trip driving route in Chile on the map below.

See what we saw out there on the road in Chile in January 2023 in our dashcam drive-lapse video, below. It was, as always, shot by our Brinno camera which is attached to our dashboard at all times.

South American Road Trip Driving Route for February 2023 in Chile and Argentina

We began the month of February 2023 with some time camping in the Lago Jeinemeni sector of Patagonia National Park. From there, we returned to the town of Futaleufú and to Pumalín Douglas Tompkins National Park where we’d been the previous month. We could have returned north along the Carretera Austral, but because the road was in better condition and fuel was 1/3 the price in Argentina, we crossed into Argentina, drove north about 400 miles (645 km) to the town of Esquel, and crossed back into Chile at Futaleufú.

In “Futa” we went white-water rafting on the world-famous Futaleufú River. In Pumalín Douglas Tompkins National Park we tried (again) to see the Chaitén Volcano but were thwarted (again) by clouds and rain before returning to Puerto Raúl Marín Balmaceda.

When we were ready to finally call it a wrap on the Carretera Austral, we crossed back into Argentina to continue to the northern part of Argentinean Patagonia where we explored a few notable fishing lodges in the San Martín de los Andes area which is where we ended the month of February.

Check out our February 2023 road trip driving route in Chile and Argentina on the map below.

See what we saw out there on the road in Chile and Argentina in February 2023 in our dashcam drive-lapse video, below. It was, as always, shot by our Brinno camera which is attached to our dashboard at all times.

South American Road Trip Driving Route for March 2023 in Argentina and Chile

We began the month of March 2023 in San Martín de los Andes working on our fly-fishing techniques, but we soon crossed back into Chile to explore the few places we’d missed in south-central Chile–particularly the Valdivia area, Temuco, and Conguillio National Park. We then drove north to explore Chile’s Colchagua Valley wine region where we ended the month of March. Along the way, we took a road (or at least that’s what Google Maps called it) that we shouldn’t have and it very nearly led to disaster. See what that looked like in our video of the drive to disaster…

Check out our March 2023 road trip driving route in Argentina and Chile on the map below.

See what we saw out there on the road in Argentina and Chile in March 2023 in our dashcam drive-lapse video, below. It was, as always, shot by our Brinno camera which is attached to our dashboard at all times.

South American Road Trip Driving Route for April 2023 in Chile and Argentina

We began the month of April 2023 by finishing up our exploration of Chile’s Colchagua Valley wine region. From there, we stopped to visit some friends on the coast near Viña del Mar. Then we passed through Santiago on our way back into Argentina across Paso Los Libertadores (the 7th time we’ve crossed this high mountain border in one direction or the other). Then we returned to Mendoza, which has become our home away from home over the past few years, to relax and have some major repair work done on the truck.

Check out our April 2023 road trip driving route in Chile and Argentina on the map below.

See what we saw out there on the road in Chile and Argentina in April 2023 in our dashcam drive-lapse video, below. It was, as always, shot by our Brinno camera which is attached to our dashboard at all times.

 

Here’s more about travel in Argentina

Here’s more about travel in Chile

Here’s more about Patagonia Travel