The Carretera Austral (CH-7, ''in English: Southern Way'') is the name given to

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

's Route 7. The highway runs south for about from Puerto Montt to

Villa O'Higgins __NOTOC__ Villa O'Higgins is a small town in the Aysén Region of southern Chile, located 220 km south of Cochrane and 550 km south of Coyhaique. Founded in 1966 and named after the Chilean independence hero Bernardo O'Higgins, it is the capital ...

, passing through rural

Patagonia Patagonia () refers to a geographical region that encompasses the southern end of South America, governed by Argentina and Chile. The region comprises the southern section of the Andes Mountains with lakes, fjords, temperate rainforests, and gl ...

. Carretera Austral provides road access to Chile's

Aysén Region The Aysén del General Carlos Ibáñez del Campo Region ( es, Región de Aysén, , '), often shortened to Aysén Region or Aisén,Examples of name usage1, official regional government site refers to the region as "Región de Aysén"., Chile's of ...

and southern parts of

Los Lagos Region Los Lagos Region ( es, Región de Los Lagos , ''Region of the Lakes'') is one of Chile's 16 regions, which are first order administrative divisions, and comprises four provinces: Chiloé, Llanquihue, Osorno and Palena. The region contains ...

. These areas are sparsely populated and despite its length, Carretera Austral provides access to only about 100,000 people. The largest city along the entire road is

Coyhaique Coyhaique (), also spelled Coihaique in Patagonia, is the capital city of both the Coyhaique Province and the Aysén Region of Chile. Founded by settlers in 1929, it is a young city. Until the twentieth century, Chile showed little interest in ex ...

with a population of 44,850 in 2002.

History

Construction of the highway was commenced in 1976 under the dictatorship of

Augusto Pinochet Augusto José Ramón Pinochet Ugarte (, , , ; 25 November 1915 – 10 December 2006) was a Chilean general who ruled Chile from 1973 to 1990, first as the leader of the Military Junta of Chile from 1973 to 1981, being declared President of ...

in order to connect a number of remote communities. Before that, in the 1950s and 1970s, there had been unsuccessful attempts to build access roads in the region. It is among the most ambitious infrastructure projects developed in Chile during the 20th century. As it was constructed during the

military dictatorship A military dictatorship is a dictatorship in which the military exerts complete or substantial control over political authority, and the dictator is often a high-ranked military officer. The reverse situation is to have civilian control of the m ...

, the Carretera Austral bears the unofficial name of the

highway. Carretera Austral has a strategic meaning due to the difficult access by land to a significant portion of Chile's southern territory. This area is characterized by thick

forests A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...

fjords In physical geography, a fjord or fiord () is a long, narrow inlet with steep sides or cliffs, created by a glacier. Fjords exist on the coasts of Alaska, Antarctica, British Columbia, Chile, Denmark, Germany, Greenland, the Faroe Islands, Icela ...

glaciers A glacier (; ) is a persistent body of dense ice that is constantly moving under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. It acquires distinguishing features, such as ...

, canals and steep mountains. Access by sea and air is also a complex task due to extreme winter weather conditions. For decades, most of the land transportation had to cross the border to Argentina in order to reach again Chile's

. These difficulties were deepened during the 1970s due to the

Beagle Conflict The Beagle conflict was a border dispute between Chile and Argentina over the possession of Picton, Lennox and Nueva islands and the scope of the maritime jurisdiction associated with those islands that brought the countries to the brink of war i ...

crisis. In order to strengthen the Chilean presence in these isolated territories and ensure the land connection to the rest of the country, the government planned the construction of this road, which was executed by the

Chilean Army The Chilean Army ( es, Ejército de Chile) is the land arm of the Military of Chile. This 80,000-person army (9,200 of which are conscripts) is organized into six divisions, a special operations brigade and an air brigade. In recent years, and a ...

's Engineering Command. More than 10,000 soldiers worked on its construction. The highway opened to traffic in 1988, and by 1996 was completed to

Puerto Yungay Puerto, a Spanish word meaning ''seaport'', may refer to: Places * El Puerto de Santa María, Andalusia, Spain *Puerto, a seaport town in Cagayan de Oro City, Philippines * Puerto Colombia, Colombia * Puerto Cumarebo, Venezuela * Puerto Galera, O ...

. The last to Villa O'Higgins were opened in 2000. In 2003, a branch road to

Caleta Tortel Caleta Tortel is a coastal village ( es, aldea) in Chile. It is the administrative centre of the commune of Tortel and is located between the mouth of the Baker River the largest river in Chile and a small embayment of the Baker Channel. The surr ...

was finished.

Places along the highway

* Puerto Montt *

Reloncaví Sound Reloncaví Sound or ''Seno de Reloncaví'' is a body of water immediately south of Puerto Montt, a port city in the Los Lagos Region of Chile. It is the place where the Chilean Central Valley meets the Pacific Ocean. The Calbuco Archipelago comp ...

Chamiza Wetland 250px, Aerial view of Chamiza Wetland, 2015. Chamiza Wetland ( es, Humedal de Chamiza) is a marine wetland in Reloncaví Sound in southern Chile. The wetland lies around the outflow of Chamiza River east of the city of Puerto Montt and close to ...

* Contao *

Hornopirén Hornopirén is a town ( es, pueblo) in the commune of Hualaihué in Palena Province, southern Chile. It lies along the northern portion of Carretera Austral The Carretera Austral (CH-7, ''in English: Southern Way'') is the name given to Chile ...

(Río Negro) *

Hornopirén National Park Hornopirén National Park () is located in the Andes, in the Palena Province of Chile's Los Lagos Region, also known as Los Lagos Region, Region X. The park contains of rugged mountains and unspoiled Valdivian temperate rain forests. This nation ...

Yelcho Lake Yelcho Lake is a large fjord-shaped lake located in Chilean Patagonia, in southern Palena province of Los Lagos Region, Chile. The lake receives the waters of the Futaleufu River at its southern tip, near the tiny settlement of Puerto Ramirez. The ...

* Pumalín Park *

Chaitén Chaitén (, ) is a Chilean town, commune and former capital of the Palena Province in Los Lagos Region. The town is north of the mouth of Yelcho River, on the east coast of the Gulf of Corcovado. The town is strategically close to the northern ...

Queulat National Park Queulat National Park is a national park of Chile located in the Aysén del General Carlos Ibáñez del Campo Region. The park is bordered by the Cisnes River on the south side and is neighbor to Lago Rosselot National Reserve. It contains of gl ...

* Balmaceda * Río Ibáñez *

Cerro Castillo : Cerro Castillo is a jagged rocky peak located in the Aysén del General Carlos Ibáñez del Campo Region of Chile, within the Cerro Castillo National Park. ''Castillo'' means ''castle'' in Spanish, and the steep basalt walls of the mountai ...

General Carrera Lake General Carrera Lake (Chilean part, officially renamed in 1959) or Lake Buenos Aires (Argentine part) is a lake located in Patagonia and shared by Argentina and Chile. Both names are internationally accepted, while the autochthonous name of the ...

* Cochrane * Baker River *Confluence of the Baker River and the

Nef River The Nef River is a river of Chile. The river has its source at a proglacial lake, which is feed by Nef Glacier Nef Glacier is a glacier located in Laguna San Rafael National Park, in the Aysén del General Carlos Ibáñez del Campo Region of Chi ...

Patagonia Park Patagonia National Park (Spanish: Parque Patagonia) is a National Park in the Aysén Region of Chile, once a private nature reserve operated as a public-access park, it was donated to the government of Chile by Tompkins Conservation in 2018. Th ...

Ferry crossings

Traveling the entire route requires the use of three

ferry A ferry is a ship, watercraft or amphibious vehicle used to carry passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A passenger ferry with many stops, such as in Venice, Italy, is sometimes called a water bus or water taxi ...

services, : # A 40-minute crossing about south of the start of the highway in Puerto Montt, between Fishing Creeks "La Arena" and "Puelche". This ferry service runs 24/7 with departures every 30 minutes approx. in the day (at night the activity decreases). During the summer (Dec–Feb) the number of departures is increased with boardings every 15, 30 and 45 minutes; the boarding is in order of arrival for passengers, vehicles, motorcycles and bikes. Tickets are available at the waiting line, where personal will approach the vehicle. Check prices and schedules on the ferry's website
www.transportesdelestuario.cl
Passengers without vehicle can board for free during the entire year. Onboard there are restrooms, coffee shops and passengers may walk around the ferry to enjoy the view during the ride. # a 5-hour crossing from Hornopiren (110 kilometers (68 miles) south of Puerto Montt) to Caleta Gonzalo, which requires passengers to purchase tickets prior to boarding. This can be done online at the sit
www.taustral.cl
where you can also check prices and schedules. On board the ferries there are large passengers' rooms, with coffee shops and restrooms. Passengers can also enjoy the view in the ferry's deck during the ride. # a 50-minute crossing from Puerto Yungay to Rio Bravo, connecting to the final of the highway.

Current activity

The highway began as almost entirely unpaved, but more sections are becoming paved each year. As of March 2018, the paved road ends at Villa Cerro Castillo, with roadworks going on just south of there. There is also a plan to extend the road to

Magallanes Region The Magallanes Region (), officially the Magallanes y la Antártica Chilena Region ( es, Región de Magallanes y de la Antártica Chilena), is one of Chile's 16 first order administrative divisions. It is the southernmost, largest, and second lea ...

, which still lacks domestic road connection to the rest of Chile. This means constructing a branch Rio Bravo- Ventisquero Montt-

Puerto Natales Puerto Natales is a city in Chilean Patagonia. It is the capital of both the commune of Natales and the province of Última Esperanza, one of the four provinces that make up the Magallanes and Antartica Chilena Region in the southernmost part ...

, with 9 ferry crossings planned. By January 2007, the construction on the Rio Bravo-Ventisquero Montt section had begun, with the branch off point from the main Rio Bravo-Villa O'Higgins road being at .

Gallery

Image:Carreteraceniza.JPG, Carretera Austral near Caleta Gonzalo Image:Carretera Austral.jpg, Carretera Austral near Caleta Gonzalo Image:Villa-ohiggins-chile.jpg, Villa O'Higgins, the end of Carretera Austral

References

External links

The Route of Parks of Chilean Patagonia - Hornopirén National Park
{{Authority control Roads in Chile Transport in Aysén Region Transport in Los Lagos Region Coasts of Los Lagos Region