Planning The Route - Chile

I plan to start my journey next January (2014), hopefully during the firsts days of the year. I will start bicycling from Santiago de Chile all the way down to Puerto Montt in a first stage with stops in between for saying good bye to family and friends before entering Carretera Austral.

In between I will stop several times both for visiting friends and for getting supplies. Mainly food and water that I will certainly need while on the road because it's going to be summer, and probably a harsh one.

The distance I plan for this first part of Chile will be around the 1120 kms more or less. I will try to avoid the "5 sur" highway as much as possible taking alternative roads which have less traffic and  less trucks that may be a bit dangerous for a cyclist. In some areas I will be forced to take the 5 sur highway. Anyways it will be funny to cross the regional borders and the toll offices with my loaded bike and visit the towns I've been visiting since I was a kid but with my bicycle.

I may stop for several days in a town and for less than a day in others. Mainly depends on how I feel and what things of interest I find on the road, also if I'm able to find accommodation. It is also  important who I have to visit in every particular place, because yes, I plan to visit most of my friends and family to say good bye.

I'm mainly tracing the route for having a estimate of how long it's going to take me in every country, and have a rough estimate of how long the trip is going to be.

For the first part, from Santiago to Puerto Montt, if I bike 65 kms every day it would take me around 17.2 days to reach Puerto Montt. I think it's going to take me a month at least, but you know what? I don't really care! I will be free to do as I please :).

For this first part I think I will spend several days in Talca and Puerto Montt. Once in Puerto Montt I may even cross to the Chiloé Island to then go back to Puerto Montt and continue my journey, plainly I have no idea, depends, all depends on what happens while on the road.


Once I enter the Carretera Austral I'll be on my own (no more friends or family). From Puerto Montt I plan to reach Río Ibañez which is like 110 kms south from Coyhaique. The total distance for this second part of the Chilean road will  be around 746 kms. This doesn't include the ferry I have to take in Hornopiren to be able to reach Caleta Gonzalo. So, if I ride 65 kms everyday this second part should take me around 11.5 days plus the time I'll spend on the ferry. But once again, some days I may ride more, some days I may not ride at all, some days I will ride around a town, and some days maybe I will just spend time in nature enjoying being free. I've never been to carretera austral so this is where I leave my comfort zone and start going wild. "Life begins at the end of your comfort zone.".

I will cross the border towards Argentina through the pass near Río Ibañez which is 20 kms east of this town in the Carretera Austral. From there I'll make my way towards Buenos Aires through the "pampa".

Briefly, if I pedal 65 kms everyday from Santiago to the point I plan to cross to Argentina, it should take me around 29 days to complete the route. Less than a month, but I think I will be 2 months on the Chilean roads before I cross the border.

Rough estimates, I know, but I think it's good to be aware of the distances, possible routes and times, so I can plan ahead and consider possibilities for different scenarios and check if I will need visa for certain countries.

Damn, everyday I get more excited about this.

A close up of the route!: