The gravel begins! There is lots of great scenery on this section of the Carretera, including the famous Marble Caves and the icy Valle Exploradores. 

It is only 119 km from Villa Cerro Castillo to Puerto Río Tranquilo but expect them to take longer than they should: about 15 km outside town, the bitumen runs out and it is gravel from then on.

It is not so much gravel either but layers of bumpy loose pebbles which sit in soft drifts at the side of the road ready to catch out anyone who should be careless enough to go too close to the edges. We saw one car buried in the bank which we thought might have been a hire car!

However, the 2½ hour rough ride had some scenic compensations. We passed Laguna Verde and the Bosque Muerto (dead forest), a swampy landscape of stark dead trees which died in the Hudson volcano eruption in 1991.

However the best was yet to come: Lago General Carrera, the second largest lake in South America which is up to 600 m deep. It is an astonishingly deep turquoise blue – on a good day – and is surrounded by chains of snowy mountains. 

Puerto Río Tranquilo 

Puerto Rio Tranquilo is a one horse town with a hundred boats – the place survives on its proximity to the Marble Caves and in running tours to them. The boats are tied up around the rather scrappy esplanade where a street of wooden shacks has all the excursions on offer with surprisingly little hardsell.

After 3 days hiking in Cerro Castillo we decided a little luxury was in order so checked into the Bellavista Campsite which had the advantages of hot water, fast WiFi, friendly cats and recommended kayak tours.

At only CLP 5000 each it was good value and we found a nice grassy spot for the tent. It is a popular cyclist stop – our travels paled in comparison. One woman had left Canada 1½ years previously and was cycling all the way to Ushuia where her husband was due to meet her in 2 months time – it must be an interesting marriage! 

A day of rest the following day allowed us to explore a little of the lake around Rio Tranquilo, including the Catedral de Marmol lookout about 5.5 km south of town. An easy 600 m walk (past a rather smelly dead cow) led to a little nobble under a mast from where we had a superb view of the expansive lengths of the brilliantly blue Lago General Carrera.

The top of the Marble Cathedral was visible but only as a grassy mound, although one could see the sheer marble cliff face above it which marks the area. 

A hare hopped past as we lay enjoying the view and condors wheeled overhead.

10 km south of Rio Tranquilo, there was another wonderful viewpoint, right beside the road this time. There was a superb view southwards of jumbled mountains and blue lakes with the ever present high snow covered peaks. We curled up for the afternoon and simply enjoyed the view in perfect peace.

Later we checked out town. There was a rather sad funfair on the seafront and some overlanders parked on the beach. The gastronomic side was easily taken care of: Ruedas & Rios for burgers and Cerveceria Rio Tranquilo for craft beers! 

The Marble Caves

Doug Tompkins, the North Face founder and instigator of several Patagonian parks, died after a kayaking accident on Lago General Carrera on 8th December 2015. He was with 5 friends when sudden winds caused his kayak to capsize, leaving him in the water for 2 hours before he was rescued. He died later in Coyhaique hospital from hypothermia.

It felt like tempting fate when almost 8 years to the day, we had a kayaking trip organised on the same lake to visit the famous Marble Caves. Booked through the Bellavista campsite, we paid a preferential rate of CLP 35,000 each (usually CPL 45,000).

Our tour bus took us 7 km south to Puerto Marmol, dropping down a steep hill to a magnificent bay with a pebbly beach. With straw parasols against the turquoise of the lake, one could easily have been somewhere quite exotic until the snowy mountains on all sides caught the eye. 

Luck was with us for once: it was a superb day with sunshine and no wind. Simon and I were given a double kayak with an apron and a waterproof coat and not so much as a drop of water touched us, other than when I stuck my hand in the water to see how cold it was (answer: icy!).

There was only the guide and one other person in our group and we paddled out gently to the Capilla de Mármol (marble chapel) and the Catedral de Mármol (marble cathedral). Created by calcium bicarbonate dissolving with the action of the lake water, the numerous caves are a surreal assortment of caverns and pillars with impressionistic swirls of colour. 

Paddling slowly around the sea stacks of the Cathedral and the Chapel, their window like openings gave tantalising views to the other side. The dancing sunlight on the water threw dappled flickering reflections on the marble surfaces.

We were allowed to paddle through a cavern that had 3 entrances. We went left to right, then right to left and then did a figure of 8, simply because we could and it was such fun! The only sound was the gentle lapping of the water. It was quite magical and I would strongly suggest the kayak over the boat option for a far more immersive experience. 

Equally magical was paddling on the lake which on that day was like a mill pond and the most stunning blue possible. Ringed by mountains, it was impossibly beautiful. Poor old Doug Tompkins must have thought he was in heaven only to find a few hours later that he was! 

Anyway we lived to tell the tale on this occasion and I would recommend the trip to everyone! 

We picked up some fresh bread from Panaderia Laurita, had a quick lunch and headed off. I wanted to see the Valle Exploradores which is accessed via the X-728 running west from Rio Tranquilo.

It owes its existence purely to tourism. Built about 13 years ago, it allows access to the Exploradores Glacier and, after 86 km, to boats to Laguna San Rafael National Park and more glaciers. 

It certainly felt a remote route. The road was gravel but generally OK with our 2WD although it was a little rough and narrow in places.

We soon left the few scattered farms behind, passed La Nutria waterfall, and descended into a long valley of high darkly forested mountains with tall waterfalls. The Río Exploradores ran swiftly, in places widening into swampy rushy spaces with dead trees or occasional lakes.

The weather was perfect and we had superb views as a succession of glaciers appeared.  Walking tours can be booked in Río Tranquilo to explore the Exploradores Glacier which is found on Mt. San Valentín, the highest peak in Patagonia at around 4000 m, within the Laguna San Rafael National Park. Descending from the Northern Ice Field, the glacier is 23 km long and 3 km wide.

I had seen the road described as the most scenic detour off the Carretera and it was hard to disagree. We drove past the Conaf office for the glacier access and wild camped at about the 56 km mark in a clearing by the river. It felt a very remote spot indeed. 

Exploradores Glacier

Our second day in the valley dawned rather cloudy and we decided to drive on along the road which ends after about 87 km at Bahia Exploradores. It is from there that boat tours, which can also be booked in Río Tranquilo, leave to explore the Laguna San Rafael.

We actually gave up about 7 km before the end as the road was getting so rough for our car but in the meantime we had crossed the narrow bridge at the little hamlet on the Río Exploradores where three rivers seemed to meet and the El Toro bridge just before we turned around which looked very rickety although we thought the base was probably solid!

The scenery was luxuriant rainforest type vegetation again, with dense cover right down to the road, although most of it was actually fenced. There were plenty of cowpats and horse droppings in evidence although it certainly does not look like grazing country. 

We headed back and checked out the  various options for getting glimpses of the Exploradores Glacier. At the Conaf office for the Laguna San Rafael National Park, there are a choice of 2 walks: a short one of 40 minutes to a lookout or a 4 hour one. Park entry is only between 8.30 – 1 and they are closed on Mondays. We did not feel like a long walk and it did not seem worth paying the CLP 11,000 entrance fee for a short one.

300 m further on is another popular, more economical, private enterprise option at Parque Patagonia whose trails lead to two good viewpoints over the glacier in only 1½ hours. The place is open until 6.30 pm and their entry fee is only CLP 5000.

However, another couple of kilometres down the road is the Sendero Cumbre de Cipreses, a 1.6 km trail through the rainforest to a glacier viewpoint, and even better it is totally free.

A few years ago someone spent a lot of time and effort installing this track, with thoughtfully placed ladders, steps and handrails, along with little carved inscriptions. It is approached by a rickety swing bridge which is a good picnic place if nothing else, but if you perservere the track does actually lead to an excellent head on view of the glacier which fills the opposite valley.

En route there are mossy waterfalls, streams, trailing lianas and vines and it is all very picturesque. For some reason the path does not seem to be actively maintained anymore. Find the little wooden shack marked ‘mirador’ by the side of the road, and look for the narrow trail leading off to the bridge. For the moment it is easy to follow and all the stairs are intact.

We retraced our steps towards Río Tranquilo, finding a rough campsite in a grassy clearing about 30 km before town. The iOverlanders had said ‘not as nice as others en route’ but there was a large mountain with numerous waterfalls coming down it’s face and it was quite beautiful – how difficult we are to please sometimes!