12 daysFrom Coyhaique to Punta Arenas, all of Patagonia

Day by day

1. 1

   Coyhaique

   Coyhaique55 km · 0.8hNight in Coyhaique

   Arrive, pick up the rental car and check the paperwork: the notarized permit to take it out of the country has to be requested days in advance, and without it you can't cross. The afternoon is for the pentagonal plaza and the view of Cerro Mackay, which rises right in front of the city.

2. 2

   Cerro Castillo

   Coyhaique194 km · 2.5hNight in Coyhaique

   The day of Aysén's postcard view: about 96 km south on the Carretera Austral to Villa Cerro Castillo, at the foot of the massif that gives Cerro Castillo National Park its name, with the trail to the lake, which you can hike on your own in season and only with a guide in winter, or the view of the massif from the village.

3. 3

   Puerto Aysén and the fjord

   Puerto Aysén160 km · 3hNight in Coyhaique

   Drive down the 66 km on Route 240, stopping at Río Simpson National Reserve and Cascada La Virgen, a waterfall. In Puerto Aysén, see the Puente Presidente Ibáñez, then drive the 15 km to Puerto Chacabuco to take in the fjord from the pier.

   Sleep back in Coyhaique: tomorrow you cross the border, and it's best to set out from there.

4. 4

   Into Argentina via Coyhaique Alto

   340 km · 5.5hNight in Perito Moreno or Los Antiguos (Argentina)

   The Coyhaique Alto border crossing is 45 km from the city and is the most direct one. The two checkpoints—Chilean and Argentine—take their time, and you can't bring fruit, meat or dairy across: whatever's left from breakfast stays behind.

   On the other side the steppe begins: Río Mayo and then Perito Moreno, in Santa Cruz Province. It's the first day the landscape changes completely, from forest to treeless pampa.

   Fill up the tank every time a gas station appears, not when you need to.

5. 5

   Route 40 heading south

   420 km · 6hNight in Gobernador Gregores (Argentina)

   The longest and emptiest day: Route 40 runs down through the middle of Santa Cruz between plateaus, with hundred-kilometer stretches of nothing at all. Bajo Caracoles and Gobernador Gregores are the places with fuel and a bed.

   It's worth the detour to the Cueva de las Manos (Cave of the Hands), a World Heritage Site, with rock paintings more than nine thousand years old above the canyon of the Pinturas River.

   The crosswind is strong and constant: slow down and take it easy.

6. 6

   On to El Calafate

   340 km · 5hNight in El Calafate (Argentina)

   Another long stretch of Route 40 until you reach Lake Argentino. The landscape starts putting the Andes back on the horizon.

   El Calafate is the area's tourist town and has everything; after three days of steppe, that's welcome.

7. 7

   Perito Moreno Glacier

   160 km · 2.5hNight in El Calafate (Argentina)

   A day off from driving. The Perito Moreno is 80 km from El Calafate and for decades was famous for staying stable, although since the late 2010s it has been thinning and retreating; the boardwalks let you see it face-on and hear it when ice breaks off.

   It's Argentine territory and not part of the portal, but it's on the way, and leaving it out of this itinerary would be pretending it doesn't exist.

8. 8

   Back into Chile and on to Puerto Natales

   Puerto Natales300 km · 5hNight in Puerto Natales

   You re-enter at the Río Don Guillermo border crossing, also called Cerro Castillo—not the same Cerro Castillo as in Aysén—about 60 km from Puerto Natales. Again two checkpoints, and again no fruit or meat.

   Once you arrive, hike up Cerro Dorotea if there's daylight left: about four hours round trip, with the whole of Última Esperanza Sound below.

9. 9

   Torres del Paine, the driving loop

   Puerto Natales250 km · 4hNight in Puerto Natales or inside the park

   About 112 km to the entrance gates on the east side of the park, with the Cueva del Milodón (Milodon Cave) along the way. The day of the driving loop: Lake Pehoé, Salto Grande waterfall, the Cuernos viewpoint and Lake Grey.

   Buy your park entry online ahead of time and carry it downloaded.

10. 10

    Base of the Towers

    Puerto Natales250 km · 4hNight in Puerto Natales

    Chile's best-known hike: eight to ten hours round trip to the viewpoint at the base, with a final stretch up a steep moraine.

    Set out before dawn, bring food and layers, and have a plan B: if the wind is very strong they close the trail, and for good reason.

11. 11

    Down to Punta Arenas

    Punta Arenas247 km · 3hNight in Punta Arenas

    Three hours on Route 9 across the pampa. In the afternoon, the Cementerio Municipal Sara Braun (the municipal cemetery) and Cerro de la Cruz, which are the best possible introduction to the city.

12. 12

    Fuerte Bulnes and the finish

    Punta Arenas130 km · 2.5h

    52 km south to Fuerte Bulnes and the Parque del Estrecho de Magallanes (Strait of Magellan Park), looking out over the waters Magellan sailed through in 1520. It's a good place to end a trip that started 1,376 km to the north.

    If there's time, the Museo Nao Victoria is about seven and a half kilometers north of downtown, in the same direction as the airport. Then off to the airport, with time to spare: the Magallanes wind delays flights.