Chile’s Aysén Region and Patagonia National Park
When you think of Patagonia what comes to mind? Dramatic, wind-swept landscapes, jagged peaks next to soaring glaciers, uninhabited and raw nature? Likely you have heard of a few famous areas such as Torres del Paine National Park, Los Glaciares National Park and Tierra del Fuego. These areas are justifiably famous and incredibly beautiful. They are also popular and during peak season, downright crowded. The wide-open, uninhabited areas of Patagonia are getting harder to find.
On a recent trip to Chile, I was very happy to see that there are some areas of Patagonia that are still remote and largely uninhabited. The Aysén region is located south of the Lakes District and is most famous for the Carretera Austral (Austral Highway) that runs for a total of 770 miles. This is arguably one of the most beautiful roads in South America.
Cerro Castillo as seen from the Carretera Austral
This region is still relatively hard to access and takes more time and effort to explore. The Carretera is paved for a section but is mostly gravel road. The hotel infrastructure is not as developed compared to other areas of Chilean Patagonia. However, one of our favorite luxury hotel companies, Explora, won the concession to take over the original Tompkins Lodge creating a level of accommodation in this area that previously did not exist.
One cannot travel to Aysén without learning about the conservation efforts of Doug Tompkins and Kristine McDivitt Tompkins. In 2004 they bought what was once Estancia Chacabuco, a sheep ranch, and painstakingly took on the multi-year project of re-wilding the land. This included coordinating volunteers, many from local towns and many from all over the world, to remove thousands of feet of fencing. In 2021 the Tompkins Conservation reached an agreement with the Chilean Government to donate their land in the Chacabuco Valley and combine it with two neighboring reserves, Tamango and Jeinimeni, to create the new Patagonia National Park or Parque Nacional Patagonia. It’s one of the greatest land conservation stories in South America. The Tompkins Conservation continues to do important work in fragile ecosystems in Argentina and Chile.
The Chacabuco Valley is primarily the Patagonia steppe. The land is arid and vast. I have spent a significant amount of time traveling on both sides of Patagonia, but I’ve never seen such large herds of guanacos (one of the four South American camelids, cousin to the llama). At the Explora Lodge you see guanacos everywhere, often grazing right outside your window or providing you company while enjoying the jacuzzi (as evidenced below!).
Guanaco jacuzzi party, Explora Parque Patagonia
As my guide told me, where there are guanacos there are puma. The guides and staff report seeing puma around the lodge weekly, sometimes daily. I stayed for 3 nights and although I was on high alert like the guanacos, I did not spy a puma. Wildlife sightings are never guaranteed but if you spend several nights at Explora you have a reasonable chance of seeing puma – so much so that the staff walks you through some basic puma safety when you arrive and how to behave if you do spot one. The Patagonian puma are apex predators and so are generally far less likely to attack a human than what sometimes happens in the Rocky Mountains with mountain lion, for example.
During my stay at Explora I opted for one of their full day hikes through the Áviles Valley. This is a 10.3 mile hike that begins with an approximately 45 minute drive from the lodge. We had a gloriously sunny day and saw a total of 4 other hikers on the same trail as us. That kind of solitude would never happen in Torres del Paine National Park.
Áviles Valley Hike, Parque Patagonia
To reach Aysén most travelers take a 2.5 hour direct flight from Santiago to Balmaceda (the airport that serves the Aysén region). From the Balmaceda airport it is a 6.5 hour drive (more or less depending on the state of the Carretera) to reach Explora Parque Patagonia. That is a long drive to be sure, but it is down one of South America’s most breathtaking roads. Explora can also coordinate a 45-minute charter flight from Balmaceda to Cochrane (the main town located just south of the Chacabuco valley) on certain days of the week if you’d prefer to skip the drive in one or both directions.
When travelers think of Patagonia they are thinking of Aysén : a region that still feels wild, off the beaten path, and blissfully uninhabited. Reach out to one of our experienced Destination Specialists who can help you plan your time in the Aysén region including a stay at Explora’s Patagonia National Park Lodge.