Carretera Austral - Futaleufu going South- Gas Stations - Horizons Unlimited

**ReeceNZ** · #1 16 Nov 2011

Hi all,

We`re currently in Futaleufu having just crossed over from Argentina and will shortly start our decent down the infamous Carretera Austral (well part of it). We`re driving a DL650 2-up and it has about 300-400km per tank. In gravel more like 300km.

Our map is pretty sparse and doesn`t really give any indication about towns we will be passing and where there are gas stations.

Has anyone done the route recently and can give me some towns that have gas stations so I know we can get through. Reading other posts it seems like plenty of people have done the route and nooone talks about running out of gas so maybe my fears are misled.

Let me know.

Cheers

Reece

Aotearoa to the Andes

**markharf** · #2 16 Nov 2011

I don't remember where I found gas....but that's because there was plenty of it, so I never had to worry. Throughout the southern tier there are a few useful rules: first, always fill up because you never know. Second, ask people coming the other way because you never know. Every so often gas deliveries are disrupted, leaving gasolineras closed until deliveries resume.

When you get back onto the eastern slopes of the Andes, you'll notice another rule coming into play: pay attention to the winds, which will cut your gas mileage worse than overloading, gravel, or anything else.

Hope that's helpful.

Mark

**bad babba** · #3 16 Nov 2011

betwen chaten and coihaqe no petrol athear whays no problem did this ruote 2 months ago the rode betwen this to citys whas shit ruf and bad roade condicions easy to fal whid the bike becuse off stones and mud and pot holes but in total great ride only probleam whid petrol is bolivia 9 aout off 10 gas stations are empty x sampeal betwen arica chile and uyini bolivia no gas uyini 1 gas station have fune

**crashmaster** · #4 18 Nov 2011

No worries going down the Austral. There are several places to fuel up and my experience was that the road was in excellent condition and I was able to easily go 70 mph+ on the gravel in certain sections.

If its not cloudy or raining, the scenery is excellent. A trip all the way to Villa O'Higgins is well worth it too.

To cross back over into Argentina I would highly recommend Paso Roballo, just north of Cochrane, spectacular. As mentioned before, in Argentina on Ruta 40 plan on no petrol between Tres Lagos and Calafate, except for Bajo Caracoles with is a bit of a detour. El Chalten has a petrol station, but it seems they are out of petrol more often than they have it. So plan on Tres Lagos to Calafate on one tank of gas just to be safe, about 400 km or possibly a bit more. I guess you could always try to buy some from a local in Chalten if the station is out, or when leaving Chalten, back track a bit to Tres Lagos and fuel up again.

Buen viaje.