Cochrane Chile to O'Higgins - worth going
 

Resting up in Cochrane for a few days and trying to decide where to head next.
Obviously one option is to drive 230km to O'higgins and then 230km back so I was hoping to get opinions as to whether it was worth it given we are mostly concerned with scenery rather than towns and rarely take any sort of organised tours.

We are in no hurry and road condition isn't a big factor.

Any opinions gratefully considered

Well, crossing from Perito Moreno village in Argentina to pick up the Carretera Austral few years ago, we went straigh north.

To this day, I still deeply regret not going to O'Higgins. I guess I will have to go back to Chile and do this road to the end, some time in the future!

Make sure if you miss it now you won't be left with regrets!

you can cross the border at O'Higgins on the Rio Mayer crossing. Depends on the water depth. Not possible in Jan, but might be possible now.
That said, if you cross at Chile Chico / Los Antiguos you get a super ride on the south side of the lake before you connect with #7. That piece beats all of #7 in my mind.

Thanks - I'll have a look at it. We are in an IVECO 4 x 4 van so fording depth is a bit limited.

Hi Tony,

Sarah and I went down the road as far as Tortel, an interesting town as it has no roads, all walkways and it's very different. Good for a couple of hours to wander about. We're glad we did, but not too bothered that we did'nt hit V O Higgins.

Merv.

Yes, Tortel would have to be one of the least convenient places to live in. Once I went down the first hundred steps, there didn't seem to be a lot of point continuing so we headed out of town and found a beautiful grassy riverbank to camp on

At the bottom now. Road was good to excellent and the scenery for the lower half made the trip worthwhile. Guess the trip back will be equally interesting as there is always different viewpoints opening up as you go back.

Road from Caleta Tortel to O'Higgins is nice, empty, real "End Of The Word Road".

http://lh5.ggpht.com/-CmN1hkaw2ig/UX...jpg?imgmax=800

http://lh6.ggpht.com/-4PTGS3CFnOk/UX...jpg?imgmax=800

Tarmo RTW: Carretera Austral, Day 2, End Of The Road.

If you do come this way, don't count on fuel being available at O'Higgins. The fuel outlet was out of both gasoline and diesel yesterday and today, so you need a range of over 450km, more if you detour.