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Mythical journeys
OUR 7 LEGENDARY ITINERARIES
THE CARRETERA AUSTRAL o c e a n
country visited: Chile distance: 1 240 km
pac i f i c
starting point: Puerto Montt
A R G E N T INA
End point: Villa O’Higgins
Villa O’Higgins
h kg poi n t of v i ew
The Austral Route, also known as Route 7, opened in 1986 and was built at the instigation of Augusto Pinochet. In fact, until 1989, it was called "La Carretera General Augusto Pinochet." It's the continuation of the famous Pan-American highway and snakes between the Andes mountain range and the Pacific Ocean. It was built to connect the remote province of Aisén which, until then, was underserved due to its geographical complexity and difficult climate. To connect the towns and villages in this remote part of Chile, the road had to pass through fjords, impenetrable forests, marshlands and cliffs. After some twenty years of work and more than 500,000 kilos of explosives, this mammoth project successfully opened up the region, facilitating the arrival of water and electricity but also education