Bikepacking in Patagonia (Carretera Austral)
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The Carretera Austral — the 1,240 km dirt and gravel highway through Chilean Patagonia — is one of the world's great long-distance bikepacking routes. The road passes through temperate rainforest, beside turquoise glacial lakes, and beneath the spires of the Andes, with almost no traffic and wild camping wherever you stop. The defining challenge is wind: Patagonian gusts can exceed 100 km/h and blow consistently from the west and south, which is why most riders travel south-to-north to keep the wind mostly at their backs. The season runs from November to March — outside those months, snow closes many passes. Distances between resupply points can reach 150–200 km, so planning food carries carefully is essential. The remoteness is genuine: this is one of the least populated places on earth, and that is precisely the draw.
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Carretera Austral
Chile's 1,240 km Route 7 is the defining Patagonian bikepacking route — unpaved for most of its length, passing glacial lakes, hanging valleys, and Patagonian rainforest with almost no traffic.
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Ruta 40 – Southern Section
Argentina's mythic Route 40 through the southern steppe is bleak, windswept, and impossibly vast — a true expedition route through some of the least populated land on earth.
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Torres del Paine Circuit Approach
Cycling to the gateway of Torres del Paine National Park through the Última Esperanza province adds 100–200 km of Patagonian road and gravel to one of the world's great natural landscapes.
Best time to ride
November to March is the only practical window for the Carretera Austral and Ruta 40 — this is the southern hemisphere summer. December and January bring the longest days but also the strongest winds. February and March often have more settled conditions and fewer tourists. Outside this window, snow blocks the passes, ferry services reduce drastically, and services along the route may be closed.