35
ediciones
Cambios
→Season 2025/2026
=Section Log, Alerts and Suggestions=
==Season 2025/262026== ''' GPT33/2026-02-14 to 2026-02-20/6 days/ SOBO/RR-Variant E,H/Denis, Robert ''' Resupply in Villa Cerro Castillo we did in Minimarket Villarica, they have gas as well. It was closed but we called them and begged to open for us. Despite the bad weather forecast due to rain and strong wind, we decided to go to the section packed for 6-7 days. Up to 46 km it is only road later with some fallen trees which we could easily overpass. Next 10 km are on nice, looks like used trail. On the junction with O8 there is old Puesto, which could be potentially good shelter from bad weather, we saw mouse there. From 59km we took Variant D to check on Lakes, it is pure CC between rocks and boulders all the way to the pass. But even with light rain the rocks weren’t slippery. After pass is important to follow GPX track, otherwise you could end up close to stepper terrain. We camped next to the lake at the camping spot, we spent there whole afternoon and next morning because of rain storm and wind. BB and CC wasn’t too difficult but it took while to get through, bush, muddy terrain, rivers. First 2,5 km we jumped from one side of river to another depending on the better conditions. But later it is good to stay on left. From 68,5 km it is nice trail. The first ford at 70 km was up to knees fairly easy and the second at 80 km, was up to waist but still easy to do. (It was day after heavy rainfall and in the evening). Took variant H to avoid another fording. Traverse of the lake was very nice, good trail with amazing views, it is up and down, time consuming but totally worth it. Camps: 1. S 46.167090° W 72.254022° spot in forest hidden from road na water 2. S 46.29927° W 72.48627° spot in forest next to the meadow and river, sheltered from wind 3. S 46.421887° W 72.506877° camp spot next to the lake, beautiful views but not perfectly sheltered from wind 4. S 46.457862° W 72.301269° next to river, better to take water from better source5. S 46.438222° W 71.995427° nice spot on grass between trees, good sheltered, 300 meter from water 6. S 46.298789° W 71.968988° spot on grass, sheltered from wind no water Attractiveness 5/5Difficulty 4/5 * '''2026 Feb 2 to Feb 14 / 11 hiking days, 2 zero days / NOBO / Hiking / RR, Var H, Var E, Opt 2 / Michael and Kasia''' QUICK NOTES: A long and grueling section, but worth it if you get good weather and nice views of the Torres. It is worth making the effort to time this section with the weather, both for enjoyment as well as safety. We think NOBO is the much more attractive direction to go, especially up the Torres valley. The camp at the Torres is only for excellent weather, but worth it. If not planning to do the pass, the bypass valley is really enjoyable and has many nice views of its own. CAMPS: Night 1: -46.43813, -71.99556 (Camp 113.9, flat space for multiple tents on grass, good wind protection, no view, water about 200 m away Night 2: -46.48709, -72.10010 (On the Campo Chico península, flat space for one tent, a little wind protection from west winds but not much, nice view, water from the lake very close by) Night 3: -46.46164, -72.24432 (Flat space for one tent, wind protection from west winds, some view, water about 200 m away) Night 4: -46.45153, -72.41652 (Flat, grassy area, space for a few tents, good wind protection, water close by) Night 5: -46.42558, -72.50041 (Flat space for one tent, water nearby, good wind protection) Night 6: -46.42178, -72.50672 (Camp 63.4, stellar view, no wind protection, difficult water access) Night 7: -46.43207, -72.43984 (near Ford 69.8, wind protected, water nearby) Nights 8-10: -46.36802, -72.43937 (At Puesto? 4.8, flat space for 2 tents, excellent wind protection, no view, water is about 200 m away) Night 11: -46.26115, -72.40152 (flat spot for 1 tent, water nearby, some wind protection, right on the trail) Night 12: -46.15244, -72.22080 (Emergency camp, not recommended, no water) WATER: Generally very accessible, however on the minor road section of RR close to Cerro Castillo there was a 16 km stretch where we did not find water. Details below. Day 01 - Feb 2nd We took the bus from Ibáñez to the cruz. The route is well known by the locals and the driver knew the spot. She asked if we were planning to come back via Ibáñez or leaving through Cerro Castillo. (We stayed in Ibáñez at Cabañas Antu, a nice place, we would recommend (+56 9 7996 0067). The owner works for the municipality and confirmed what another report here said, that they will build a road to the port, in part to promote tourism, and they plan to make the Avellanos a protected area. He said they are doing exploration and surveys now, but in about 5 years they will start the road.) The minor road out is easy to follow. There were a couple of locked gates we had to hop. We stopped for lunch near Water 119.9 at the point where Daniel camped. It looked like a good camping spot with easy water access. We met Graham and Gabe headed SOBO and chatted with them for a bit. The road down is steep and sandy. Camp 116.3 had a flattish space but there were the plants with the spikey little balls growing everywhere. We pushed on to Camp 113.9 and were happy with the choice. It was just off the trail (look for the hole in the fence), flat, grassy, and wind protected. We had to go back to the stream about 200 m away for water. Day 02 - Feb 3rd The day of ups and downs. For some reason last year we were under the impression that the route went right along cliffs above the water and would be challenging for someone with vertigo (we both have it). We did not find this to be the case at all. There were a few short tricky spots, but nothing particularly bad. This would, however, be very unpleasant to walk in windy or rainy weather. Fortunately it was dry and windless most of the day. As we got closer to the lake there were some BB sections which became tiring. When we got to the lake at one point we put on water shoes and walked the rocky beach to save on the BB. We camped at the Campo Chico península near the east beach. We looked at the area under the willows near the old puesto, but we couldn't see how to put the tent. Many of the branches hung low, the ground was sloped, and there was no good water access. Above the beach we found a spot next to what looked to be another old puesto, there was an old wood stove, a table and some corrugated sheet metal. The wind protection was not great. Camping directly on the beach would probably have been better. Day 03 - Feb 4th The last 4 km to the port were mostly easy. Toward the end we switched to water shoes and walked the shore to avoid BB. We walked until we reached a fence built out into the lake. Just up the hill was an open gate and the road to the refugio. It was very windy there. We found a place in the bushes that was wind protected and had lunch. The refugio itself was not that inviting. It looked like a temporary office on a construction site. After lunch we started up the minor road. It was windy and there was a bit of rain on and off. The road and the landscape both felt kind of monotonous. We camped just before Ford 87.2 in the same place Dave and Siyuan camped (and thank you to them for leaving the GPS coordinates in the report, I doubt we would have seen that spot otherwise). It was a flat space big enough for our tent on grass with good wind protection from west winds. Water was about 200 m away at the ford. Day 04 - Feb 5th A mild day, no real wind, some sun and some clouds, cool, which we were happy for. We used the open Wi-Fi network at Puesto 81.8 to check the weather again. The network was not password protected and we were able to get signal from the road. We took Var H to only have to cross the river once. The crossing was easier than we expected. We crossed very close to the marked crossing at km 81.2. It was just above the knees at the deepest point (we're both about 165 cm) with decent current but manageable. Shortly after crossing we saw Roberto just as he was taking his ox cart across the river. We waved to each other. No one was around when we passed Maria and Julio's. We took Var E because the RR after the intersection looked like bush bashing through swamp. The trail kept disappearing for the first kilometer or so, but it was in open forest so we just needed to navigate around fallen trees. After a kilometer the trail became much more consistent and easy to follow. We camped at about km 1.4 on the variant. It was a nice, flat grassy spot just after a muddy stream crossing in a clearing that provided good wind protection but with no trees directly overhead, so no risk of falling branches. For water I went up stream a few meters and found an area that was sandy with good flow and ladled the water with my cup, being careful not to stir up sediment. The water tasted surprisingly good, very clean and fresh. Day 05 - Feb 6th We got started early to get across the last major ford. The remainder of Var E was in good shape and easy to follow. Ford 71.8 was easy. The two km between it and Ford 69.8 was also in good shape and easy to follow. Ford 69.8 was knee deep for us and actually quite easy. Fortunately there had been several cooler or overcast days without any real rain, so the level was low. The path up to Trailhead 68.5 was very steep for a lot of it. We stopped for lunch at Camp No Water 68.7. It is an old corral. We would not be able to put our tent up there if we wanted to. It was sloped ground, very lumpy, and had lots of shrubs and small trees growing inside of it. At the Trailhead waypoint we followed a dry creek bed down to the river. The level was fairly low, about half calf, and we decided to try walking the river instead of fighting with the forest. For the next three hours we crossed back and forth across the river. I cannot say for certain if it was faster. For us it was a bit easier because our bags are rather heavy which makes going over downfalls cumbersome, and with the water level still relatively low it wasn't too bad. By around 16:00 we got to just before the side valley drainage emptied into the main river and we had to go up into the forest. We were getting tired and as the warm sunny day progressed, the water level and the current both went up. After that we switched between the forest and the river four or five more times before the end of the day. We found a decent place to camp in the woods. It was fairly flat, right near a stream, and had the remains of an old fire ring on the side. Day 06 - Feb 7th We took a slow morning. Two other GPTers passed us on their way to the Torres and we had a nice chat. The last 200-300 meters of the route up to the Torres is a steep granite boulder field. It required a bit of scrambling and was quite exhausting. At the campsite there is a short stone wind wall that was too small for our X-Mid 2. We managed to set it up outside the wall, though it was a bit of a challenge. The whole area could accommodate maybe three small tents, one inside the wind wall and two outside of it, but for larger footprint tents it is not so easy. Water is the other issue there. Right as the track reaches the ridge going NOBO, just before it turns right, there was a way to get down to the lake that wasn't too steep. The campsite was another 200 m further on from that point. We had excellent weather for the day, sunny and no wind. The Torres and the other mountains around, which are just as interesting, looked nice after the sun was behind them. The finer details were more visible. The night was surprisingly warm. Day 07 - Feb 8th We got up about a half hour before sunrise. We got to see the orange light on the Torres which was very exciting. We stayed for about an hour and a half taking pictures. We found a slightly different way down the boulder field which went quicker. On the way down the hill we found a trail of sorts and followed it as long as we could. Eventually we ended up back in the river crossing back and forth. I used TracBack on the Garmin to look at how we had come up and that took the guess work out of the fording points. It took us about half as long to get down as it did to go up. We were fortunate that the level was relatively low again. The only tricky part was right after the side valley river joined the main one. We decided to camp early and stayed down near Ford (69.8). Just after we set up camp it started to rain a bit. Day 08 - Feb 9th We knew that a sistema frontal had been coming, and Tuesday was supposed to be a day of heavy rain and high wind, so we wanted a good place to wait it over. We remembered from last year that the camp at Puesto ? 4.8 was very well wind protected and had flat, grassy space. We started early to get there as early as possible. We arrived around 13:00. The trail was surprisingly good for most of the way. As the flood plain opened up near the swampy area we just followed the river banks, crossing where necessary to avoid BB and trail hunting. The puesto shelter had partially collapsed. We camped in the flat, grassy space just beyond it. There was a short path leading to a small clearing with a log that looked like it had been cut to be a trough. Day 09 & 10 - Feb 10th & 11th Took zero days to wait over rain and high wind. The campsite had excellent wind protection. Day 11 - Feb 12th A cold but beautiful sunny day. We continued to enjoy the bypass valley. All fords were easy, even after rain and snow up above. On the way up to Puesto 53, 2 guys with a team of horses passed us. After the pass a few of the bridges and wooden culverts had collapsed and we ended up doing several unexpected shoe changes. We camped just off the trail at km 37. Day 12 - Feb 13th The MR was in good shape the rest of the way. We passed a group of three hikers going SOBO. Having hiked in on Opt 3B last season, we wanted to hike out on RR. The views of Lago Lapparent, Lago Alto and Lago Verde were very nice. The road gets a bit tiring after a while. Camp 16.9+0.3 would have required a fence jump, and the gate was padlocked from the inside. We didn't know if that meant someone was there and didn't want to risk an issue so we kept on hiking. Camp 9.6+0.2 should be removed from the tracks. On the map it looks as if it is 200 m off the main road and easily accessible via a minor road. In reality there is no road, just a 40 m dropoff, and no access to the campsite or the lake. We ended up climbing through a fence and camping in the woods near an abandoned house in a spot without water. An important note if taking RR there is a 16 km stretch where water is not easily available. We did not find any water between km 19.5 where there was public beach access to Lago Alto until km 3. Despite the number of lakes on the map, the MR goes quite high above them and they are all fenced off, so access is difficult if not impossible. There were some other features on the map that looked like ponds, but they turned out to be seasonal wetlands which were either dry, or muddy, stagnant water. We didn't take enough and ended up camping without water for the night which was not pleasant. Obviously depending on the time of year there might be water here, but in mid-February there wasn't. Day 13 - Feb 14th We continued on the road. We walked about 100 m past X 5.5 before realizing that it was beyond a gate and had to walk back to it. The MR is actually nice, starting to disappear and look more like a trail. The views into the surrounding mountains were very nice; there is a panoramic view of Cerro Castillo and the other mountains in the range. We finally found water at (-46.137001, -72.177002) around km 3. There were some pipes going across the trail directing water into three large cisterns. I followed the pipes through the bushes for about 2 m and found enough of a stream to get water. We hiked down to the highway and arrived in Cerro Castillo around noon. * '''GPT33H / 2026-01-17 to 2026-01-21/ 5 Days / SOBO / Hiking / 3B, RR, 8, 4 / Alex and Aoife.''' Attractiveness: 5/5 Difficulty: 4 / 5 verging on 5/5 in the overgrown parts of Option 8 (Our day 4). We chose to backtrack from the Pass to Option 08 and descend into Bahia Murta so we could go and see the Marble Caves. If we had time, and had known about it before hand we would have also walked up a track to get a view of the Torres from the Northern aspect. The track begins around Camp ? {33H-08} [11.6/548]-46.397340, -72.582010 and ascends a trail following Rio Estero South. We were told you can find the track details/GPX for that particular part on WikiLoc which seems to be like a Chilean 'Alltrails'. Day 1:Bus from Coyhaique at 0800. ( Bus Company, Don Carlos), 9k CLP To option 3B Trail Head. Distance: 22kmTime: 1100- 1800Water: Water available at various points where the river passes under bridges. Small stream at eastern edge of campsite clearing.Camp: -46.26492, -72.41280 Route: Option 3b MR, easy walk to where it joins to the RR- along a gravel road. Nice views. Didn't see a single car only saw a friendly man on a horse. Day 2: Distance: 22kmTime: 07.45- 19.45Water: Lots of opportunities for water on the route. Water available on the pass from a stream (We were there 2 days after heavy rainfall) Route: Easy start on MR until you find the TL that takes you through Lenga forrest. We followed cow tracks ( and poo) through the forest. Trail not always clear but easy enough to find. Slow moving in boggy grassy sections. Crossed multiple streams. Took off shoes once. Camp: Plenty of camping options along the way. Upon reaching the pass we decided to camp there as we had a good forecast, good views and tired legs. Would only consider with nil wind forecast. Views were amazing, had a nice sunset. * We saw a great campsite for maybe 3 tents on a sandy beach next to stream with some plunge pools and very sheltered at -46.409772, -72.498086 Day 3: Distance: 14.31kmTime: 1100-1940Water: Plenty of options along the route. We prefer small clear streams rather than glacial rivers. No small streams at campsite But we had carried enough from earlier. Route: We followed the RR back down to the unmarked Puesto we had passed the previous day, near enough to:Camp {33H} [52.7/953] (-46.34585, -72.49821)We then took option 8 all the way to the remains of a Puesto (-46.36573, -72.52865) and camped here. Trail easy enough to follow. Follow the cow poo and hoof prints. Camp: The remains of a Puesto (-46.36573, -72.52865) not many flat spots, by a river not a stream. If you continued a few hundred ms more there was a more idyllic location close to a stream. Day 4: Distance: 12.3kmTime: 0700- 1700Water: plenty of water spots along the way. Route: Continued on option 8. Not far into this day the trail became a full body workout. An obstacle course requiring lots of maneuvering over many fallen trees, hard to follow path, very slow and tiring day. Track very overgrown in parts. Camp: 'Camp? {33H-08} [8.1/462]' (-46.410860, -72.612140) - waterfall not far from camp a bit further down the track at around: (-46.41242, -72.61436) Day 5: Distance: 8.45kmTime: 3hrs 20minsWater: Few options early on, we filled up few km before TL meets the MR when there is a fence and a gate blocking the river. Route: Easy day , followed option 8 all the way to the gate at the PR on option 4. Started early as was hoping to hitch a ride to the marble caves at Rio Tranquilo , we managed to and would recommend. Upon completion of the cave tour we missed the bus to Chile Chico by only about 20 mins, we decided that was a sign to have some rest so we camped at ‘Bellavista: Hospedaje, Camping y Transporte’ 8k CLP p/p, it was fine. Kitchen access, showers etc. Quite busy. * <span style="background-color:aqua;">'''2026-01-17 to 2026-01-22 / 6 Days / Packrafting & Hiking / SOBO then NOBO / Opt 09, 08, RR, Var D, Opt 03 / Michel & Lisa'''</span> Summary: Another really beautiful section. It's a bit of a battle to get up to the Torres (either long road waking or bush bashing) but it's actually worth it. We took the packraft down Río Murta in very high flow and stashed things in Cruce Murta before venturing up to the Torres. There are definitely mice here as well so we made sure to always hang our food and had zero problems this way. Option 8 is both nice and deserted but also tough, especially for going in. As others have said it might be a better option to get out with lighter packs, due to the bushwhacking and the elevation gain on this route. Day 1 We took the bus towards Chile Chico from Coyhaique at 8:00 from the bus terminal and got dropped off at River In {33H-09) [0.0/275] at around 12:15. There's an open, small hut that we used for shelter from the setting in rain. You could sleep in there as well. The river water levels were really high due to rain the previous two days and the flow fast - very different from what the satellite images show. Turbid, brown water instead of crystal clear, blueish. We started paddling and enjoyed the really fast flow (10 km/h and more when completely in the flow). At the same time it meant that we couldn't see much of what was going on below the water surface and we scratched over rocks a couple of times. There were hardly any rock islands visible and we floated over places that on satellite images are just rock - there was that much water. At times we were worried that the river could become dangerous in narrow stretches if there were sunken trees but nothing dangerous happened. We made the 36 km to Bridge (33H-04) [0.2/211] in only 3 h 20 min (excluding breaks). We took close by, at Residencial Patagonia [-46.44156, -72.71190] where the high water levels basically allowed us to float into their back yard. We stayed the night (20000 clp pp in a room, 8000 clp for camping) and stored our packraft in the alojamiento for going to the torres. Day 2 We hitchhiked to Bahía Murta, bought some additional supplies and started hiking Option 8. The path is clear and easy to travel at first. After Ford {33H-08} [11.5/545] (Estero Sur) the trail becomes harder to follow with boggy sections and lots of fallen trees. There's considerable elevation gain up to Water (33H-08} [14.5/946], where you get the first nice views of the valley and start descending again. We continued to Camp (33H-08} [16.1/703] where we found a spot that's just big enough to put a 2 person tent and not exactly flat but good enough. All in all we did 22.3 km that day in 9 h 25 min, thanks to the bushwhacking which wasn't terrible but not exactly pleasant either. Day 3 We continued from our camp and were positively surprised that the path actually got better after the first ~3-4 km with less fallen trees, a more visible path and less soggy ground. There are many more potential campsites along this section which are not marked in the track files, some of them I noted here: * S46.376195° W72.537594°* S46.354586° W72.516934°* S46.348093° W72.501339° (camp with some tables and a view over an open (boggy) area with mountains in the background - looks like someone is trying to set something more commercial up here)* S46.352356° W72.489023° We got to RR at around 14:00 and continued for a while before taking a well deserved lunch break. We chose to follow Variant D which is more direct and leads to the first lagoon. If you're comfortable with hiking over rocks and boulders we would definitely recommend this over RR since the view of the towering mountains you get once you're at the lagoon is amazing (given good weather I suppose). There are no obvious camp spots at the lagoon itself but you can find level, sandy spots in the vicinity of you wanted to stay here. It can probably get pretty windy down here though. We continued to Camp {33H} [61.1/1167] and went for a swim in the second lagoon (yes, the weather was that good, haha - lucky us!) which is about 10 min walking from the camp. We didn't find a perfectly flat spot here but there are a couple options that are actually more than fine. The advantage of picking this site is that you're really sheltered from the wind, thanks to the trees. Water nearby and soft ground (vegetation) are added benefits. Some parts are quite wet so you might have to search around for a moment to find something suitable. Day 4 We decided to have a relaxed day and just hiked up to the pass to see the actual Torres, which to be honest we found almost a bit underwhelming. Personally I much preferred the view down the valley from our camp and from the first lagoon. But you might get a better view from down in the valley from the lagoons (i.e. after descending from the pass, which we didn't do). Still, the Torres are impressive and it was definitely worth the walk up. From the valley bottom and the pass it looked like one could potentially climb up to one of the passes to the east to get a view down onto option 02 (-46.40615, -72.48187 or -46.40237, -72.48235) but it would be a scramble - we didn't try. Potentially it could even be possible to go down there to join option 02 with some bushwhacking, but that's really a shot into the blue. Maybe someone wants to try. ;) Day 5 Since there was some bad weather forecast for the coming days we decided to hike out. Going down we decided to try the RR to be able to compare with variant D. RR was also fine but there was some trail finding through the forest required and some boggy sections as well. However, it might still be slightly faster than Variant D. Still, coming up I would highly recommend Variant D so you get the beautiful view from the lagoon. We came all the way to [-46.28395, -72.44366] in 6 h 50 min, where we camped. The spot is close to the road but invisible from there, nice and flat and wind protected. In the evening a pigmy owl came for a visit and sat in the tree next to us really close before it was detected by another bird and flew away - a pretty special encounter. Lots of mouse holes everywhere so we hung our food like always on this section just to be sure. Day 6 We continued along the road, first nice and shady in the forest and then in the scorching heat of the sun. We saw a pigmy owl in the forest that allowed us to observe it for quite a while and then we even saw it catch some large insect (a firefly maybe?) which felt like another really special moment along the otherwise rather dull road.We continued walking along the road until we were lucky to get picked up by one of the settlers who was driving to Villa Cerro Castillo with his wife. They were very friendly and explained a lot about their lifestyle living up in the mountain valley all year. They said that the flow of hikers to the Torres has really increased in the past few years and that some people seem to be setting up some gear for climbing up there with clients. They said that they didn't mind hikers coming to visit. :) * ''' 2026-01-16 to 2026-01-20 / 5 days / Hiking / SOBO 3B, RR, H, K / Daniel.s ''' Not much to add to the previous entries (especially Dave and Siyuan and Emily and Kole) Day 1 was a roadhike in the rain and cold for me, Camp at 38.5/1020 (-46.26492, -72.41280) Day 2 started late (noon) due to snow and rain in the morning. Trail in good condition, CC quite wet due to rain. Camped at x with Option 8 (mice in the shelter!) Day 3 perfect weather day, CC to pass very wet due to previous rain, wet feet again, otherwise straight forward. See D+S recommended exit point after pass. A lot of scrambling over granite blocks. Further down - as E+K mentioned boggy on both sides of the river, from about halfway it's probably better to stay left of the river. Camp at first Ford, like D+S. Day 4 trail and MR to Puerto Avellano, river crossing where D+S suggested, a braided section, knee deep for me and immediate connection to MR on the other side. Day 5 trail along the lake is energy consuming, it's 90% loose rock, sand and gravel. MR is steep and dusty in the beginning, great campsite at S 46.40217°, W 071.97845° near water. * ''' 2025-Dec-13 to 2025-Dec-19 / 7 days / Hiking / SOBO RR, Opt 8 / Massa and Jacicek ''' We did not complete whole trail, but what we saw was really nice. Exit by opt 8 took us 2.5 days. No problems with water or Fords. Day 1Hiked from Villa Cerro Castillo to Lago Alto, we had lift for approx 5km.The Rr from km 1.2 (after you walk off caretera austral) is through nice hills and very pretty, until you reach the minor road.Camped on a hill alongside Lago Alto at [-46.17655, -72.32639], with a view on Laguna Verde, the spot is not flat and not well wind protected. Day 2Hiked through beautiful woods, as noted, camp x is fenced off and there are trespassing sings, however, there is also a ladder over the fence, so no problems there. Walked up to the Ford with Estero Alto and camped approx 200m before the ford km 36 [-46.25544, -72.38370 ] . Several spots with flat spaces there. Day 3Forded the Estero Alto river on km 36, ankle deep only. Beautiful section with large meadows. Camped at the end of the meadow alongside the stream on km 51 [-46.33183, -72.48916 ] . Day 4This day, we got awful weather, stopped approx 3km before Torres de Avellano. Camped in small spot in the forest, place for one tent, good wind protection [-46.37974, -72.49111 ] . Day 5Decided to turn back and head for Bahia Murta using opt 8. Camp at [-46.36514, -72.52866]. Path is recognizable and traversable. Day 6 Fallen trees in the path, lots of ups and downs. Camped next to a Camp ? [11.6/548]. When we came, there were tents erected there, however nobody was present, we camped near the river, outside of the obvious camp. In the evening a guy came and we asked him if we can camp there and said yes. In the morning a local guide (different guy) came and said that it would be better to camp in the main camp, as there is a toilet, and to give him a heads up beforehand (www.guiasdelavellano.com). Day 7The path from Camp ? Is maintained, however parts are muddy. * '''2025-12-27 to 2026-01-02 / 7 days / Hiking / SOBO / 3B + RR + H / Dave & Siyuan''' We took 8 days of food with us from Villa Cerro Castillo and hoped we would get lifts at the start and the end. Luckily we did get lifts (32km in total) and spend 7 days on the trail. Day 1 - 16km - 10:30-17:00🚌 9.40am bus from Villa Cerro Castillo to start of Option 3B🥾 Walked 1km, got a lift 🚗 for 6km to the RR, walked on the road for the rest of the day, a couple of gates, one easy ford. The public road ends at a locked gate at -46.26266, -72.35047.⛺️ Camp at 38.5/1020 (-46.26492, -72.41280) the edge of this large clearing is sheltered from the wind with a stream nearby. Day 2 - 20km - 09:00-19:00🥾 Easy road walk and horse trail in the morning, then it gets harder in the forest as the trail isn’t obvious a the time. Many stream crossings and boggy sections but kept feet dry.⛺️ Camp at 58.8/1020 (-46.39009, -72.49369) one tent spot, away from the wind, as recommended by Emily & Kole - thanks! Day 3 - 11km - 09:00-20:00🥾 The pass day. It was raining on and off the whole day and we didn’t get to see all the views. No snow on the way up and walked around one snow patch on the way down. Make sure you follow the RR and head left at the top of the pass (to approx -46.41859, -72.49544) so you descend on the rocky/bouldery patch in between the slippery steep slabs. Once we reached the bottom, we walked on the left bank of the river, 4 km of CC, BB and intermittent animal trails, slow going. ⛺️ Camp at 69.8/634 just before the ford. Day 4 - 17.5km - 09:00-17:30🥾 The day of river crossings of Rio Avellano and other side streams. The first main one at camp dropped a little bit overnight. It was up to our crotch deep. Fast current, manageable with careful footing. The second time crossing Rio Avellano, we crossed it here (-46.45641, -72.32730) a braided section. It was at knee deep. The river path probably changes every year as where we crossed didn’t look like what’s on satellite images.⛺️ Camped at 87.4/454 (-46.46164, -72.24432) one tent tent, partially wind protected. It was 200m after a ford. Day 5 - 15km 10:00-14:00 and 19:00-20.30🥾 Easy walking on minor road towards the lake. Very windy and dusty. Spent a few hours at the disused port building at Puerto Avellano to shelter from the afternoon wind. Walked the last few kms after dinner.⛺️ Campo Chico 102.4/212 (-46.48727, -72.10030) near the lake. Day 6 - 14km - 08.15-16.15🥾 A dusty day walking up and down hills along the shore through thorny bushes. Crossing a stream or creek every hour or two. Windy. ⛺️ Campsite 116.3/239 was full of thorns, except one tent spot near a boggy area (-46.42128, -71.98175). Day 7 - 14km - 09:00-14.00 + hitchhiking🥾 Walked along the shore then up on a dusty road. 14km to the road intersection between Puerto Ibanez and Levican. We found only two water sources between the lake and the road - both small streams: (-46.40371, -71.97566), and (-46.38677, -71.97407). Both might be dry in drought. 🚗 We waited at a bus stop shelter for 1.5h before the first car passed and picked us up. 🚌 We took a bus back to Coyhaique at night from Puerto Ibanez instead of staying there due to perfect bus timing and cheaper and wider resupply options in Coyhaique. *'''2025-12-27 to 2026-01-02/ 7 days/ Hiking/ NOBO/ RR, Option 8, RR, Variant D/RR/ Option 3B/ Option 3/ Greg Carter, Tomas Martinec''' OverallThe Torres de Avellano are spectacular, and it’s well worth the effort to access them. Attraction: 5Difficulty: 4 Important note: at Puesto Aguero (Day 1) we encountered an official looking sign requiring registration and payment of CLP 6,000 per person/ night, for Torres del Avellano. However Andre Aguero did not seek to enforce this. In the future this may be enforced regardless of the entry point into the area of the Torres. Day 1We got the 7am bus (CLP 10,500) from Cochrane which dropped us off at Cruce Murta at around 11am. From there we walked 3km to the trailhead of Option 8, where a new gate must be climbed. The trail is steep and when it enters the forest there is a lot of fallen trees and branches, however most have been cleared up to a puesto which has been built at Camp? {33H-08} [11.6, 548]. This puesto is owned by a friendly guide (Andres Aguero), who takes clients on a private trail up to the Torres de Avellano from the puesto, on a 20km round trip. Andres has built a bridge over the Estero Sur, at [11.5, 545], so no ford is necessary there. We camped at the puesto for no cost. My tent had a hole in the morning, as did a number of food bags: hang your food here and all other camps! Day 2After the puesto the trail is not used or maintained, and it is very slow going with many fallen trees and branches. We left at 7am, pushed hard with a few quick breaks, and arrived at the intersection with the RR at 2:40pm, a distance of approximately 12km ie less than 2km/h. There is another abandoned puesto at -46.36573, -72.52865, at approximately 19km. It was not necessary to ford the Rio Resbalin at [15.6] or [15.8], we stayed on the southern side of the river. At the RR intersection there is good camping at -46.34573, -72.49709, alongside a stream, near a corral. The nearby puesto was not occupied. It was nice to meet David Brophy and Siyuan Hong passing through. That afternoon, knowing that the next 2 days would be rainy, we did a quick return hike up the RR, to see the Torres in perfect visibility. There is an established sheltered camp on the RR at -46.36762, -72.48672. Day 3Zero rest day, as it rained all day. Day 4With sunny weather forecast for the following day, we again hiked in light rain up the RR towards the Torres and camped at -46.39020, -72.49375, where there is space for a 2 man and 1 man tent. We could not find the camp others have mentioned at -46.39161, -72.49438. Note: At about 58km it is easier to go up the slope to follow the cairns around the tree line, rather than follow the GPT eg cairns at -46.38167, -72.49209 and -46.38199, -72.49218. Day 5This day was perfect weather from beginning to end. Blue sky and little to no wind. The views of the Torres and the 2 lagunas were amazing, as are the views from the pass. The pass has no snow but there are a few patches of snow on the southern side of the pass, which are easy to avoid or walk across. We tried to get down to the 3rd laguna but went too far right and got stopped by steep slippery rock. In the afternoon we returned to the previous camp at the RR intersection (-46.34573, -72.49709). Day 6We hiked out NOBO along the RR and camped beside a river, near the bridge over the river to the Settler [29.4/537], who wasn’t home. There are nice views on the hike out of snow-capped mountains. Day 7Hiked out on Option 3B, and hitched within minutes on Option 3 into Villa Cerro Castillo. There is plenty of tourist traffic on the Carretera Austral. * ''' 2025-12-14 to 2025-12-15/ 2 days/ Hiking/ NOBO/ Option 1/Tomas Martinec''' This was my first test with a multiday hike outside the main tourist routes like Torres del Paine and El Chalte. It also served as practical way to get from Chile Chico to Villa Cerro Castillo where I planned to continue with the Cerro Castillo trek. The hike took me 2 days (about half of day of walking each day). Challenges:Lack of drinkable water at the plateauDifficulty finding a suitable camping spot in the middle section Day 1I took the ferry from Chile Chico to Puerto Ibanez Ingeniero (very cheap, around 2500 CLP) and started hike around midday. The first day follows an old gravel road. Cars passed ocasionally and several drivers even offered me the lift. The route offers some nice scenery, including a wattergall near the beginning and open landscapes in the higher sections. Finding a place to camp was difficult to me. The Camp {33H-01} [12.5/666] is on private land and in the morning I saw many cows around. In the end, I slept near Settler {33H-01} [13.7/636]. I recommend carrying water from the lower parts of the route. In the upper section there are lagoons, but the water is stagnant. Personally, I wasn't comfortable drinking it, even with water filter. Day 2This day follows a proper trail, passing lakes, forests, and open terrain. The views are beautiful- both of surrounding mountains and down into the valley- and I enjoyed this section a lot. The last 3 kms before entering to Villa Cerro Castillo are on an asphalt road, which is not very enjoyable.
'''2025-Dec-13 to 2025-Dec-18 / 6 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR, Var D, Var H, Var J, Opt 11, Opt 11G / Emily & Kole'''
Difficulty - 4/5
* Joined by Ohad for the roadwalk from Villa Cerro Castillo - thanks for the company! Hope you found your stove. Beautiful views of Cerro Castillo, Laguna Verde and Lago Alto. The camp at 32.0/700 is on private property, so we continued on to a flat spot on the river around 35km. There appeared to be good flat spots in the forest to the left of trail around 1km before 32.0.
* Timed our arrival to the Torres for a clear day. Took the ascent and descent (58.5km to 63.4) of the main pass slowly as it was covered in snow between knee to hip-height. Where possible we scrambled on the uncovered boulders to avoid post-holing. Took significant time. Variant D along the glacial lakes was nice, although it may require a bit more scrambling than RR. We met GPT hikers Bailey and Ed going NOBO on our ascent to the pass - a big thank you for the footsteps!
* The view of the Torres from the main Pass [61.9/1314] was great but the best viewpoint for us was from the lake by the Camp [63.4/995].
Day 5
Walked down the road to hitch. There's a bus shelter here to sit in and wait, protected from the wind. Waited an hour
==Season 2024/25==
=Transport to and from Route=
*2026 / Michael and Kasia
Subsidized bus between Puerto Ibáñez and Levican had the same schedule as 2025. WhatsApp to driver +56 9 9506 3176
*2025 / MiaimZelt