Access
To get to the start of the walk, catch a bus from Coyhaique heading south, and ask to be let off (see Route Description) - the bus driver will probably know the place, and it is marked with a sign showing a walker. It should take about 3 hours to get there (but our bus broke down, so I don´t really know...). Don Carlos busses run every day except Sunday - other companies may run on Sundays.
From the end of the walk at Villa Cerra Castillo, busses head north every day except Sunday, and south every day. We hitched as we didn´t want to wait until the middle of the next day for a bus, and Villa Cerra Castillo isn´t very exciting. Rio Tranquillo is a couple of hours drive south, and a much nicer place to spend the night.
Maps
- If you are not a novice walker, you could complete this walk using the map in the Lonely Planet.
- Conaf publishes a 1:90000 topographic map with the walking route marked. This map includes sufficient detail to complete the walk. You should be able to get this at the CONAF office at Laguna Chiguay (6km from the start of the walk described in the Lonely Planet). We got ours at the new refugio CONAF are building, from the guy who was doing the building...
- Lago Elizalde (Section I, No 132)
- Balmaceda (Section I, No 133)
- Villa Cerra Castillo (Section J, No 10)
Route Description
- As provided in the Lonely Planet.
- This route is very well trodden, and not at all hard to follow.
- When we did the walk (January 2008), CONAF were building a hut at the entrance to the Reserva Nacional Cerra Castillo (LOnely Planet map shows reserve boundaries), not far from the Rio Turbio.
- CONAF have constructed 3 camp sites on the route which have toilets, picnic tables and fireplaces. The first of these is a few hundred metres up the track from where it enters the Rio Turbio valley. The second is near the confluence of the Eastern and Western branches of the Estero del Bosque, and the third is at Campamento Neozelandes. All sites are located in the bush rather than in the open.
- On the descent from the pass above Laguna Cerro Castillo, there should be no need to descend all the way to the Estero Prada before climbing to Campamento Neozelandes. You will pass a cairn and rock painted with 2 arrows (one pointing straight ahead, the other to the right). There is a high route to the right which from what I hear follows a line of cairns above the forest to the camp (this is shown on the CONAF map). The route straight ahead (shown on the CONAF map and in the Lonely Planet) is a rough and shitty scramble along the edge of a narrow valley until you reach the main track up the valley to the campamento.
- Laguna Duff, near Campanento Neozelandes, is well worth seeing. To get here, skirt the forest along the swampy clearing above the campamento until near its end, then pick a creek heading up to your right (there are a few), follow this and then climb the rocky slope to and obvious valley. There are a few cairns on the rocky slope, which are more helpful on the way down.
- A short version of this walk could start from Villa Cerro Castillo, head up the horse track to Laguna Cerro Castillo and down to Campamento Neozelandes, and then back to town the next day. This route gives a good taste of the scenery the 4 day route has to offer.
