After 40 days cycling through stunning Patagonian landscapes, we share our Top 6 insights from the Carretera Austral - one of the most famous “bucket-list” cycling routes in the world.

Our cycling journey on the Carretera Austral ended where most people begin, in northern Patagonia. Riding among the glacier-topped mountains and tranquil river valleys, we were reminded of the landscape’s darker side - natural disasters that recently wreaked havoc on isolated towns. We enjoyed cozy cabins that offered refuge between rainforest camps within pristine national parks. While ferries helped us continue our journey whenever the road ended at the edge of a deep river or fjord. And along the way we crossed paths with other cyclists from around the world, gaining inspiration from their stories and dreams of future adventures.

As a steady downpour soaked us and our gear, we quickly learned a truth about the Carretera Austral - the western side of the southern Andes is all about rain. We rode through landscapes reflecting the abundance of water with shimmering lakes, rushing rivers, rainforest-covered hills, and thickets of moss, fuchsia flowers, and ferns. The terrain also was more demanding, as we cycled over three of the highest passes along the Carretera Austral. Along the way it was the many small pleasures, like a crackling fire, a pile of fresh, ripe cherries or a roadside meet-up with friends that created fond, lasting memories.

As we cycled northward through Patagonia, there was one road we knew we must ride - the alluring Carretera Austral (‘Southern Highway’ in English). Although the road was ‘completed’ in 2003, much of it remains unpaved, linking tiny villages that still feel rustic and remote. We entered the Carretera Austral from Tortél, a picturesque village on stilts by the sea. Along the way we were surrounded by Andean peaks swathed in snow and ice, which wrung moisture out of the clouds that nourished the temperate rainforests growing thick on the mountain slopes.