I went to Chaitén to find out more about the chaiten volcano eruption and the catastrophe which happened here in 2008 in the 4th episode of my Hitchhiking trip along the Carretera Austral.
Related article: http://www.back-packer.org/backpacking-south-america/
After as short stop in the former capital and seeing the massive destruction it was time to move on to the north to finally get to the end/start of the Road 7 in Puerto Montt.
— my travel equipment —
camera http://www.back-packer.org/gopro_3
insurance http://www.back-packer.org/worldnomads_versicherung
packing list http://www.back-packer.org/patagonia-packing-list-trekking/
Online Language Course http://www.back-packer.org/babbel_eng
— About the Carretera Austral in Patagonia —
The Road number 7 connects the most remote areas of Chile and is one of the most beautiful roads in South America. It is an alternative road to the Panamericana which is located on the argentinean side of Patagonia.
Amongst Bikers and Cyclists this route is very popular due to the beautiful landscape even though the construction of the road was not done for tourism purpose.
In the 1970s there was a border conflict between Argentina and Chile in this part of Patagonia – the territories around the lago del desierto have not been clearly defined. Therefore Pinochet decided to build a road and populate the south of chile to claim the region and strengthen the position of Chile.
Nowadays the Ruta 7 is a mostly unpaved road and is located in 2 regions of Chile: Region Los Lagos in the northern part of the road and Region Aysen in the south.
To find out more about the Carretera Austral in Patagonia, Chile check out this mini documentary:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UYgh29HcycU
Spots and Sights in this Video:
– Futaleufú
– Chaitén
– Chaitén Volcano
– Pumalin National Park
– Hornopiren National Park
– Caleta Gonzalo
– Puerto Montt
– Puerto Varas
Map by Wikimedia:
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Carretera_Austral.png
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YouTube Music Library
http://www.back-packer.org/audiojungle
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