To travel to the Aysén region that makes up much of Northern Patagonia, you need to travel down the Carretera Austral. This 1,240-kilometer route is not a “highway” as the name implies, but more of an adventuresome route through some of Chile’s most remote areas. It was started by former strongman Augusto Pinochet, who employed over 10,000 soldiers to build a route that would connect Patagonia to the mainland, and took more than 20 years to complete. These days, it still isn’t entirely paved, nor does it have a vehicle outlet on the southern end, as it terminates in Villa O’Higgins surrounded by glaciers and fjords. It is one of the last great road trips in the world.
Photo courtesy of Dave Stamboulis
This article was originally published by 10best.com. Read the original article here.