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 Estimated reading time: 7 min. |
  Gonzalo Azis |
Gonzalo Azis |
Chilean Patagonia has very beautiful sceneries surrounded by mountains and volcanoes worth visiting for fans of nature. If you consider yourself a fan, you should not miss it... |
Get yourself ready to face one of the most unforgettable experiences in your life (at least as regards traveling). You will tour impressive sites as you feel all the vertigo of speed. Hormones will flow inside your body as you feel the fresh air on your skin.
Before starting, it is very important that you check all the necessary documentation to cross the border into the neighboring country. In case you cannot drive this kind of motorbikes, you may enjoy the ride as a passenger.
This exploit will let you cross the frontier pass across the Andes Mountain Range towards Osorno. The closest pass is called Cardenal Samoré and lies 40 kilometers from Villa la Angostura (Neuquén, Argentina).
Once you cross the border, you will enjoy the excellent condition of the routes. In about 2 hours, you will have reached the capital of the Tenth Region: Osorno.
This city is very picturesque and offers all kinds of services. You will be welcomed by the people from Moto Aventura. You need not worry about anything. They will provide for your accommodation, meals, guides, motorbikes, helmets and everything necessary for the occasion.
Have a good rest. You will need all your strength for the adventure that begins the following morning and you will remember for the rest of your life. You will spend three days on an incredible off-road motorbike, with a 600-cc engine, which combines the strength of the classical motocross with the docility of the best cruisers. |
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First Day
You will set out at an early hour. The first day on the motorbike will take you around the City of Osorno to experience a first approach with the vehicle before going out into the road.
Osorno lies by the Rahue River. It offers a wide variety of tours and plenty of paved slopes. It is fun to drive around the city and get deep into the mystic motorbike theme. Everything becomes more pleasant as the city is so beautiful, full of wooden buildings, typical from the early XXth century and a result of immigration.
The tour includes several interesting points. First, you will take the República Avenue, which is quite busy. Before the avenue ends, you will turn left towards the Rahue Vantage Point, a spectacular place, special to take photographs: you will get incredible panoramic views of the volcanoes and the city.
After a while, but before noon, you will return to the city center to have lunch at one of the many restaurants the city has to offer. Afterwards, you may visit San Mateo's cathedral, right opposite the flowery Plaza de Armas. Built in 1577 (and restored in several opportunities), the architectural style of the temple is quite attractive with its ogival arches.
At this point, the motorbike will feel quite familiar and you will be able to visit the handicrafts park and the cultural center. Both are very interesting icons of the regional culture.
The former displays handicrafts made of leather, wool and wood. Talking with the craftsmen is a unique experience as they will tell you their stories and anechdotes. On the other hand, the cultural center will offer a moment of relax during which you will enjoy various artistic expressions.
If everything goes on as planned, sunset will not take long. This is the exact moment to get on the motorbike again and head for your hotel. After dinner, you will have spent a great day driving in the city before what is next on the following morning: going out into the road. |
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Second Day
The tour will led you to the East, abandoning the urban plains of Osorno and heading for the Andes Mountain Range. There are plenty of programs, therefore it is essential that you leave very early.
The pavement of the Chilean routes is painted green so they look like a golf green. On the other hand, the strict control made by the police (the Carabineros) makes all drivers respect regulations, thus sensibly reducing accidents.
You will take International Route 215 towards Entre Lagos. The road will slowly get you into a mountainous scenery. You will cross beautiful farms and country estates located on the route. In the middle of the morning, you will reach the first stop of the day.
You will visit the ideal place for lovers of ancient cars: the Auto Museum Moncopulli, located on the route. It is the second most important Studebaker car museum in the world. Do not hesitate to get off your motorbike and enjoy the hundreds of cars displayed there and the explanations provided by the hosts.
After touring around this place full of histories and relics, it will be time to go back to your motorbike and continue traveling along a spectacular stretch. You will be near Puyehue (70 kilometers from Osorno), and you will slowly get into the mountain range. You will see much vegetation and Lake Puyehue, a huge water mirror that will escort you on the left of the road. |
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Driving across this area is incredible. You will not believe your eyes. You will see that the motorbike is an impressive means to see beautiful places. The fact that there is no bodywork to protect you will make you feel part of the air, the scenery and nature. The wind against your body amidst so much beauty is hard to put into words.
In this part of the journey, we recommend that you stop and let yourself be delighted by the fantastic place you are visiting. On the road, you will find beautiful and picturesque wooden chapels, track of the German immigration from the early XXth century. These are very special sites to rest in silence and enjoy nature.
Once again on the motorbike, you will be only a few kilometers from the entrance of Puyehue. Keep the pleasure of entering the city for a while and drive on along 10 more kilometers up to Caulle, a precious ecological reserve protecting 27 thousand unspoilt mountain hectares near the Argentinian border. |
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Opossite a reddish chapel, you will find the Caulle: a spectacular green territory located on the hillsides of the impressive Puyehue Volcano. Very friendly people will be expecting you there to eat an asado and organize a horseback ride across the volcano hillsides. Amidst an incredible landscape, you will leave the motorbike behind for a while.
After a delicious lunch, you will ride a horse across the prairies by the mountain. First, you will gallop towards the Gol Gol River, a beautiful water course formed by meltdown water coming from the heights and forming falls that will be printed on an excellent photograph.
Afterwards, you will get deep into the forest along a trail that will surprise you with panoramic views of the volcano. Making several stops, you will enjoy the sights and listen to the geographical and historical explanations made by the guides, who know this area pretty well.
The horseback excursion ends by galloping 1,000 meters back to the premises. Just like in a film, you will ride a horse and feel the air on your face in a field surrounded by mountains and the volcano, as a tireless sentry bidding you farewell.
To end this exciting day, you will have to go back to Puyehue, a beautiful mountain village with all services available to spend the night.
Spectacular hot spring waters will be expecting you as a reward for your body before taking a good rest. You should know that specialists recommend to take a 15-minute bath before going to bed. |
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Third Day
The last day of this magical adventure. This may be the most adventurous step, as you will go uphill along a path made of rubble and volcanic soil.
The way up to Antillanca is a beautiful road leaving from Puyehue to the hillsides of the Casablanca Volcano, which since 1945 has been called Antillanca, which means “sun jewel” in the Mapuche tongue.
The way up is 19 kilometers long. It goes across some creeks and borders the green waters of El Encanto and El Toro Lagoons and Lake Espejo. The road is very narrow, therefore you will have to drive very carefully. But the scenery invites visitors to enjoy. The tree canopies give shape to a series of green arcades. You will feel as if nature was embracing you.
This green tunnel that goes up the mountain suddenly bumps into a beautiful brown hotel and restaurant resort, 1,990 m.a.s.l. That is Antillanca, famous ski resort located on a privileged site and very attractive also in the summer season. You may have a cup of coffee there and get ready for the last stage of the adventure. |
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If the weather is lenient, you may go up to the crater and enjoy incredible views of the Osorno Volcano, the Puntiagudo Volcano and the impressive three peaks of Mount Tronador. This is an unforgettable moment. You will climb very slowly along a narrow path made of volcanic soil.
You may feel afraid but it is important to kee pcalm. There is no danger if you are cautious and going up to the crater is totally worth the effort. Once on the summit, you will not believe your eyes. You may turn 360 degrees around without stopping to see the beauty of creation.
It is important that you calculate the time you need to go back as going downhill towards Puyehue in the dark may be quite dangerous. In normal conditions, you will reach the village before sunset and have enough time to have a bath at the hot spring resort and then rest.
As a perfect ending, you will enjoy a drink at the old hotel pub, a very picturesque and cosy spot, special to retell anecdotes from the trip, have a good laugh and get to know the rest of the group better after these three unforgettable days.
Thus, this is is the end of an exciting adventure on the invention consacrated by Englishman Edward Butler in 1884: the motorbike. This may not be a regular kind of adventure, it is true. But daring to experience it is totally worth the effort. Extremely positive, this adventure invites you to return for a second ride in the future. |
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Rates and fees must be requested from each operator.
Interpatagonia does not provide this kind of information. |
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