Finding Futaleufú ( Futaleufu ): Southern Chile's Patagonia

Futaleufu is currently undergoing a bit of real estate boom, as foreigners flock to Southern Chile to buy up one of the last unspoiled places on Earth. One of our sources in the diplomatic core tells us the Kennedys are buying land Near Futaleufu, along with Douglas Tompkins who has been buying land in the area since the 70's. Futaleufu is Chile's unspoiled Patagonia.

real estate Futaleufu southern chile patagonia

There is also good reason for the pristine environment of Futaleufu; it is very remote. For those that have not looked very closely at a map of Chile, you are in for a surprise. About half of southern Chile is really cut off from the rest of Chile. The Pan-American highway, known locally as the Austral Highway, is not completed just north of Futaleufu and Chaiten because of the private nature reserver of Douglas Tompkins' Pumalin park. The Pumalin acts as a sort of second Darnien gap (i.e. Southern Panama) on the Pan-American Highway. It functions to protect southern Chile and also cuts off road access to the rest of Chile. There are ferries that cross the bays around Pumalin park to connect to the road to Chaiten, but they only operate during the summer months.

locals traveling on boats near Futaleufu southern chile

South of Pumalin park is where the real Chilean Patagonia begins. How long this will last is anyone's guess as Tompkins is involved in an all out legal and political battle with the Chilean government to stop, or at least stall, the road from being built across his property. The locals are divided. In Chaiten and Futaleufu you will see signs in windows everywhere saying "highway to Chile now". However, we also believe that the lack of roads has stopped cold a project to build a hydroelectric dams on the upper Futaleufu river by the Endesa power company. The question is who will scream political and financial uncle first.

Our money is on Tompkins simply because he has all the time in the world, and relatively speaking, it does not cost him a whole lot in Legal fees to tie Endesa up in court. His thousand year old trees will just put on a few more years in the meantime. Endesa has investors, and we have heard rumors that the project has already been on and off a few times because of the delays. It will eventually happen.

How To Get To Futaleufu Southern Chile
So for now there are a couple major ways to get to Futaleufu. The quickest and easiest is to fly from Puerto Montt to Chaiten in a small plane. The flight is about 45 minutes and filled with spectacular views of Chiloe, Pumalin park, and the coast line of Southern Chile. The cost is about $80 US or 39,000 CPL and run daily from several different companies. Airo-taxis del Sur is the oldest company, with more than 50 years of service to the area running small 4-10 seat Cessnas. From there you have to take a bus or van for about 3 hours to Futaleufu. Sounds simple enough; however, there is a catch. The buses to Futaleufu only run on certain days of the week. If you do not carefully coordinate the day, you will be spending an extra night in Chaiten. Let us also warn you that the roads, although in good condition, are dirt. Don't worry, the view is worth it.

The other option is to take a bus through Argentina. This means a ride of about 12 hours. There is a company that offers trips from Puerto Montt or Osorno, through Argentina, and into Futaleufu. This will run you about 20,000 pesos including lunch.

hand cable cart across the rio Futeleufu

The bus is a bit cramped and it also means crossing the Chile-Argentinian boarder twice in the same day. If you have any special visa issues, please check on them first. Both boarders have relatively low traffic and move fairly fast. As much trouble as it sounds, the spectacular views on the ride through of the mountains of both Chile's and Argentina's Patagonia will keep you from sleeping on the entire trip.

trail near futaleufu southern chile's Patagonia on the argentina boarder

Our word of warning about this trip is that both boarder crossing do close when the snow storms hit the mountains. Check your weather before leaving, and be prepared in the winter to be stuck in Argentina until the crossing opens.

That leaves the Ferrie or transporter from Puerto Montt and Chiloe. These car ferries run daily from Puerto Montt, and every other day or so from Chiloe. The one from Puerto Montt to Chaiten is about 12 hours. We have not taken this yet, but we also have not had anyone say to us what a great trip it is either. Almost everyone we have spoken to about it has complained about the uncomfortable nature of this ride. Add the bad weather that might be encountered on the crossing, and we are going to wait to fully test this out.

If your inclination to drive to Futaleufu, we suggest you put your car on the transporter and then fly to Chaiten and meet it. A bit more expensive, but far more enjoyable. The other connection is to points in Chiloe. This might be a bit of a better option, as the transporter takes about 4 hours in each direction. Either way, you still face the problem of finding transportation for the 3 hour drive up into the mountains to Futaleufu.

However you get to Futaleufu the final destination makes it worth going. The town of Futaleufu sits nestled in a fortress of snow capped mountains with deep river gorges running through it. The contrast of spectacular colors makes this one of the most beautiful places on Earth, and something not to be missed in Chile's Patagonia. Our last tip would be to have your camera loaded, as you will regret not having it at the ready for your entire visit to Futaleufu.

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