Argentina: On the Road in Patagonia - Ruta 40

The number 40 is a mythical one.

Noah sailed for 40 days and 40 nights, Ali Babah hanged out with 40 thieves, and 40 is also the sacred number of Sumerian god Enkil.

In Argentina, 40 is the number of the road to the end of the world.  Or at least to the end of mainland Argentina.

Quite an endless road by the way. With more than 5000 kilometres, Ruta 40 is the longest road in Argentina, and one of the longest in the world. It starts in La Quiaca, near the border with Bolivia, and ends in Cabo Vírgenes, near Rio Gallegos. Getting further south to Ushuaia in the Island of Tierra del Fuego requires flying, sailing, or driving via Chile.

Once you're in Ruta 40, you're in for a long journey. For us, it started with a night bus ride from Bariloche to Perito Moreno. The landscape around Bariloche is very green and mountainous. But it doesn't take long until it starts to feel dryer.

Around Esquel, greenery gradually becomes rocky and by the time we reached Perito Moreno it was all desert.

This city is on a large plateau, but high peaks are never too far. A 10 km detour from Ruta 40 leads to Lago Buenos Aires.

This magnificent lake is no less than South America's second largest altitude lake, after Lake Titicaca. It's shared with Chile, where it's known as Lago General Cabrera.

The most popular destination around the lake is Los Antiguos, but we didn't have time to go there.

But we did visit the Cueva de las Manos while in Perito Moreno, and for that, we drove 98 kilometres on Ruta 40, plus an unpaved tegional road for the remaining 28 kilometres.

There's no public transportation to the cave so taking a tour or hitch hiking are the only possibilities to visit it. We went with Hugo Campagnoli, a great guide who knows a lot about the area.

There are eroded mountains on each side of the way, and all have different colours. So many tons of red and yellow, changing with the light of the sun, make segment a truly beautiful one.

We took a day bus from Perito Moreno to El Chaltén.

The journey lasted for 14 long hours. The landscape doesn't change that much.

The bus stopped at the town of Bajo Caracoles. It has a shop, a hotel and a hostel, but its major attraction is the last reliable petrol station for hundreds of kilometres!

Gobernador Gregores was the next stop, where we stopped for a late lunch. No passengers went off and we only picked up 3 guys who were touring Argentina by bike, so I guess there's no much to do in or around this isolated town.

Dozens of wild animals roam the fields on each side of the road. Guanacos, Choiques and herds are the most common. We weren't lucky enough to spot a puma, but they roam all around Ruta 40.
Huge Estancias are found on each side of the road, so it's also common to see domestic animals like horses, sheep or cows. It's quite amazing to think about the size of those estancias. Silver and gold mines can be found inside some of them. Most of the land is private, but hopefully there are quite a few national parks and protected areas.

The steppe can be quite monotonous. Every now and then some white peaks appeared in the distance but still, the road looks the same for hours and hours. Most of the southern part of Ruta 40 hasn't been asphalted yet, so it's a jumpy ride, even when driving slow. Paving is on the works and we saw parts of the forthcoming paved segments. We heard it should be finished by 2015.

The region also can be very windy. The wind can blow up to 90km/h, adding even more difficulties to this long drive.

The night was coming down when snowy peaks started to appear much closer. At the settlement of Tres Lagos we left Ruta 40, taking the junction to El Chaltén, where we spent almost a week hiking in the nearby mountains.
Later, we found ourselves again on portions of Ruta 40 when going to El Calafate and again for a few kilometres when leaving El Calafate for Chile.

We encountered the Ruta 40 more than any other road during our trip to Patagonia. We spent some unforgettable moments there and it made us reach some amazing places!

Out destination after the long journey on Ruta 40 was El Chaltén. Click here to read about El Chaltén.

Argentina Links:

Perito Moreno on Trip Advisor
Hotels in Perito Moreno
Cheap flights to Perito Moreno
Argentina on Liligo
Compare flights to Argentina
Lonely Planet Argentina guides
Argentina pics on Flickr

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