On the road Carretera Austral cilena (Northern Route)

Puerto Montt is the main city of the Chilean Lake District and the natural gateway to northern Patagonia, facing the Seno de Reloncaví with the snow-capped peaks of the Calbuco volcano in the distance. Its port is one of the most active in southern Chile for fishing and salmon farming; the Mercado Angelmó on the waterfront is the best place to sample caldillo de congrio, steamed mussels and curanto. Puerto Montt is the northern terminus of the Carretera Austral and the embarkation point for ferries through the Patagonian channels and for the famous lake crossing to Bariloche, Argentina. The city is also the air and road transport hub for the entire south of Chile.

Hornopirén is a small village in the Los Lagos region at the foot of the volcano of the same name, facing the Seno de Comau, one of Chile's deepest fjords. It is the main embarkation port for ferries to Caleta Gonzalo and Pumalín National Park along the Carretera Austral, making it a key transit hub for travellers in northern Patagonia. Hornopirén National Park nearby offers trekking through alerce forests and mountain lakes. The waters of Seno de Comau are frequented by dolphins and marine otters.

Caleta Gonzalo is a small landing point in the Los Lagos region, the main entrance to the Parque Natural Pumalín Douglas Tompkins, one of the largest private reserves in the world now incorporated into Parque Nacional Pumalín. The Valdivian rainforest vegetation — with alerce trees (the Patagonian cypress, among the longest-lived tree species on Earth), mosses, ferns and waterfalls — is of extraordinary density and beauty. Caleta Gonzalo is the departure point for the park's trails and offers several eco-style cabañas and a restaurant.

Chaitén is a small city in the Los Lagos region on the Pacific coast, known primarily for the catastrophic eruption of the Chaitén volcano in 2008 that buried it under ash and mud, forcing the total evacuation of its population. Today partially rebuilt, it is the main embarkation point for ferries to Puerto Montt and the northern gateway of the Carretera Austral, surrounded by a landscape of rainforest, fjords and volcanic mountains. Pumalín Park, a few kilometres away, is the area's main natural attraction.

Puyuhuapi is a small village in the Aysén region, on the Seno Puyuhuapi along the Carretera Austral, founded in the 1940s by German settlers who fled war-ravaged Europe. The white-painted wooden houses and the silence of the bay surrounded by temperate rainforests give the village an ethereal, almost magical atmosphere. The main attraction is Queulat National Park with the Ventisquero Colgante glacier — the «hanging glacier» — which overhangs the forest in a landscape that seems straight from a fantasy film. The Puyuhuapi hot springs, accessible only by boat on the fjord, are a charming thermal lodge nestled in the forest.

Puerto Chacabuco is the main port of the Aysén region in northern Chilean Patagonia, facing the Seno Aysén in a landscape of fjords and snow-capped mountains. It is the arrival point for cruises from Puerto Montt sailing the Patagonian channels, and the sea gateway to the Aysén region. From here, Coyhaique, the regional capital, is easily reached about 80 kilometres to the east. The Patagonia Aysén National Park with its waters, glaciers and forests is readily accessible from the area.