Ruta 41 – Lago del Desierto

If you are in El Chalten and you have a car you should drive all the way out to Lago del Desierto. This is where the Argentinian and Chilean border lies and if you are planning to cross the border into Chile to get to O’Higgins this is where you have to be. Unfortunately there is no road across, you will have to take the boat then walk across to Chile. We didn’t do the crossing we only drove to the lake. The drive takes around 1 hour and it is only 32km. I know what you think and you are right. This means that the road conditions are not very good, there are many curvy sections and the gravel quality on the road keeps changing meaning that you have to keep adjusting your speed and driving style. Even though the difficulties it well worths the drive. The road runs next to the Las Vueltas river all the way to the Lago del Desierto.

As you can see below the road conditions really differ from mile to mile.

So is the scenery that keeps changing.

You can see a waterfall on the way.

Once the road ends you get to the parking area. From that you will have to walk 5 minutes to the lake.

There is a small harbor along with a police outpost. Very likely this is where people coming from the Chilean side will get there stamps.

You can walk up a hill to take photos of the lake…

…and wander around in the forest.

If you want to stay in the area there is a camping just about 500m down the road from the lake and also a small Chapel if you feel like getting spiritual. There are about 2-3 hotels on Ruta 41 and a good few farms so you won’t feel completely alone while you drive.