Chile Arica S 18.40412° W 70.33101°

Peru/Chile Border

The border crossing was (I think) a little different than the description in bumfuzzle.com. Read this in conjunction with the bumfuzzle write-up. On the Peru side, go to the middle door next to the ATM. There is a desk immediately inside, find the person that sits there and get a form to fill out. Once completed go to the door on the right hand side of the building, to the right of the door next to the ATM. The people in there will show you what to do. You need to stop at two stations there. Then go outside to the booth in the center of the roadway for the vehicle processing. Then you are done. You should have one copy of the form you filled in, you will need this for Chile processing.

Chile Entry

You need to find and fill in three forms at this crossing. Immigration, you get, fill in and return the immigration form to window number 2 at the right hand most booth. Then you need to get a customs declaration form, ask one of the guys in a green vest. Once filled in then you need to get in turn a green vested guy and a blue coated guy to inspect your vehicle. The green guy will search thoroughly for vegetables, fruit and other food stuffs. The blue guy in our case did not search very thoroughly. Vehicle control - on the south side of one of the booths there is another booth labelled vehicle control. You need to get a form from that booth, fill it in and return to that booth. You are then done. After getting through the border we camped on the beach north of Arica like a number of others before us. Heading down the PanAmericana turn right at the round-about (S18° 23.784' W70° 17.916) and take the road to V. Frontera. This road crosses a railway line and almost immediately hits a T intersection (at W18° 23.930 S70° 18.508). Take a left at that intersection and then an immediate right (staying on the paved road). Follow this road, through a couple of other intersections, until the pavement ends. there are a couple of parking areas beside the road. Quiet except for the sound of sea bird.
Chile Arica S 18.43825° W 70.30571° We simply camped on the beach closer to Arica than last night. There were a few other vehicles there overnight and there was more activity there late in the day to watch. But not as quiet or secluded as the previous night. We had someone knock on our door in the early morning but no trouble from them.
Chile Iquique S 20.28358° W 70.12457° You need to get onto a road called Diagonal Franscico Bilboa. the best way to do this is to drive down the beach front highway Arturo Prat Chacon until you reach the road-about at S20° 17.347' W 70° 7.669'. make a U-turn here and head back into town but take the road named Diagonal Franscico Bilboa, it parallels and is east of Arturo Pratt Chocon. At the junction with Via 6 (S 20° 17.061' W 70° 7.613') turn right up hill. The school is on the left. They don't want to publicize that they allow camping
Chile North of Tocopilla S 21.80876° W 70.14397° The coastal road from Iquique to Tocopilla provides many/frequent opportunities to pull off the road and camp next to the ocean. We saw a number of locals pitching tents, and at least one other overlander vehicle camping beside the ocean.
Chile El Tatio Geysers S 22.35020° W 68.01546° We camped at the control office on the hill overlooking the area of the Geysers. The guy selling entry tickets indicated that we could not stay overnight down with the geysers. After we settled in others arrived and stayed the night in the same area, some in vehicles and some in tents.
Chile San Pedro De Atacama S 22.91325° W 68.20056° We stayed at Camping Los Perales, on Tocopilla a short walk from the Plaza De Armes.
Chile Antofagasta S 23.65707° W 70.40022° Tonight we chose to stay at the Holiday Inn Hotel on the beach front road in Antofagasta. It's the first time in ages that we have stayed at a real western hotel.
Chile Tal Tal S 25.38284° W 70.45461° We camped at a beach front picnic and camping area, Playa de Piedra just north of Taltal. It was a nice place with picnic shelters and fire places but the toilets were locked.
Chile Playa Flamenco S 26.38700° W 70.66678° We saw lots of potential camping spots today. From the Tal Tal access road there is a turn off and paved road to Cifuncho which is described in the guide book as a fishing camp and in fact is a small village. There is plenty of primitive beach camping there. Further south there is a good quality dirt access to Parque Nacional Pan de Azucar. Pan de Azucar has a small village and a couple of formal camping grounds. South of the town, on the way back to the Panamericana, there are other beaches with places to pull off for primitive camping. Since we wanted to get a few more miles done we continued south eventually stopping at one of the many beach side primitive camping spots next to the Panamericana.
Chile El Molle S 29.98396° W 70.95127° Just near the town of El Molle we found a nice little campground called Tikal with sheltered camp sites set among pine and eucalyptus trees. Water, electricity, toilets and hot showers in the morning.
Chile E of La Serena S 29.98505° W 71.06228° A commercial camping ground, El Arca (the name is on a small very faded sign) on the southern side of Ruta Ch-41. The camp grounds along this road were pretty busy today and we tried a couple before finding space at this one. Some what in need of repair but gave us a place for the night. No electricity. Only one toilet, but a swimming pool.
Chile Los Villos S 31.92227° W 71.51878° Just south of the town of Los Villos, along a dirt track from the center of town is a broad open head land with lots of tracks. We parked on the escarpment edge with a fine view of the ocean and lots of sea gulls as neighbors.
Chile Parque Nacional de Campana S 32.93274° W 71.07869° We camped in Parque Nacional de Campana via the norther entrance from the town of Ocoa off highway Ch-5. A loverly semi wilderness campground. Only a few other campers, and limited facilities (toilets and water, no power). Beautiful sunny afternoon and morning, cool night with clear sky and wonderful display of stars.
Chile Santiago S 33.44073° W 70.84205° A Shell station west along Highway 68 at about 6km post. Wifi in the McDonald store.
Chile Santiago S 33.44042° W 70.80410° We are on Highway 68 again tonight, but this time at a Copec station. The wifi seems better and they have hot showers for 500 pesos.
Chile Santiago S 33.44042° W 70.80410° Parking lot in Santiago that will hold a moderate sized expedition vehicle. No height restriction but anything much over 7.4m length or 2.4m width (the length and width of our Tiger) will be too big. S 33° 26.372' W 70° 39.670.
Chile Islote de Gaviotes S 33.09103° W 71.72482° We are at an amazingly picturesque campground near Laguna Verde, on the next head land south of Valparaiso. We have a wonderful view of the Pacific Ocean west, and Valparaiso to the north. There are no facilities but the location is great. To get here drive to Laguna Verde and continue on the road through Laguna Verde for about 10+ km. The road deteriorates into a one lane dirt track but is not particularly rough.
Chile Talca S 35.37877° W 71.60163° Copec gas station. These are very convenient but often a little noisy.
Chile Lautaro S 38.54879° W 72.45743° Another Copec gas station south bound on the Panam Highway.
Chile Pucon S 39.28117° W 71.97871° Parque La Poza - a camping ground in Pucon, not on but near the lake. Lots of sites under trees and a pretty creek running through the grounds. A little noise from the highway. Water, electricity, hot showers.
Chile Lican Ray S 39.48355° W 72.13334° Camping Estrada - a lake front camp ground. A little east of the town of Lican Ray. Has water, electricy, and promises hot showers at certain times of the day - but we have not seen the hot water yet. A little run down but the location is wonderful.
Chile Panguipulli S 39.65469° W 72.32313° Camping Puchaley Lafquen overlooking the lake on the edge of the town of Panguipulli. We found directions from the tourist office. A nice place, hot showers, toilets and grounds clean and well maintained. We got electricity from one of the wash rooms but it may not be available at busier times of the year. We finally got insurance for Argentina today. As it happens there is an insurance office right next door (same building next office) to the tourist office on the main square that sold it to us on the spot. The man and women that sold it were helpful, and understood immediately what we wanted.
Chile Entre Lago S 40.70734° W 72.51564° We stayed at a camping ground about 7 kms east of Ente Lagos called El Manzano. It is right on the lake, has toilets, hot showers, and electricity. Camping under trees, the place is a little run down, but quiet. At the Argentine exit we first encountered a checkpoint booth where the officer looked at our vehicle papers and then gave us some forms to fill in, and a paper with our vehicle number and passenger count on it. We drove about 1 km down the road to a large building that sits astride the highway and cannot be missed. Here we filled out the forms previously obtained, and lined up for immigration and then customs. Another km up the road another checkpoint took one of the papers, and handed us two Chilean customs forms, and then we were on our way. That's all. The Chilean station is about 50 kms further up the highway. Here again we first encountered a check point with a toll booth style building, The officer again looked at our vehicle papers and gave us a slip of paper with the vehicle license plate and passenger count on it. A further 300m on was a large building astride the road and signs in English telling travelers the procedure.
  • Step 1. Inside the building at window labeled Step 1 was a Police check and immigration processing. We needed to fill in some forms which the officer gave us.
  • Step 2. Still inside the building at window labelled Step 2 was Customs and vehicle paper work. Again we got forms to fill in from the officer at the window.
  • Step 3 Happens outside. Two inspections or at least two inspectors searched the vehicle and took some of our food. We had prepared for this by emptying the fridge and pantry over the previous few days.
Chile Ancud S 41.86072° W 73.82166° Camping Arena Greusa on the bluff above the town with great views of the straight, and somewhat exposed to the weather. We were the only campers last night. There are a number of camp sites each fenced with vegetation, electricity, a small wind/rain shelter for each site, clean toilets and hot showers.
Chile Castro S 42.51104° W 73.79182° Camping and Cabanas Chilote about 6 kms south of the town along the Panam, on the western side of the road. Nice grassed area with picnic tables, electricity, clean toilets, but only cold showers. We had intended to camp at Camping Llicaldad it was recommended by the Lonely Planet and even advertised camping along the roadside south of Castro. But when we got there they told us no camping - pretty strange as there own sign said camping. !!
Chile Quellon S 43.12254° W 73.64188° Camping Paico's. A nice grassed campground around the peninsula from the town of Quellon with good views of the town and harbor. No electricty that we could plug into, water, toilets and hot showers at selected times of the day.
Chile Ensenada S 41.20765° W 72.53902° Camping Montana, one of many campgrounds in the town of Ensenada. It is situated on the shores of the Lago Llanquihue and has electricity, clean new toilets, hot showers and Wifi - what a treat. For those of you with a taste for lame jokes - there is a camping ground in the town called "Yankee - way" which, the locals say, is the way American tourists pronounce the name of the lake.
Chile Villa Santa Lucia S 43.43947° W 72.36109° After crossing the border into Chile at Futaleufu there are a number of privately operated campgrounds along highway 231. But once it joins 235 there are none and very few places to pull off. We stopped just south of the village of Villa Santa Lucia on highway 7 (Carretera Austral) in a small flat patch right next to the road. Later in the after noon we were joined by a French family who said that places to stop were scarce farther south. Very little traffic overnight. Our border crossing into Chile at Futuleufu was straight forward. The agriculture people searched the Tiger and took a few packets of ham, but other wise no different to the previous crossings into Chile. The paper work was the same, and the three windows that we needed to visit were numbered 1,2,3 just like the previous crossings.
Chile Ventisquero Colgante S 44.46952° W 72.54524° Just off highway 7 is a small camping area and a lookout that provides distant views of Ventisquero Colgante (a hanging glacier). The access road is about 4 km and narrow. Rain shelters at each campsite, toilets. The showers had gas and the pilot lights were burning but there was not enough water pressure to start the gas burner to heat the water.
Chile Puerto Aysen S 45.35378° W 72.70269° We asked at the Tourist Info center in Puerto Aysen about camping grounds and were directed to Quincho La Pancha situated about 7 kms from the center of town on the road to Lago Los Palos. The camping area is a nice grassy area with picnic tables, and a short walk to the toilets and showers - the water seems hot but we have not used them at the time of writing. In fine weather the camp would have great views of some of the surrounding mountains. On the road today we saw few/no campgrounds and only a few places to pull off for the night.
Chile Reserve Nacional Cerro Castillo S 45.98675° W 71.88282° On the western side of highway 7 just entering Reserve Nacional Cerro Castillo there is a campground near a lake. Nice place, each site has a picnic shelter, fire place, and wood provided. The grounds have flush toilets, and hot showers in the evenings, the ranger starts the wood stove that heats the water.
Chile Puerto Rio Tranquillo S 46.63275° W 72.66518° About 2 km south of the town of Puerto Rio Tranquillo is Camping Pudu. It has two entrances about 300 meters apart. The northern one is the administration building, the southern for the campground. Right on the shores of Lago General Carrera, it has a modern well maintained toilet/shower block, each campsite has a wall of timber to provide protection from the wind - and that is necessary. The downside of this place is that the showers are only open 9:pm-midnight and 7:00am - 11:am. When available they are good.
Chile Lago Esmeralda S 47.31157° W 72.59592° We had a wonderful campsite tonight beside Lago Esmeraldo. Its a very small piece of land jutting into the lake, right at water level. Definitely only room for one vehicle.
Chile Rio Bravo S 47.97610° W 73.17834° After getting off the Puerto Yungay ferry we found the first pull off for a camping spot. It happened to be a gravel quarry that was half full of water. We would later discover a much nicer place a few kms farther south, a big parking area on the East.
Chile Rio Bravo S 48.03936° W 73.02111° We wanted to camp within easy driving distance of the Fiordo Mitchell ferry to avoid an early and rushed start tomorrow, and we also needed somewhere our temporary traveling companions could pitch a tent. We eventually found a track leading to the river that was dry enough for a tent and left space for the Tiger.
Chile South of Puerto Bertrand S 47.12577° W 72.67422° We found a nice grassy patch beside the road a few km north of the bridge over the Rio Chucabuco. On this road traffic noise is not going to be a problem.
Chile Chile Chico S 46.53810° W 71.72531° Camping ground Kon-Aiken in the town by the Lake. Showers are actually in the proprietors house. There is also a washing machine available for an extra fee. The place is well sheltered from the fierce winds.
Chile Puerto Natales S 51.72867° W 72.50395° Camping Josmardos, on the corner of Esmarelda and Pratt. It's the only campground in town so one cannot be too choosey. Hot showers, limited electricity and somewhat crowded but close to town.
Chile Punta Arenas S 53.07289° W 70.87103° We stayed at Camping Donde Juan about 11 kms north of the town on the right (west) side of the highway. There is electricity, and it is a quiet place, no hot water and water from the faucet was not potable. Propane, the Enersur station on the left just as we entered the town had a propane pump for vehicles. This pump fits a US fixed-tank fill valve so we topped up - GPS S 53° 06.931' W 70° 52.591
Chile Highway 255 East of Punta Arenas S 52.58682° W 70.15972° Driving east along Highway 255 on the north side of the Straits of Magellan there were many places to pull off and camp. We found one with a little shelter from the fierce winds.
Chile Santiago S 33.42860° W 70.78212° We took a room at the Diego Almagro near the airport. Quite expensive, but we needed access to internet to talk to our children. It's a while since we had been in touch.
Chile Santiago S 33.31573° W 70.70547° After leaving the Chevy dealer at 6 pm we headed north east towards the border with Argentina and stopped at a Copec gas station on the outer ring-route around Santiago. It had a large parking lot for trucks and a 24 hour guard.
Chile San Pedro De Atacama S 22.91321° W 68.20130° Same place as the last time we were in San Pedro.