Villa o'Higgins

Villa O'Higgins is a small town in southern Chile, located 220 km south of Cochrane. Founded in 1966 and named after the Chilean independence 'hero' Bernardo O'Higgins, it is the capital of the O'Higgins commune of Capitán Prat Province.

Villa O'Higgins is the most southern village at the Carretera Austral and the 1st 'turning point' on our trip. The final 120 km of the Carretera were completed southwards from Puerto Yungay in 2000. It's the gateway to the Southern Patagonian Ice Field. In the summer a regular boat service takes passengers from Villa O'Higgins across the O'Higgins / San Martín Lake to Candelario Mansilla, from where it is possible to cross the border into Argentina (direction El Chaltén) via a footpath.