Publicado por: Toni Martins em 2021-11-28

On my trip through South America in 4x4 one of the goals was to visit the Marble Chapels. To get to Puerto Rio Tranquilo, I entered Chile from Los Antiguos in Argentina, crossed the border with Chile in Chile Chico and then went 177 km along the shores of Lake General Carrera. Although the road was not good at all, as it was made of rúpio (small stones and dirt), it was worth it for the landscapes. During the 177Km, I didn't see a house, not a bar, nothing, but I saw stunning landscapes. I know that today the road is already paved, but when I went there it was more exciting, barriers, precipices and a lot of adrenaline, which ended up increasing the pleasure of the adventure. It was worth it and I recommend this trip

Publicado por: Toni Martins em 2021-11-30

One day, I don't remember when or where, I read about rock formations and caves that they called Marble Chapels. The name, and the location were retained in my memory and so was my curiosity. When I planned the trip through South America in 4x4, the famous chapels certainly came to mind and were immediately on the program to visit. We take Ruta 40 towards Los Antiguos (Argentina). In Los Antiguos I bought a 2Kg bag of cherries because it was their season and I went to the border with Chile, which was just over 5Km away. I took care of the border formalities and I don't know how, the police saw my bag of cherries (Can't pass). And I didn't understand the reason why I couldn't go there, I complained, but they wanted it because they wanted the cherries.. (no way, I'm not in a hurry, so I'll eat them all before going on my trip) and so I did. After the formalities of devouring the cherries, we continued our journey towards Puerto Rio Tranquilo (177km) on a gravel road (small stones and earth), along the way not a house, not a bar, nothing, just breathtaking landscapes. Along the way I met some adventurers, an American who was making the trip across the American continent on a pedal bike with a trailer carrying a German Shepherd Dog and two Americans who were making the same trip but on foot. As I had crossed the border in the morning, I ended up arriving in Puerto Rio Tranquilo at the end of the day. I easily found accommodation (no luxuries, but clean and cozy) and we spent the night to find out how we could visit the famous chapels the next day. Early in the morning, during breakfast, the owner informed us that there were boats on the pier that made this tour, so we did, we went to the pier, took one of the boats and went to visit the chapels. The boats take other people, if any, are not exclusive tours (unless they hire you). The visit including travel time (about half an hour) lasts in total about 2 hours. The question I'm always asked (is it worth it?) Yes, it's worth it, not only for the visit to the chapels, but also for the entire landscape along the road that borders Lake General Carrera.