Villa Cerro Castillo was the next tiny pueblo on my Chilean destinations list after Puerto Rio Tranquilo and its marble caves. I’d planned a brief stop so I could do the Cerro Castillo day hike.
Although much lesser known than the hikes in El Chaltén and Torres del Paine, the Cerro Castillo hike is equally as stunning. Slightly more off the beaten track, it has the bonus of still remaining a relatively hidden gem.
You won’t bump into loads of people on the trail or at the top. Only those travelling the Carretera Austral Ruta 7 pass through the area. If you stay in Argentina and go directly to Bariloche from El Chaltén you will skip it. It is growing in popularity and is starting to become dubbed as the new Torres del Paine.
There are several options for hiking in the Cerro Castillo area: a 3 or 4 day multi day hike and a day hike. I met several people at my hostel who had just finished the 4 days and they all sung its praise. As I didn’t have the camping equipment, I instead did the day hike. It was fantastic!!!
On my climb up I bumped into several people finishing their multi day treks and they did say Cerro Castillo was the highlight of the trek! It’s incredibly easy to see why!
The day hike
The hike is 14km in total, 7km up and 7km down with a suggested completion time of 7-8 hours. It’s about a 10/15 minute walk to get to the start of the trail.
At the trailhead there is a small office where you register and pay the $10,000CLP (£10 approx) entrance fee. I’ve read a few blogs which say you can avoid paying the entrance fee by joining the trail earlier. I’m not sure it’s worth it trying to sneak in but I guess you could try. I was happy to pay the entrance fee and register; it was reassuring to know someone knew you were up there if you didn’t return.
You can start walking the trail between 7.30am and 12.15pm. The trail’s difficulty is described as medium/difficult which I think is fair. Pretty much all of the walk is uphill and some sections are quite steep. The path is marked by red and white poles at the start which then change to yellow triangle ones.
I started the walk at 8.30am with two guys, one from Singapore and and the other from South Korea. I’d thought this was going to be my first solo walk but it’s so easy to meet fellow hikers. It’s a great walk with some fab panoramic views.
The constant uphill was tough but totally worth it for the end view! The final section is steep and rocky so I really watched my step. We got to the top in just under 2hrs30 (2hrs20 to be precise!) so were definitely quicker than the estimated timing.
It’s 100% worth the climb! It’s so so beautiful up there and the scenery is simply epic! The laguna was such an incredible blue. I feel like I say that all the time in Patagonia when I see a lake, water or river. Honestly Patagonia’s bodies of water are every single shade of blue and turquoise. It’s stunning!
Like most of my hikes so far, I spent a few hours at the top admiring the view (and of course taking photos!). It wouldn’t be me if I didn’t.
I even did a photo exchange with the two guys I’d walked up with. Songa, the guy from Singapore, had a really cool device that took nine separate pictures which then put them together to form one large panoramic photo. He took some for me and I took some for him on my camera.
There was a time when it was just me up there enjoying the view and weather. After lunch, I headed back down to town. The walk down was even quicker and took 1hr45. Starting the descent down, the trail is quite steep and rocky. I slipped several times and was careful with my footing.
Dusty, dirty and hot I returned to my hostel with the plan to stay one more night. Within 10 minutes of being back at the hostel, I’d changed my mind and decided to try and get to Coyhaique that same evening.
Based on bus timings from the previous day, I went to the bus stop hoping one would eventually show and in the meantime I would try hitchhiking. I was joined by a girl I’d met in Puerto Rio Tranquilo and who I kept bumping into.
After 25 minutes of waiting, a car slowed to drop off two German backpackers. Running over I asked the driver if he was going to Coyhaique and he was! We jumped in and off we went. I can’t believe how fast it happened! We got to Coiyhaique so much earlier than I anticipated.
Tip: I recommend doing the Cerro Castillo hike in the morning. It is much cooler which is nice for going uphill. Also, if you’d prefer the sun to not darken your photos, the best time at the top is the morning/midday. I got there just before 11am and stayed up till 1.30pm. At 1.30pm the sun was still in a good position, although it was starting to move towards the mountain.
Tip: Do check the weather before you do the walk. With rain or strong winds, I can imagine the path would become a lot trickier and dangerous in some parts where there are edges involved. I recommend using mountainforecast.com which tells you the weather for the tops of mountain peaks. It’s very useful when weather can differ hugely by location, e.g town and in the mountains. I used the website when I was in El Chaltén too when I was deciding what day was the best for sunrise at Fitz Roy.
How to get to Villa Cerro Castillo
Villa Cerro Castillo is a town that lies on the main bus route Cochrane-Coyhaique. There are buses/minivans every day but not a fixed schedule. There’s normally an hour slot given for each bus company estimating when they usually pass through. I’d say your best bet is to wait by the side of the road for a bus or hitchike if an opportunity presents itself earlier.
I arrived to Villa Cerro Castillo from Puerto Rio Tranquilo. I was originally planning on hitchhiking but lots of people were already waiting. I found out there was a bus at 3pm, costing $10,000CLP (£10 approx), to Villa Cerro Castillo.
I went with this option for certainty; however I would have liked to hitchhike to save funds for my travels. It was just under a 2.5hr drive to Villa Cerro Castillo. I can easily see why people rent cars and drive the Carretera Austral – it’s beautiful and you can stop wherever you want!!
From Villa Cerro Castillo, there are again buses that pass through daily at various times throughout the day. Once again they’re not fixed! We got lucky and hitchhiked to Coyhaique but were prepared to get the bus.
I recommend going to the small tourist information office when you arrive to ask about bus times and days for whatever direction you’re headed. Most buses (Buses São Paulo, Buses Don Carlos, Buses Acuario 13, Buses Aguilas Patagonicas, Buses Eca) just stop on the main road sometime during the estimated times e.g. between 11.30-12.30, 12.30-13.30, 14.30-15.30.
The tourist information office advised me to wait by the main road from 10am for buses coming through.
There are a handful of bus companies (José Vargas, Carlos Iturra and Godofredo Figuerera) that you book in advance. They only run during the week and have more specific times. They cost the same as the other buses, e.g. $6000CLP (£6 approx) to Coyhaique.
Final thoughts
If you’re looking for a beautiful walk, then Cerro Castillo is one for you! I’m so glad I didn’t go straight to Bariloche. The Cerro Castillo hike paired with the marble caves were totally worth coming in this direction.
I found the Cerro Castillo hike tougher than Fitz Roy mainly because of the constant uphill. The final 1km for Fitz Roy is steep but the majority of the walk is quite gentle and flat. For Cerro Castillo you’re walking up up and up!!
I’m now heading to Coyhaique for a brief stop where I can get the bus to Futaleufu. Buses to Futaleufu only go on Tuesdays or Saturdays so I shall see which one I make!
