The 4-Day Las Horquetas Trek is a Less-Explored Trail Through Unforgettable Patagonia

Bea and her partner recently hiked the Las Horquetas Trek in Cerro Castillo National Park in Patagonia. Away from the high-traffic trails, this lesser-known national park, with its thick Lenga forest, jagged peaks, turquoise glacial lagoons, and possibility of spotting the rare Huemul deer, makes it one not to be missed.

For those willing to navigate the steep scree slopes and unpredictable southern Patagonian weather, the reward is a profound sense of solitude and a deeper connection to one of the most resilient ecosystems on the planet. Here’s a suggested four-day itinerary through this stunning pocket of the world.

Read more: Remember to Leave No Trace

Quick Facts

Duration: 4 days / 3 nights
Distance: 56.2km
Elevation: 2,835m
Difficulty: Intermediate-Advanced
More info and park fees: Found on the park’s website
Handy map: Laguna Duff – Cerro Castillo via Las Horquetas Trail on AllTrails

About the Las Horquetas Trek

Cerro Castillo is a craggy mountain located near Villa Cerro Castillo in Patagonia with huge serrated basalt and granite spires that tower into the clouds. Las Horquetas is a 56.2km hike that travels through the heart of this mountain range, in the Cerro Castillo National Park.

The route winds through native Ñirre and Lenga (beech) forests, past turquoise blue lakes, and, if you’re lucky with the weather, expansive views of the snow-capped mountains and huge glaciers. You cross two mountain passes that bring you right up close to the jagged peaks of Cerro Castillo and around the massif of Laguna Cerro Castillo.

Four days is a good amount of time to allow for side trips and weather contingencies, but you could push it in three if you need. If you’re super strapped for time, the 16km return day hike to Laguna Duff is still a great day trip. We hiked the trail in December and were blessed with perfect weather and limited wind, a rare treat in this part of the world.

Compared to other well-known trails in Patagonia, like Torres del Paine’s O and W Treks, Cerro Castillo has far fewer people but still offers incredible views and amazing landscapes to explore. No crowds, no huts, just amazing Patagonian nature at its best.

How to Get to the Las Horquestas Trek

There are no direct international flights into the Aysén region, so you need to first fly into Santiago’s Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport (SCL). From Australia, there are direct routes from Sydney.

You can then catch a 2.5-hour domestic flight into Balmaceda Airport (BBA). Major Chilean carriers like LATAM, Sky Airline, and JetSMART operate this route daily.

Hot tip! Try to snag a window seat on the left side of the plane (worth the extra cost) for an incredible view of the Northern Patagonian Ice Field.

From Balmaceda, it’s an hour to Villa Cerro Castillo where the trek begins. There’s typically one direct bus daily that departs from outside the Balmaceda Airport around 3:30pm. This bus is usually headed toward Puerto Río Tranquilo but will drop passengers off in Villa Cerro Castillo along the way. Schedules can shift seasonally; check at the airport info desk to see if this is the case.

Alternatively, take one of the frequent airport shuttles to the region’s capital, Coyhaique (about 45 minutes north), which is a great place to pick up last-minute supplies. From Coyhaique, several bus companies (e.g. Don Carlos and Buses Sao Paulo) depart daily at 9am for the 1.5-hour southbound journey to Villa Cerro Castillo and the Las Horquetas trailhead.

If the buses are full or the timing doesn’t align, you can book a shuttle with Nomades from the airport to Cerro Castillo. If you’re starting the trail from Villa Cerro Castillo (like us) you can either hitchhike, book a local shuttle with the local info centre, or catch the bus that runs to Coyhaique, but there doesn’t seem to be a booking system.

Returning to Villa Cerro Castillo, you can walk the 6km along the dirt road, hitchhike, or (like us) pay a guy $15 to give you a lift back to town. There’s generally someone waiting around at the end of the trail offering lifts.

Skill Level

Intermediate-Advanced

The Cerro Castillo Circuit is an intermediate to advanced undertaking that demands a high level of self-sufficiency. Unlike more manicured trails, this route requires hikers to be comfortable navigating through white-out mists where stone cairns can easily vanish. You should be prepared to traverse steep, shifting scree slopes and cross lingering late-summer snow patches on high passes like Paso Peñón. The weather is famously erratic, often cycling through four seasons in a single afternoon, so being accustomed to shifting mountain conditions and making sound safety decisions is essential.

Read more: Navigating With a Map & Compass

Physical stamina is equally important, as you’ll be carrying a full pack over mountain passes and steep ascents. There are no refugios or facilities. You need to have experience with longer, multi-day treks and be comfortable navigating in mountainous terrain.

Read more: How To Hike Off-Track

Essential Gear for Las Horquestas Trek

• Water filter, tabs, or preferred filter method
• Good hiking pack
• Tent (ideally 3-season tent)
• A warm sleeping system, including a sleeping bag, mat, pillow, and sleeping bag liner (these really help on colder nights!)
• Warm layers (even in summer): Patagonia is famous for having four seasons in a single hour. Even if you’re starting the day in a T-shirt, the temperature at the top of a pass can plummet instantly, especially when the wind picks up. Thermals, extra socks, a beanie, gloves, and a buff, especially, can make a massive difference when the temperature plummets overnight.
• Rain jacket
• Head lamp
• Offline maps (we used AllTrails, Maps.me, and Avenza Maps) and a hard copy map
• Hiking poles for the climbs and steep descents
• Microfibre towel (you’re not allowed to swim in the major lakes, but there are plenty of small rivers and streams to dunk yourself in after a long day)
• Good hiking shoes
• Toilet paper, shovel, and hand sanitiser
• Water bottle/s (one small one is fine, as refill opportunities are plentiful)
• Food for four days with an extra emergency meal
• PLB or other satellite messaging device
• First aid kit
• Cooking set-up (stove, fuel, pots, etc.)
• Hat, sunglasses, and sunscreen (the Patagonia sun has some bite when it decides to shine)

Read more: How to Poo in the Bush

What It’s Like Hiking the Las Horquestas Trek

Day 1: Las Horquetas to Río Turbio / Segunda

Distance: 15km
Duration: 4-6 hours

After eating eggs and cake for breakfast with huge mugs of coffee from Nomad Café, we hitched a ride to Las Horquetas to start the hike. The sky was a clear, deep blue, with soft wispy clouds.

The first 8km were easy walking along an old stock road. Flat and smooth, with stunning views of the mountains in front of us. There were multiple river crossings, so bring sandals with you if you want to avoid stopping every 15 minutes to take your boots off. As we neared the end of the day, the trail started to feel more wild and the mountains slowly began to swallow the plains, towering on every side.

Our camp was a beautiful spot tucked away in the trees near a wide river. If the weather is on your side, dinner is best enjoyed out on the rocks near the river, with views of the sun setting behind Peñón mountain and Cerro Castillo off in the distance.

Keep an eye out for the rare Huemul deer, a national icon that even appears on the Chilean coat of arms. Known as the ‘ghost of the Andes’, there are fewer than 1,500 left in the wild, and Cerro Castillo was originally established as a reserve specifically to protect them.

Today, the park is home to roughly 10% of the world’s remaining population. They’re incredibly elusive, and we unfortunately didn’t spot any, but if they are to be found, this is apparently the spot. We did, however, spot our first Carpintero Negro, an insane red-mohawked Magellanic woodpecker. Keep your eyes peeled for their bright red punk haircuts that stand out against the green backdrop of the Lenga trees.

Day 2: Río Turbio to Camping El Bosque

Distance: 9.8km (3.2km return side trip to Laguna Glacier Peñón)
Duration: 7 hours

We enjoyed a slow morning over a cosy breakfast of oats, blueberries, and leftover quinoa from last night’s dinner (a surprisingly good addition). Sitting in the morning sun and taking in the expansive view, we took some time to really land here and soak in the magic of this place. Pure bliss!

We decided to take the side trip out to the Glacier Peñón glacial lake. It took us about 45 minutes max and is well worth it if you have the time. The lake was a bright turquoise blue, stunning, and crisp in the sunlight, with a giant glacier tucked into the dark rocks of Cerro Turbio in the background.

The hike up and over the Paso Peñón only took us about 1.5 hours (opposed to the guidebook’s recommendation of almost four). Granted, we had great weather and soft-packed snow that made for easy walking. The views of the valley below are worth stopping to soak in from the saddle of the pass – an unfolding view of dense green forest, river, and rock, to the backdrop of the bright orange rock-tipped top of Cerro El Aislado (1,838m).

The descent was fun and easy, but for those who aren’t confident with scree, it might take a bit more time and care.

As we made our way down into the valley, an incredible, huge glacier appeared to the right, with a thousand tiny waterfalls feeding into the Estero El Bosque.

We followed the river over rocks, then dipped back into the Lenga forest and rolled into a beautiful little campsite that looked like a scene from The Lord of the Rings. It was hilly but had plenty of flat spots for tents right near the river, shaded by huge ‘grandparent’ trees draped in old man’s beard and moss.

Read more: Staying Safe Around Swimming Holes and Waterfalls

We hiked our dinner up to the Peñón Glacier, marvelled at its enormity, and ate our pasta as huge cracks erupted out of nowhere.

Day 3: El Bosque to New Zealand Camp

Distance: 17km
Duration: 7-8 hours
Including a side trip to Laguna Duff

We woke up in the cosy silence of the mossy forest, hearing nothing but the tiny pitter-patter of soft rain on our tent. We hiked out in the cool, damp air, quickly emerging from the trees into the open to glimpse the mountains before they disappeared into a soft, thin layer of smoky cloud.

Read more: 7 Tips for Rainy Day Hiking

As we hiked steadily upwards, a beautiful river trickled to the left of the trail, while a huge rocky area loomed to the right – mounds of boulders and scree that were once a glacier. Tiny swallows somersaulted and played chase in the crisp morning air. Daisies hung their heads under small water droplets among rocks of a hundred different colours.

We reached Laguna Cerro Castillo by early morning, sat by the lakeside, catching a glimpse of the glacier’s base beneath the morning haze.

Due to rising temperatures and a persistent megadrought, nearly 95% of Chile’s 24,100 glaciers have retreated by 10-15% since 2010. In the last 15 years alone, some of the most iconic ice masses in Patagonia have been thinning by nearly three feet annually, with major glaciers like the Grey Glacier receding by as much as 100m per year. It’s a sobering thought, as we sit beneath these icy giants, to imagine what this view will look like in 5, 10, 20 years,

Starting up toward Paso Negro, the visibility didn’t improve, which meant the mountains’ promising view was shrouded in wispy fog, but we snagged otherwise perfect conditions for the pass. There wasn’t a breath of wind in the air; it was still, damp, and eerie.

We almost ran down the other side, tackling the fun, rocky scree, and enjoyed lunch just at the tree line. The sun finally peeked through, revealing views of the valley and Villa Cerro Castillo below. With the town in sight, any feeling of remoteness quickly vanished.

We followed the trail through the forested valley, accompanied by the sound of running water and chirping birds. At New Zealand Camp, we dropped packs and enjoyed a cuppa before hiking up to Laguna Duff. Floating sheets of thin ice on the water and a crisp wind at the lake made us especially grateful for our tent that night.

Coincidentally, we met a couple of Kiwis who were staying the night at the camp, and we all wondered how it got its name. It turns out the site is named in honour of the New Zealand climbers who first explored and helped forge the technical routes in the area during the 1970s and 80s.

While the first ascent of Cerro Castillo was by a Chilean team in 1966, a prominent group of New Zealanders arrived in 1976 and reached within 20 metres of the summit. This group included Lauchi Duff, for whom Laguna Duff is named, not the Simpson Beer that we jokingly presumed.

We cooked up warm bowls of risotto and settled in for our final night in this magical place.

Day 4: New Zealand Camp to Villa Cerro Castillo

Distance: 14km
Duration: 3.5 hours

We were up, coffeed, and packed by 7:30am, ready for the final stretch from the New Zealand Camp back to the Laguna Castillo car park. The hike out is roughly 9km and all a cruisy downhill, or 14km if you walk all the way back into the village. Make sure to take plenty of stops along the way to take one last look at the jagged spires of the mountain before returning to civilisation.

We were lucky on one of these stops to spot a pair (male and female) of Carpintero Negros (woodpeckers). The female was pecking at a nearby tree, stopping in between pecks to squawk up at her partner. It sounded like she was updating him on the daily news and gossip in between her work. We got a lift back into town with a local and were back at Nomad Cafe for hot mugs of coffee and cake by 11am, before waving goodbye to the Cerro giants.

Tips for Hiking the Las Horquestas Trek

• Water: The trail starts in semi-farm country, but then very quickly turns into multiple glacial rivers and streams. The Park Ranger said the water is fine to drink, and we enjoyed drinking from the cold glacial rivers, but bring a filter if you’re worried
• River crossings: These are straightforward and were knee-high at most when we hiked the route. As there are multiple quite close together on day one, I suggest bringing Crocs or sandals so you don’t have to keep taking your boots off. The water is ice-cold, but it actually feels quite refreshing and nice on your feet as you continue along the trail
• Horse flies are common around Patagonia, with some reaching the size of European honey bees. They’re persistent but slow and easily whacked away; however, they can bite through clothing, and bug spray doesn’t really work on them. As Australians, we weren’t bothered, but this was a common complaint in many of the route reviews
• Mountain passes: We were blessed with great weather for both passes, but it’s worth having a day or two up your sleeve in case the weather turns. They can get a bit sketchy with high winds, rain, or snow. Even on good weather days, it’s best to start the climb early. Passo Negro actually closes if high winds are expected. If this is the case, while you can take a side route down the mountain (shown on AllTrails), if you have the time, it’s worth waiting it out, so you can experience the epic views
• Camp rodents: They weren’t a problem for us at all, but we heard stories about camp rats, so keep your food inside your tents to avoid any unwanted visitors
• Birds: We encountered several birds, including the Austral parakeet and more woodpeckers. I suggest downloading a bird guide with an app like Merlin, so you can nerd out on the local species as you move through different habitats and ecosystems

Keep Hiking Patagonia

• The 60km Huemel Trek is Patagonia Like You’ve Never Seen It Before
• My Overnight Hike to Refugio Jakob – Patagonia’s Best Mountain Hut
• A Hiker’s Guide to Patagonia