Cochrane, Chile Travel Guide: Patagonia’s New Hiking Hub

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Cochrane felt like the town that was ‘just right’ on the Carretera Austral. Not as remote and secluded as Villa O’Higgins, but not as busy or built up as Coyhaique, Cochrane lands somewhere in the middle. 

This tiny town of less than 3,000 inhabitants has earned its place on many Patagonia itineraries for one reason: Parque Nacional Patagonia. 

Cochrane is the closest jump-off point for one of Chile’s newest and most exciting national parks. Its Patagonian steppe teeming with wildlife like pumas, guanacos and the endangered huemul deer. 

As amazing as the national park is, Cochrane is a worthy stop of its own. A charming and friendly little town with enough cheap empanadas, stocked supermarket shelves and craft beer taps to keep adventurous travellers happy for a few days. 

It was our favourite stop along the carretera and somewhere we could really see popping off in the future. Hello, new El Chalten or Puerto Natales?

Here’s everything you need to know about Cochrane, from the best things to do, accessing Patagonia National Park, where to stay and eat, how to get there and around, and amenities in town.

About Cochrane Chile

Cochrane is a small town along the southern half of the Carretera Austral. It has road access to the rest of the region (no ferries required from its closest neighbours), but it still feels like it exists in a world of its own.

The town is bordered to the south by the crystalline Rio Cochrane, so blue it could easily pass for the Mediterranean Sea. The Tamango Sector of Parque Nacional Patagonia occupies the area to the east, filled with miles of trails to explore and a healthy population of the rare and endangered huemul deer. 

This is gaucho (cowboy) country, and the town’s ~3,000 inhabitants are mostly involved in farming on vast estancias. Life beats to a different rhythm in Cochrane, but everyone we encountered was so friendly and welcoming, and the town had a warm vibe. 

Tourism is starting to become a part of everyday life here, as the Parque Nacional Patagonia grows in popularity, and travellers start exploring the further reaches of Chilean Patagonia, getting away from the deservedly crowded Torres del Paine. 

We immediately loved Cochrane, and it quickly became a highlight of our Carretera Austral road trip, both the town and the nearby Patagonia National Park. 

Despite its small size, we could do all the usual traveller things we needed to here, like refuel our car, stock up on some groceries, grab a (decent) coffee and tasty empanadas. There is a growing variety of accommodation options too, whether you’re camping or looking for something a bit more luxurious. 

🛻 Cochrane was one stop on our road trip along the Carretera Austral in Chilean Patagonia. Don’t forget to browse all our posts about the Carretera Austral, or if you want to skip the multiple tabs and scribbling notes from my blog, I’ve got you covered with my Carretera Austral Road Trip Handbook. A 365-page eBook compiling everything I know about the highway into one beautifully designed place, available offline in your pocket while you’re on the carreterra!

PLANNING YOUR CARRETERA AUSTRAL ROAD TRIP CAN BE CONFUSING… I KNOW, I’VE BEEN THERE!

I spent months planning our Carretera Austral road trip – jumping between tabs, scribbling notes, and trying to remember ferry times. It’s a confusing region, and it’s easy to get it wrong!

That’s why I created the Carretera Austral Road Trip Handbook: all the info you need in one beautifully designed guide, available offline while you’re on the highway. Pair it with our Custom Google Map (500+ pins!), and you’ll have a clear, stress-free plan for the road trip of a lifetime – before you leave and while you’re on the highway.

YOUR CARRETERA COMPANIONS

Cochrane map

How to get to Cochrane

• 🚗 By car: Cochrane is located along the southern half of the Carretera Austral. It sits south of Puerto Rio Tranquilo (~2.5 hours) and north of Caleta Tortel (~2.5 hours), depending on which direction you’re coming from.
  
  The majority of the highway leading into Cochrane from either direction remains unpaved. The town has done some work paving its own roads, as well as about 10 km of the highway on either side of town, so you’ve got a smooth run in! 
  
  We travelled the highway from south to north, so we approached Cochrane from Caleta Tortel. This stretch was definitely one of the most scenic parts of the carretera, and what should have taken us around 2.5 hours took almost 4, as I stopped so many times for photos!
  
  The mountains felt like they tripled in size and had a beautiful dusting of snow on top, the autumn colours were blazing in April, and there was plenty of ‘traffic’ in the form of horses and sheep. 

📍 I’ve pinned lots of miradors and scenic stops en route to Cochrane from Caleta Tortel (south) or Puerto Rio Tranquilo (north) on my Carretera Austral map

• 🚌 By bus: there are buses to Cochrane from Villa O’Higgins (3 times per week), Caleta Tortel (daily), Chile Chico (4 times per week) and Coyhaique (via Villa Cerro Castillo and Puerto Rio Tranquilo, daily). The bus terminal is a short walk from the plaza on a hill above town.
  
  This is the best website I’ve found for bus information along the Carretera Austral, but most of the times and companies listed there were also stuck on a sign at the Cochrane Tourist Information Centre. It’s always good to see a timetable at least 2 – 3 times to know it’s right, but I’d recommend contacting the transport companies directly to confirm, as public transport in this region of Chile is unreliable and changes seasonally. 

• 🇦🇷 From Argentina: if you are self-driving through Patagonia, you can get to Cochrane from Argentina through the Parque Nacional Patagonia. There is a border crossing called Paso Rodolfo Roballos on Ruta X-83 that winds through the Valle Chacabuco sector of the park on the Chilean side.
  
  We didn’t do this crossing, so we don’t have too many details, but I know you have to pre-request authorisation to cross here in advance (if going from Chile > Argentina), because the immigration office is so small. If you’re coming into Chile from Argentina, I believe you can just turn up. If you’re planning to do this border crossing in either direction, this listing on iOverlander is useful and has updated information from travellers crossing recently.

How to get around in Cochrane

Cochrane (and basically all of the Carretera Austral) is a place where you really need your own vehicle or bicycle to get around comfortably. 

The town itself has paved roads in a tidy grid, which felt very civilised after hours on the bumpy highway! It’s easy to walk around the centre, but the main hikes and attractions in Cochrane are outside of town. 

If you don’t have a car or a bike, there are a few taxis around town. We noticed a couple driving around, but there was also a list of names and numbers on the window at the tourist information office in the plaza. 

The Parque Nacional Patagonia is the main drawcard, and depending on which sector you’re planning to visit, it’s up to an hour drive from Cochrane. 

The Tamango Sector is much closer to town, and you can walk it if you don’t have a vehicle, but you’d be adding 4 km (2.5 mi) each way to a probably already lengthy hike inside the park! 

We treated the Valle Chacabuco Sector (~1 hour drive) as its own destination and camped inside the park, so we didn’t travel back and forth between Cochrane. But if you only want to visit for the day or you don’t have a car, there are shuttles between town and the park. Nacion Patagonia run these shuttles, and their number on WhatsApp is +56 933 76 59 89 (I’ve got an image of a timetable in my Valle Chacabuco guide). 

Where to stay in Cochrane

🏨 ACCOMMODATION

Cochrane has a pretty decent variety of accommodations, and you can see that tourism is really starting to take off here. You’ll easily find something comfortable, no matter your budget. There isn’t anything super fancy, but if you’ve got a car, you can make the most of the beautiful cabins on the outskirts of town.  

• 💰 Camping y Hostal Cochrane
• 💰 Hostal Beraca
• 💰💰 Cabañas Brellenthin
• 💰💰 Cabañas Canelita Cochrane
• 💰💰💰 Kalfu Patagonia
• 💰💰💰 Hotel Ultimo Paraiso

🏕️ CAMPING

Cochrane has recently introduced new laws prohibiting any free camping or parking of campers/motorhomes/vans inside the town limits. There are signs scattered around the centro area, and police have been (kindly) moving people on in the evenings. 

Fair enough and completely understandable, the locals probably don’t want people brushing their teeth in the plaza! 

If you’re camping on the Carretera Austral in a self-contained camper, van or motorhome, there are a few free camps a little further outside the centre that still seem to be okay and not breaking any rules. 

We safely parked at this location in a nice field next to a forest. It’s just above the mirador and Cochrane letters, which we could walk to from our camper. Please leave it cleaner than you found it!

If you need more amenities, there are tons of paid campgrounds around Cochrane with toilets, hot water showers, electricity, kitchens, etc. 

If you’ve got a vehicle and don’t need to be central, look for somewhere along the Rio Cochrane, it is stunning! Camping Cecilia and Camping Aquasol are good options. 

Otherwise, the campground inside the Tamango Sector of Parque Nacional Patagonia looked excellent on the riverfront, and you will conveniently be right at the trailhead for the hikes in the park. I’ve got more info about the park and camping here in my Tamango Sector guide.

Things to do in Cochrane

1. Explore the town

As soon as we rolled into Cochrane, we immediately loved it. There’s not really anything particularly special about it; it’s just a lovely little town. 

Maybe it was the blue skies and sunshine the day we arrived, or the golden autumn leaves blanketing the town, but we just found it a really nice place to be. 

You should definitely dedicate some time to wandering around its small centre (it won’t take long!). 

As with all Chilean towns, the town plaza, Plaza de Armas, is the heart of the town, and things branch out from there. The huemul deer statues in the plaza made me hopeful for a sighting during our time hiking in Parque Nacional Patagonia. 

The Mirador del Cerro La Cruz de Cochrane is a small lookout just above town with the classic town letters. Even the smallest of Latin American towns seems to have jumped on the trend! 

There is a lovely little park on Calle Rio Baker behind the COPEC station, and to the east of the centre along Calle Rio del Salto there is a beautiful green space right along the river. 

The small but well-done Museo Municipal de Cochrane is a great free stop if you’re interested to learn more about the history of the Indigenous people and later settlers of the Cochrane area. 

2. Parque Nacional Patagonia – Sector Tamango

The primary reason most people visit Cochrane is to explore the nearby Parque Nacional Patagonia, one of Chile’s newest and most impressive national parks. 

It’s one of the best places in the country to spot pumas, the endangered huemul deer and other species like guanacos and nañdus, and is quickly becoming a must-visit spot in Patagonia. 

The park is divided into three sectors: Jeinimeni, Valle Chacabuco and Tamango. The Tamango Sector is located just 4 km (2.5 mi) from Cochrane town. 

Situated along the banks of the sparkling blue Rio Cochrane, there are some excellent hikes in this sector of the park, and it is a favourite habitat of the huemul. 

I’ve got a complete guide to the Tamango Sector of Parque Nacional Patagonia, which has more details about getting to the park from Cochrane, the best hiking trails, camping, amenities, prices and hours. 

We only had one day in this sector, but I really regret not adding a second, as the scenery was just beautiful. We hiked the Los Carpinteros trail (9.5 km / 5.9 mi), which followed the river until it empties into Lago Cochrane. The colour of the water was absolutely mindblowing, and this was easily one of the best day hikes we did in Patagonia. 

🦌 Read our complete guide to the Tamango Sector of Parque Nacional Patagonia

3. Parque Nacional Patagonia – Sector Valle Chacabuco

When people mention Parque Nacional Patagonia, they’re probably talking about Valle Chacabuco. This sector of the park stretches all the way to the border with Argentina, and is where you can do some serious wildlife watching. 

Pumas, guanacos, nañdus, foxes, condors, huemuls and even flamingoes, the vast steppe is teeming with life. 

If you’re serious about exploring this sector properly, you’ll need more than one day and ideally a vehicle. 

We considered Valle Chacabuco a ‘new’ destination after departing Cochrane, and spent 3 nights camping inside the park. We would definitely recommend this approach as there is A LOT of ground to cover here, but it is possible to visit for a day from town if you’re short on time. 

It’s about a 1-hour drive from Cochrane to the park, depending on which trailhead you’re heading for. There are hikes of all durations, the most popular being the 20.4 km (12.7 mi)  Sendero Lagunas Altas. 

Again, we’ve written a more detailed guide to the Valle Chacabuco Sector of Patagonia National Park, and you’ll find all the info you need to plan your time here, whether it’s a day or a few nights. We cover getting there from Cochrane, hiking trails, amenities, prices, campgrounds and other accommodations (there is a fancy hotel inside the park, which we did not expect!).

🦙 Read our complete guide to the Valle Chacabuco Sector of Parque Nacional Patagonia

4. Water activities on the Rio Cochrane

Patagonia, particularly the Chilean side, is full of beautiful rivers. I lost count of how many magical riverside camp spots we slept beside, but none are more beautiful than the Rio Cochrane! 

With water the colour of the Mediterranean, so clear you can see the bottom, you need to spend some time next to, on top of or in this stunning waterway. 

We visited Cochrane in mid-April, and the temperatures were unfortunately far too low for swimming. We enjoyed hiking along the river on the Los Carpinteros Trail in the Tamango Sector of the national park, but we were both shattered that we couldn’t dive in. (Well, we could have, but I am way too wimpy for that!). 

Something we sadly didn’t realise until after we’d left Cochrane is that you can rent kayaks at the campground in the park. This information was on a sign we saw in the campground at Valle Chacabuco, the other sector of the park. A bit late to see this as we’d already left Cochrane at this point, luckily, you won’t make the same mistake!

The prices we saw were singles (15,000 CLP) or doubles (25,000 CLP) for a 3-hour rental. 

They also offer boat rides along the river, and this is a common way for people to shorten some of the hikes in the park, like the Carpinteros Trail we hiked on. You can get a boat to drop you at the end of the trail, and you hike one-way back to the park entrance. 

Paseos Nauticos Cochrane is another great local company that offers a variety of boat, kayak and fishing tours and can also offer boat drops into the national park.  

If you’re visiting in summer when the temperatures are more conducive, we read about a very fun snorkelling/floating tour. A local tour company called Descubriendo offers this experience.

5. Glaciar Calluqueo and Cerro San Lorenzo

There are dozens, if not hundreds, of glaciers all over Patagonia. As beautiful as they are, you don’t need to see all of them, and your time and wallet probably wouldn’t allow you to!

Most travellers along the Carretera Austral, ourselves included, opt to have a glacier experience from Puerto Rio Tranquilo. The best jump-off point for the Parque Nacional Laguna San Rafael, where you can go trekking on the ice at Glaciar Exploradores or take a day-long cruise to Glaciar San Rafael. 

Consequently, the Callequeo Glacier, located about 55 km south of Cochrane, is not visited very often! Sitting on the slopes of Cerro San Lorenzo, the second-highest point in the Patagonian Andes at 3,706 m, this glacier can be visited as a day trip from Cochrane. 

We didn’t do this, so unfortunately, I don’t have all the details. 

The easiest option would be to go with a local tour agency, such as Lord Patagonia, which offers an inclusive tour with all the gear required to walk on the ice. If you’re up for a serious challenge, they also offer guided hikes to the summit of Cerro San Lorenzo!

I believe it is possible to visit a mirador of the glacier independently if you’ve got a vehicle, but you will need to research this a little deeper. 

6. See the confluence of the Rios Baker and Neff

This one is not quite in Cochrane, but something you should do after you leave (if you’re travelling north) or before you arrive (if you’re travelling south along the Carretera Austral). 

Located between Cochrane and Puerto Rio Tranquilo, the confluencia is the point where the Rio Baker meets the Rio Neff. 

The vibrant turquoise Rio Baker is the largest river in Chile by water volume and flows through a large portion of the Carretera Austral region before emptying into the sea at Caleta Tortel (where we camped alongside it, right before it joined the Tortel Fjord).

The Rio Neff is a glacier-fed river, with a milky grey colour caused by the sediment in the water from the glacier rubbing against the bedrock. It’s not uncommon to see milky bodies of water around Patagonia. They’re not dirty, they’re just full of glacier flour, as it’s called. 

These two distinctly coloured bodies of water meet at a dramatic confluence at a curve in the river, where the Rio Baker picks up speed as it drops down a few small waterfalls and tumbles into a swirling cauldron, picking up the Rio Neff and continuing on its way. 

There is a short trail along the side of the Carretera Austral, 45 minutes from Cochrane and 1.5 hours from Puerto Rio Tranquilo. It’s clearly marked with plenty of off-street parking, and it’s entirely free. This is definitely worth a stop as you’re driving in or out of Cochrane. 

Where to eat in Cochrane

Cochrane has lots of different restaurants and cafes, so inevitably, when the one you want to visit is closed, you’ll still find something open! As with everywhere along the Carretera Austral, restaurants and tourism businesses are open and pumping during summer, but as you approach winter, opening hours get less reliable and lots of places close entirely for the off-season. 

• 🥟 SABINA – Sabores de la Patagonia: these were the BEST empanadas we had on the carretera. Set up like a bakery with take-away empanadas, bread, lots of sweets and other snacks like papa rellenas (not the Mexican kind, look them up, they’re DELISH!). There is also a microwave where you can heat up your empanadas to eat right away. They were huge and less than 3,000 pesos! 

• 🍻 Cervecería Tehuelche: in classic Chilean fashion, there is a craft beer brewery plonked in this tiny town in virtually the middle of nowhere! Don’t be expecting amazing things, but there’s not much better than enjoying a pizza and a cold draft beer on a sunny day in Patagonia. 

• ☕️ Cafe Tero: the first ‘proper’ coffee we encountered, while travelling north on the Carretera Austral. It was hardly Australian style, but it was very enjoyable. They had lots of nice sweets here too. 

• 🌭 Restaurant y Arriendo de Cabañas Lago Brown: a reliable option that seemed to adhere to its opening hours. Cheap and huge completos (aka Chile’s hot dogs) and burgers. 

• 🍰 Cafe La Oveja Negra: our coffee award goes to Cafe Tero because they stuck to their Google hours and were open when we visited. La Oveja Negra was unexpectedly closed, but the reviews are very good for coffee and cakes. If you can sample both, let me know which is better! 

• 🥘 Restorant La Isla: one of the more ‘proper’ restaurants in Cochrane, just out of the town centre. If you want a hearty dinner with typical Patagonian options like lamb, salmon, cazuela, papas bravas etc. this is a great option. 

📍 All of these restaurants are pinned on my Carretera Austral custom map

Things to know before visiting Cochrane

• 🌤️ Best time to visit: like all of Patagonia, the best time to visit Cochrane is generally in the warmer months between October – April. Although you should expect wild weather at any time of the year, with rain, wind, snow and sun always possible – this is Patagonia after all!
  
  In spring (October and November), the weather is starting to warm up, although you should still expect a fair amount of snow around, but things are thawing, and flowers are blooming.
  
  Summer (December, January and February) is peak season, although ‘crowded’ in Cochrane is hardly busy compared to more popular destinations in the south. I do anticipate this will change in the coming years as Parque Nacional Patagonia becomes more popular. You’ll find the most businesses open and tours running at this time of the year, so ‘peak season’ isn’t a bad time to visit the Carretera Austral.
  
  Although temperatures are warmer in summer, the famous Patagonian winds are at their wildest.
  
  Early fall (March and April) still has beautiful sunny days, less wind, fewer crowds and stunning autumn colours. We visited Cochrane in April and had just divine sunny days. We were in t-shirts as we hiked through Tamango! 

• 🗓️ How long to stay: it depends on what your plans are in Cochrane. If you plan to stay in the Valle Chacabuco Sector of Parque Nacional Patagonia separate from your time in the town, 1 – 2 nights in Cochrane itself is plenty to explore the Tamango Sector. If you want to base in Cochrane and travel to Valle Chacabuco for a day or more, I’d say 3 – 5 nights would be ideal. 

• ⚠️ Safety: we felt completely safe in Cochrane, as we did everywhere on the Carretera Austral. These tiny towns are incredibly welcoming, and people are very friendly.

• 🗣️ Language: Spanish is the official language in Chile, and there is barely any English spoken in the remote towns of the Carretera Austral. Chilean Spanish is notoriously hard to understand, so even if you’ve got a decent level of Spanish, be prepared to struggle with their unique vocabulary, fast speaking and mumbling! 

• 💰 Currency: the currency in Chile is the Chilean Peso (CLP). While in some more touristy areas of the country, US Dollars are occasionally accepted for tourist activities, this isn’t the case in Cochrane.

• 💧 Can you drink the water: tap water is safe to drink in most parts of Chilean Patagonia, including Cochrane. It’s also a good idea to check with your accommodation before you drink, just to be sure.

Amenities in Cochrane

• 🛒 Supermarkets: Supermercado Reina Catalina was the best supermarket we found in town. It’s small, but we found everything we needed, including a few dry goods, fresh bread rolls and a few vegetables. There are other smaller options around town if you’re looking for something specific and need to hunt, but Reina Catalina was the biggest and best.
  
  I’d say prices here were slightly cheaper than in Villa O’Higgins (given it’s a lot more accessible!), but you should expect the price of groceries to be inflated all along the Carretera Austral.  

• 🏧 ATMs: there is one ATM in Cochrane. It’s a BancoEstado one, which is the best bank to use in Chile with a foreign card as you can withdraw the highest amount of cash (~ 400,000 pesos) to make the most of the expensive Chilean ATM fees. The withdrawal fee is about 5,000 pesos (~$5 USD). 

• 💳  Card or cash payments: we had no problem paying with card at a few restaurants, the national park, gas station and supermarket. I’d come stocked with cash just in case the ATM isn’t working, though. You should always keep a healthy supply of cash on the Carretera Austral, as paying by card is not always a given!

• ⛽️  Petrol stations: yes, there is a COPEC station in Cochrane with all types of unleaded fuel (1,493 CLP for 95) and diesel (1,218 CLP). These prices will change by the time you visit, but as a comparison, they were quite a bit cheaper than Caleta Tortel and Villa O’Higgins, which makes sense given the location is a bit closer to civilisation! There is air for your tyres and a small bike service/repair area. We were also able to fill up our camper water tank from a tap here. 

• 📱 Phone service and wifi: we had 4G and even some 5G service with Movistar in Cochrane town, our phones worked totally fine.
  
  I believe Entel also has service and is considered the best provider for this area, however, due to new laws that came into effect in February 2025 banning foreigners from registering SIM cards in Chile, it’s near impossible to get an Entel SIM as a tourist. We had no problem buying a Movistar one; I think they did some quick thinking to find a workaround, but Entel repeatedly told us in multiple stores it was not possible.
  
  We didn’t use wifi anywhere in Cochrane (we had our own Starlink Mini set up in our Camper Travel Chile camper), but I imagine it would be a reasonable speed given the phone service. 

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YOUR CARRETERA COMPANIONS

Final thoughts: Cochrane Chile travel guide

We loved Cochrane! The town, all the sectors we visited of Parque Nacional Patagonia, the empanadas from SABINA, it was all so lovely. 

I think if you asked Brayden or me which town was our favourite on our Carretera Austral road trip, we would both say Cochrane. I can’t really describe exactly why, it was just a very friendly, cosy little place with beautiful scenery, great hikes and enough going on in terms of food, accommodation and amenities to keep most travellers happy!

I can really see this town taking off and becoming a more popular fixture on people’s Patagonia itineraries, like El Chalten or Puerto Natales. I hope its remote location keeps it small and it doesn’t change too much, though. 

📍 Where to next? If you’re travelling along the Carretera Austral, your next stop will most likely be Puerto Rio Tranquillo if you’re heading north or Caleta Tortel if you’re travelling south.

MORE COCHRANE POSTS

• Tamango Sector Guide: Parque Nacional Patagonia, Chile
• Valle Chacabuco Sector Guide: Parque Nacional Patagonia, Chile

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