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A FREE hiking trail on the side of the highway, leading through a fairytale rainforest to a glacier? Sign me up!
The Ventisquero Yelcho hike inside Parque Nacional Corcovado was one of the best random discoveries we made on our road trip along the Carretera Austral in Chilean Patagonia.
This trail is completely free, almost entirely flat (woo hoo!), and showcases an incredible example of the moist, Valdivian forest Northern Patagonia is known for. Plus, you get to look at yet another incredible glacier.
If you don’t know the trail is there, you’d drive straight past, but let me assure you, this is one roadside stop you’ll want to make!
In this post, we’ll explain everything you need to know about the Ventisquero Yelcho hike.
Ventisquero Yelcho hike overview
- 🥾 Trail type: out-and-back
- 📍 Trailhead location: Google Maps
- 🗺️ Trail map: AllTrails
- 📏 Distance: 6.1 km (3.8 mi)
- 📈 Elevation gain: 135 m (443 ft)
- 🥵 Difficulty: easy
- ⏳ Duration: 1.5 – 2.5 hours
- 💰 Entrance fee: free
About Parque Nacional Corcovado
The Corcovado National Park (in Chile, not Costa Rica!) protects a vast area of forest, lakes, fjords, islands and bays, including the Gulf of Corcovado and the Corcovado Volcano.
It’s a relatively new national park, created in 2005 thanks to a huge land donation from Rewilding Chile. The not-for-profit organisation of the Tompkins family, who were responsible for the creation of the Patagonia National Park near Cochrane, and Pumalin National Park, just up the road in Chaiten.
The park is wild and has very limited visitor infrastructure. There is virtually no land access to the area, and the main activities that happen at the park are whale watching and boat tours from the nearby town of Puerto Raúl Marín Balmaceda.
There is one exception to this, and the only land access to the park – the Ventisquero Yelcho hike.
About Ventisquero Yelcho
Ventisquero Yelcho, or the Yelcho Glacier, is one of many glaciers located within the bounds of Corcovado National Park.
It is a hanging glacier, clinging to the side of a steep valley and feeding icy waterfalls and streams into the forest below. The glacier’s meltwater creates the Rio Ventisquero, which has a milky grey colour due to all the fine glacial silt.
Over thousands of years, its ice carved out the wide U-shaped valley at its base, leaving behind sheer rock walls and moraines as clear evidence of how big the glacier once was. Like many of Patagonia’s glaciers, Ventisquero Yelcho has been in steady retreat.
The beauty of Ventisquero Yelcho is how accessible it is. The trail is only 3 km (1.9 mi) each way, on a mostly flat trail through beautiful Valdivian forest dripping with moisture and moss.
The first part of the trail has recently been upgraded, and there is a beautiful wooden boardwalk for a few hundred metres. It was probably close to 800 – 900 metres of boardwalk, from memory.
There are a few viewpoints at the start of the trail along the boardwalk with interpretive signs and a pretty good view of the glacier, if you don’t want to, or can’t, hike the whole trail.
Once the boardwalk ends, the mud starts! The rest of the trail was mostly flat, but with lots of roots, puddles, and rocks to hop over. The trail runs adjacent to the river, and there are a few cutouts where you can walk down to the riverbank.
It ends at a big wooden viewing platform looking towards the glacier.
How to get to the Ventisquero Yelcho trailhead
I think you would really need a car or bicycle at the very least to independently access the Ventisquero Yelcho hike.
The trailhead is on the side of the Carretera Austral highway, between Chaiten and Puyuhuapi. It’s just under an hour south of Chaiten, and about 2 hours north of Puyuhuapi.
The entrance isn’t well signposted and sneaks up on you. We were travelling north, and it was on the left side of the road, with a sharp turn just after we’d crossed the bridge over the Rio Ventisquero.
If you’re travelling south, you’ll veer off to the right before the bridge.
Some buses would pass by the trailhead, but it would be impossible to time your return, as this is a very remote area. There are a few tour companies in Chaiten that offer day tours here, if you don’t have a vehicle. Look into Green Patagonia Travel.
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Entrance fees & hours
There is currently no entrance fee to enter this area of Parque Nacional Corcovado. It is free!
When we visited, there were no rangers or staff here, and I don’t think it is ever manned. Technically, you could visit and hike at any time.
When to hike Ventisquero Yelcho
As far as I know, the Ventisquero Yelcho trail is open year-round. The entrance wasn’t manned by staff when we visited, and I don’t think the trail is ever closed.
The best time to visit Patagonia is during the warmer months from October – April. This particular area is quite wet (hello rainforest), and rain is common year-round.
Do you need a guide to hike Ventisquero Yelcho?
Nope! No guide required here. It’s entirely independent and free.
Amenities at Ventisquero Yelcho
When we visited, there were no amenities open.
There was what looked to be a ranger hut and some toilets that were in disrepair and locked up. I’m not sure if there are plans to repair and reopen these amenities, but just plan for nothing.
What to wear and bring
This is a pretty easy and quick hike, so you don’t need to pack too much. However, given the weather here is so unpredictable, you should always be prepared even on shorter trails!
One thing I will note is that it is very muddy here. You’ll want some decent hiking boots or waterproof shoes. Although the trail isn’t hard, trekking poles wouldn’t go astray to support you while you rock hop across mud.
Below is our go-to day-hike packing list for Patagonia.
We amend it slightly depending on the trail distance and terrain, and weather conditions, but as a base, this is everything we think about before a long day hike. Never forget that the weather in Patagonia can change on a dime, so even if you set out hiking in sunshine, you need extra layers for wet or freezing conditions.
- 💦 Water bottles x 2 per person
- 🫧 Electrolyte sachets
- 🍭 Lollies
- 🥪 Lunch or snacks
- 🍴 Reusable cutlery kit (if required for food)
- ♨️ Thermos with hot water
- ☕️ Reusable coffee cup
- 🫖 Tea or coffee bags
- 🥾 Hiking poles
- 👀 Binoculars
- 🔦 Head torches
- 🧢 Hat
- 😎 Sunglasses
- 🧴 Sunscreen (reef-friendly)
- 🦟 Insect repellent (natural)
- 🧥 Rain coat and pants
- ☔️ Dry bags and/or waterproof bag cover
- 🧣 Gloves, scarf/buff and beanie
- 🥶 Extra warm layers
- 🧦 Spare pair of socks
- 🩳 Shorts to change into if warm
- 🧖🏽♀️ Towel (if swimming)
- 👙 Bathers (if swimming)
- 🩹 Mini first aid kit and medicines
- 🧻 Tissues and/or toilet paper
- 🚽 SheWee
- 📱 Charged phone with trail map downloaded offline
- 📷 Camera with spare batteries and memory card
- 📚 Ereader
- 🔌 Powerbank and phone cord
Our experience hiking Ventisquero Yelcho
After nearly missing the turn off from the highway, we were the only car in the car park when we arrived. We grabbed our bags and raincoats (always!) and were very surprised to start walking on a near-new wooden boardwalk.
The first section of the trail along the boardwalk was a delight. We’d done a lot of hiking in Patagonia by this point in our trip, and although we never tired of the views, I will admit it was lovely to walk on a FLAT, wooden boardwalk without needing to hop over mud and puddles and constantly look down at your feet.
The forest was immediately dense and beautiful. We’d had our first experience of the moist, evergreen Valdivian forest the day prior in Queulat National Park, and I was loving it. It reminded us of Australia, and the cool temperate rainforest we have in the south, where we are from.
There were huge ferns, gigantic leaves, moss and lichen covering almost every surface. We had to duck under hanging vines, and bright purple mushrooms and other fungi dotted the forest floor. It honestly felt like an enchanted forest, it was so special!
It wasn’t raining, thankfully, but the forest was still dripping with moisture. We were lucky enough to have the sun peek through the canopy throughout the walk, and seeing the rays hit through the forest was incredible.
After the boardwalk ended, the trail was quite muddy, and we did lots of hopping and jumping over particularly wet patches. It was mostly flat with just a few gentle inclines and declines, so besides the mud, we made good time, and it was a very easy trail compared to some of the other hikes we’d done in the area (looking at you, Laguna Cerro Castillo!).
We eventually reached the end of the trail, which terminates at a big wooden lookout deck.
The huge glacier was right in front of us, suspended high on the cliffside. The sun was just peaking over the mountains, illuminating half of the ice. The jagged patterns and lines of the ice are just incredible, and I will never get sick of seeing glaciers. It’s so unusual for us as Australians, and they blew me away every time we saw one in Patagonia.
A light mist blew across the ice, with cushions of cloud hanging around the forested slopes. There were multiple waterfalls thundering down the side of the cliff, and we could see glimpses of other arms of ice branching out around the jagged peaks.
There is a deep, empty valley below, and we could only wonder how far this icy mass would have spread centuries ago. We could clearly see the power and force the glacier had subjected the area to, with rocky piles of moraine in the retreating path of the glacier.
After a long time spent soaking up this special view, with no one else around, we turned back and returned the way we came through the enchanted forest.
We passed another couple of hikers on our way back, but this was an otherwise solitary walk. Not bad for a view like this, with no entrance fee!
Planning a trip to Chaiten
If you’re travelling along the Carretera Austral, I’d recommend doing the hike en route between Puyuhuapi and Chaiten or vice versa. It’s closer to Chaiten (< 1 hour) and I’d highly recommend spending a few days here. Read our Chaiten travel guide, which covers all the important info you need to know, like getting there, getting around, the best places to eat, where to stay and other handy tips to get your bearings.
🌿 Everything you need to know about Chaiten
Final thoughts: Ventisquero Yelcho hiking guide
We were so happy we came across this trail when researching our Carretera Austral road trip.
This was one of the nicest hikes we did in Patagonia. Not strenuous, no one else around and no entry fees. Such a win!
If you’re road tripping the Carretera Austral, I highly recommend the Ventisquero Yelcho hike. There’s no reason not to!
Don’t forget to check out our Chaiten travel guide too, you should definitely spend some time here. There are more amazing hikes to do in the Pumalin National Park, and we loved hanging out on Playa Santa Barbara.
MORE CHAITEN POSTS
- Chaiten, Chile Travel Guide: A Town That Nearly Disappeared
- How to Visit the Pumalin National Park in Patagonia, Chile
