The sheltered, sandy cove of La Arena lies 13km south of the turn-off to Parque Nacional Alerce Andino; it’s the departure point of a ferry. After the thirty-minute crossing, the ferry lands at tiny Caleta Puelche, from where the road winds through 58km of thickly forested hills, before arriving at the village of HORNOPIRÉN. Here you catch a Naviera Austral ferry to Caleta Gonzalo, where the Carretera continues.

Perched on the northern shore of a wide fjord, at the foot of Volcán Hornopirén, the village enjoys a spectacular location and makes a good stop en route to the rest of the Carretera Austral.