Tours and Activities:

Anglers' Paradise

The crystal-clear waters that bathe the small village of Puerto Bertrand and empty into the Baker River, the most plentiful river in Chile, make up a landscape of singular beauty.

The sceneries of this Chilean region seemed to glow even more under the warm sun of the fall. We left the peace of Lake General Carrera behind and headed for Cochrane. We took the Southern Road and bordered Lake Negro, which joins an arm of Lake Bertrand. Then we took the detour on the right to Puerto Bertrand, a nice village lying on the nothern shore of the lake.
The silent hamlet spreading across the mountain amidst the lenga forest opposite the Contreras Mountain Range shelters about 90 inhabitants during the low season.

I was dazzled at the quiet beauty of the village. We advanced along a lane up to the fishing lodge near the Baker River. There we met Arcadio, a local dweller who invited us to go sailing across Lake Betrand up to the mouth of the Baker River.


Turquoise

The water mirror is simply beautiful. Vivrant turquoise, it receives the tributaries coming from Lakes General Carrera and Plomo, which are fed with water from snowdrifts.

After such a relaxing ride, we returned to the small pier at the lodge in order to say good-bye to Arcadio and Gaucha. We continued traveling along the road towards Cochrane. Every now and then, we would stop to have a look at the river which at times would flow away from the road. After climbing the cuesta del Diablo (the Devil's Slope), a fantastic vantage point would show us the spot where the Baker River joins the Nef River, with its milky waters coming from the glaciers.

See also: Hotels in Cochrane and other accommodation venues