Even more thinly settled than north of Coyhaique [1], southern Aisén is wild country, with few and scattered services; barely 10,000 people live in nearly 46,000 square kilometers. The only towns with more than a thousand residents are Chile Chico [2], near the Argentine border on Lago General Carrera, and Cochrane [3], directly on the Carretera Austral.
The highway is now paved to Villa Cerro Castillo [4], 98 kilometers south of Coyhaique, as is the Puerto Ibáñez lateral. In late 1999, it finally reached its terminus at Villa O’Higgins [5], though the last 100 kilometers still requires a ferry shuttle from Puerto Yungay [6] to Río Bravo.
Links:
[1] http://www.moon.com/destinations/chile/northern-patagonia/coyhaique
[2] http://www.moon.com/destinations/chile/northern-patagonia/-southern-carretera-austral/chile-chico
[3] http://www.moon.com/destinations/chile/northern-patagonia/-southern-carretera-austral/cochrane
[4] http://www.moon.com/destinations/chile/northern-patagonia/-southern-carretera-austral/villa-cerro-castillo
[5] http://www.moon.com/destinations/chile/northern-patagonia/-southern-carretera-austral/villa-o-higgins
[6] http://www.moon.com/destinations/chile/northern-patagonia/-southern-carretera-austral/puerto-yungay