Looking for information about trekking to Cochamo valley

Hello everyone,

my girlfriend and I are planning to visit Cochamo valley by the end of march. Because we will be in Torres del Paine before and are traveling by public transportation, we don't know for sure when excactly we will arrive there. Depending on how much time we have left, we are either considering doing the trek Paso Leon to Cochamó (coming from Argentinia) or the Circuit Puelo-Cochamó. I have some questions about those treks (especially the latter), since I couldn't find any information about them. I would be very thankful for any information I could get!

First of all, since we are definitely planning on staying in La Junta at the end of our trek, are the refugios and /or the camping still open by the end of March? When I checked the availbility on the website, it says the refugio is closed, but under lodging on the same website it says it's open through April. UNfortunately I didn't get an answer when I tried to contact the refugio Cochamo by mail. If the refugio is closed, can we still camp and is there a possibility to still get food?

Where can I find information about the Circuit Puelo-Cochamó? Is it possible to do without a guide? Do we have to be absolutely self sufficent, or can you get a meal on the trek? Also I couldn't find any information about how to get to the trailhead after Lago Tagua Tagua. Is there regular public transport fom Puelo and does the ferry operate on a regular basis? I already checked www.cochamo.com, but there is no information about the circuit, only the crossing from Paso Leon.

If we do the circuit, we would be coming from Chaiten before starting the trek. Would we have to go through Puerto Montt if we come from Chaiten, or is there a direct way to Puelo or Cochamo? I read that you can take a plane to Puerto Montt, is this maybe also possible to Puelo?

If anyone can answer any of these questions, I would be very grateful!

Cheers and thanks a lot!

I never done both passes, but I know the area
first at all there are lots of videos on Youtube about these trekkings, also stories in blogs, forums, etc, but all in Spanish
roughly, the Puelo (or El Bolson pass) trek is more easy because the road at Chilean is every year more near to the frontier
the El Leon or El Manso Pass is more rough (6-7 days) but doable
going to some specific questions
- I dont understand what is "the Circuit Puelo-Cochamó" I think your refer to El Bolson or Puelo Pass, but this pass head you to Puelo Valley and town at Reloncavi fjord (see any map of the area) the El Leon or Manso Pass head to La Junta Refugio and Cochamo
As you are planning to stay in La Junta I guess you are choosing El Leon or Manso Pass
- don´t worry about refugios,It is highly probable will be open by March, if not you can camp or ask for shelter to any local (very friendly)
-few food by there, but locals can provide you bread, eggs, some vegetables, carry some dried food
- both treks can be done by yourself, every 4-5 km you will find small farms

trailhead after Lago Tagua Tagua? don´t worry , by there is a gravel road, served by a dlily local bus, ferry all the day and free
Again I don´t understand waht do you mean circuit, AFAIK, you will entering by Argentina , by Puelo or El Leon passes, if El Leon after 3-4 days of trail trekking you will reach La Junta (in fact 4-5 refugios for climbers or trekkers) and there a trail (not a road) to Cochamo, or if you enter by Puelo Pass, after 2 days of trek you will arrive to the road served by a daily bus in the track Primer Corral, Llanada Grande, Lake Tagua Tagua, Puelo town .

The last is very confuse for me, If you are in Chaiten (Chile) before the trek, why you are doing the passes from Argentina? Anyway to reach Cochamo from Chaiten, there is a bus (Kemel) that do Chaiten- Puerto Montt, one alternative is to get off in Puerto Montt in the next day a bus to Cochamo or Puelo town, in fact this bus reach Tagua Tagua Lake, connecting after the ferry the other bus going along Puelo Valley to Primer Corral near Argentinian frontier
the other alternative is in the same bus, get off early in Puelche, and there hitchhike to Puelo or Cochamo towns
these passes and treks are very beautfuil , but please clarify me some fussy points for a better help

There is a bus Puerto Montt to the Lake Tague Tagua, then a public boat across the lake. If you want to hike to Cochamo, you start hiking just at the jetty at the far end of the lake.
I camped all the way.
This area can be rainy and extremely wet. When I did this trek, it was just mud, mud and mud.

Now if you want to hike to Argentina, then after the lake, there is a connecting minibus, you take it until it terminates. Now maybe they continued the road further since I have hiked this. When i did it, there was no bridge on the main river, and the easiest way was to stay on the North bank, even through there is a strech on a small, unmarked path.
At the end, if the river is too high to wade, I had to make a big detour to the Pasarela.

Thanks a lot for the infos!

@ fernando46, I'm sorry for being confusing, here is what I meant:
We are considering two different options coming from the South, depending on how much time we have.

Option A
We will take the bus from El Calafate in Argentinia to Bariloche. From there we would go to El Leon to do the trek across the border to La Junta in Cochamo valley.

Option B (with more time)
We will travel from El Calafate to Coihaique and then to Chaiten. From there we would try to go to Puelo town, cross Lago Tagua Tagua and then start the trek following Rio Manso, Torrentoso, Lago Vidal Gormaz to La Junta in Cochamo valley. This is what I ment by "the Circuit Puelo-Cochamó" :)

So the questions about the bus transfer to the beginning of the trail were about Option B. It all depends on how much time we have left on our trip, because we will start our vacation by doing the circuit in Torres del Paine.

@willemspie, what time of the year did you do the trek? I take it that everywhere in that area there is the risk of rainy and extremely wet weather, correct? Do you recommend different treks?

all clear now, i am prone to option B, then you can take the Kemel daily bus Chaiten-Puerto Montt and choose to finish in Puerto Montt and later to take the bus Rio Puelo (at bus terminal) to Tagua Tagua lake and follow the mentioned track (Circuito Puelo Cochamo) or
get off in Puelche southern dock of the ferry Puelche-la Arenas and hitchhike to Puelo town to catch the bus Puelo going to Tagua Tagua
here a fine description of this trek, in Spanish and in the north south direction Cochamo to Puelo
https://fsahli.wordpress.com/tag/lago-vidal-gormaz/

awesome, thanks a lot! just a few more questions :) How does the camping work along the way? Do you ask at the farms, or can you just set up camp somewhere along the way? Do you know if you can buy supplies like food or maybe spirit for a stove in Puelo? And finally, do you think you can make it from Chaiten to Puelo in a day? Is it easy to hitchhike?
Thank you very much for helping out!

I was there in December.
You can also just camp wild.
If you come from a town like Puerto Montt it is better to buy everything there. In the villages, there are small grocery stores.
Yes it is possible to come direct from the Carretera Austral to Puelo, there is no public transport, I don't know that road. There is also a hike from the Hornopiren NP to Puelo, I don't know it either.
For me, no, Cochamo - Puelo is not one of the top treks in Chile .There are several better treks in the Lake District. The best for me: the Villarica NP Traverse.

Chaiten Puelo in one day? i
no, because the Kemel bus departs at Chaiten at 12,00 and hardly can reach at time the Puelche-Puelo town subsidized bus (with 2 departures from Puelche 10,00 and 18,00) very cheap
other option that you get off at Puelche and walk to Puelo town (22 km.) I did that in 5 hours walk in a gravel road, but can hitchhike, people by there is helpful

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