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Puerto Rio Tranquilo, Chile - Amazing Marble Caves (Capillas de Marmol)

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Map location: Puerto Rio Tranquilo, Chile
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Chile travel blog by Mark Berman - October 2017   » View Photoset (26 Photos)

Mark Berman, South America backpacker for over 12yrs!
The amazing Marble Caves are the main attraction that brings people to Puerto Rio Tranquilo, a small town on the Carretera Austral road 4hrs south of Coyhaique. The town sits on the shores of Lake General Carrera and is very basic with just a few shops, several hostels and hospedajes and a bunch of tour companies on the lakefront. Buses coming from and going to the north and south stop at one of the cafes on Dagoberto Godoy Street. I enquired at a few of the hospedajes before settling in, most if not all of them serve food, the one I stayed at included both breakfast and dinner for the price. In October while I was here it was very cold indeed, luckily fireplaces are common anywhere inside! The plaza has nice views of the snow-capped mountains all around, the church is beside and there's a monument to the boat people that glistens golden at sundown.

Capillas de Marmol (Marble Caves)

Morning is when most of the tour boats take people out onto the lake to see the marble caves (Capillas de Marmol), the waters get too choppy by the afternoon. It takes about 20mins to get out to the caves, my hands and face were frozen after this journey, this is October remember! The marble caves are like prehistoric geologic formations created from thousands of years of erosion by the wind and water. The shapes, textures and contours of the marble has created a masterpiece of natural art. The waters of Lake General Carrera are transparent emerald green and there are many caverns and tunnels to see! The caverns have interesting light and shadows and you can make some amazing photographs inside them. The only other people we saw out around the caves were a group of people on kayaks, they were extremely brave and well prepared because it was freezing out there! You may see some wildlife out around the caves on the cliffsides also - birds nesting etc. The Capillas de Marmol are definitely worth a stop in Puerto Rio Tranquilo and are an amazing sight to see! A tour on a small motorized boat costs $10,000 pesos ($15USD), there was 3 people on my boat plus the guide and captain.

Bus to Cochrane

111kms further south on the famous Carretera Austral road is Cochrane which is where I travelled to next, 2hrs 30mins by bus.

     

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My Hostel & Hotel Reviews for Puerto Rio Tranquilo, Chile:

Hospedaje Don Kicho, Puerto Rio Tranquilo, Chile - Large Photo
Hospedaje Don Kicho, Puerto Rio Tranquilo, Chile (October 2017 - 1 night) - $20000 pesos ($30USD) per night including breakfast and dinner is not a bad deal in this part of the country. It's a small town and doesn't have many places to eat anyway. Simple comfortable room with shared bathroom. The owner was nice, friendly and easy-going. Located on one corner of the plaza.

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Puerto Rio Tranquilo, Chile - Amazing Marble Caves (Capillas de Marmol). The amazing marble caves in Puerto Rio Tranquilo are like prehistoric geologic formations created from thousands of years of erosion by the wind and water. Known locally as the Capillas de Marmol!