4 / 5 - 2 reviews
How to get there
By car, bus or motorbike from one of the town's that it crosses
When to go
All year round
Minimum stay
Longer than a week
Ruta 40 (Argentina)
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David Debrincat
Practical information about Ruta 40
Reviews of Ruta 40
The legendary Ruta 40 is 4,600 km long and is South America's equivalent of Route 66 in the US.
My suggestion:
If you take Ruta 40 it will lead you to some of the most beautiful places in Argentina. Sometimes, you just have to go off the road for a few kilometres and then you can go back and continue on your route.
Summary:
Ruta 40 is legendary. From La Quiaca on the Bolivian frontier in the north, as far as Cap Virgenes in the far south of Patagonia, just its name is enough to make you think about travel and adventure. Nowadays, Ruta 40 is THE Argentinean tourist symbol. Along its route there are lots of different types of scenery. Desert, Andean hills, immense plains, it goes from 5,000 metres above sea level at the Abra pass to sea level in Patagonia. It runs along the Andes, crosses about twenty national parks, goes over rivers and has some breathtaking panoramic views.
Some unkind people call it Track 40. Because less than half of its 4,600 km is tarmacked. So? Personally, that's why I like it - it's very varied and a driver can become addicted to the changing scenery.
I recommend you go as far as you can along it. There's always something wonderful to see on the next section. Not just a symbol of Argentina, for me, Ruta 40 is the symbol of adventure. Long live the Ruta!
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David Debrincat
The legendary Ruta 40! It runs the whole length of Argentina from the extreme north to the extreme south, a distance of 5,000 km! An opportunity to test some unusual means of transport during a trip to Argentina?…
My suggestion:
Take your nose out of your guidebook or your novel and admire the length of the road and the variety of scenery it offers you...
Summary:
My first contact with Argentina was Ruta 40 which I joined near San Martin de los Andes, in Neuquén, when I arrived from Chile.
I took it as far as El Calafate, in Santa Cruz province, 1,700 km south, zigzagging with Chile's famous Carretera Austral.
From the bus I took I could often see the famous signs telling us we were on Ruta 40, which is a famous national tourist sign! The scenery is magnificent and changes a lot with the regions. In Patagonia there's not a soul, you can travel for hours without meeting a single person and admire the plains, rivers and mountains spread around you. If I had had a motorbike I would have treated myself to a trip with the wind blowing through my hair, a bit like Che during his first trip, described in Walter Salles' 2004 film The motorcycle diaries - a great feeling of freedom!
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stéphanie charbit
298 travellers' photos
