Ruta 40 — The Long Road South — Full Guide (Argentina)

Overview

Ruta 40 is Argentina's spine — 5,194 km from the Atlantic coast at Cabo Vírgenes to the Bolivian border, and one of the great road-trip routes on earth. Its most iconic stretch is the Patagonian run from Bariloche south to El Calafate: 1,100 km of steppe, lakes, cordillera and frontier towns, where the road alternates smoothly paved sections with long gravel straights and the horizon stays remarkably empty.

This is not a drive of dramatic mountain passes — it is a drive of silence and scale: guanacos and rheas on the roadside, the Andes glittering far to the west, and the occasional frontier town that exists only to feed the road. Give it four to six days, stop whenever the light turns golden, and treat El Chaltén as the mid-point reward rather than a destination.

The route

From Bariloche, the road curves south through the green lake country of El Bolsón — a hippie-hanglider town in an orchard valley, better than its reputation — and on to Esquel, the lumber town and railhead of the old Patagonia Express.

South of Esquel the real Ruta 40 begins: the pavement ends in stretches and the steppe opens up. The standout detour is Cueva de las Manos, a UNESCO-listed canyon of 9,000-year-old hand stencils painted by the region's hunter-gatherers — a 10 km gravel spur off the road at the Perito Moreno town level, worth the detour entirely. The town of Perito Moreno (the namesake of the glacier, not the glacier itself) is the sensible fuel-and-hotel stop, followed by the long straight to Gobernador Gregores, the last services before El Calafate.

The steppe and its wildlife

The road's real cast is wildlife: herds of guanaco on the gravel verges, lesser rheas (South American ostriches) jogging alongside, and, with patience, Patagonian foxes, maras and the occasional condor circling the cordillera. Dawn and dusk are the seeing hours — travel through midday heat and you will overtake nothing but dust.

Towns, fuel and food

Services thin out dramatically south of Esquel. Plan fuel around the pump towns — Esquel, Perito Moreno, Gobernador Gregores — and never skip a station: stretches of 250 km between pumps are routine. Food follows the same logic: the parrilladas of the small towns serve the region's magnificent lamb, but a stocked coolbox is the driver's best insurance.

Practical tips

• High-clearance SUV strongly recommended for the gravel stretches, especially after rain.
• Check rental terms: many companies allow Ruta 40 south of Esquel but forbid the northern stretch — read the fine print.
• Gravel speeds: 70–80 km/h maximum; the washboard shakes worst around 60 km/h.
• Fly or bus the long way? The road rewards drivers; everyone else takes the aircraft.
• Winter closes the gravel sections with snow — drive between November and March only.