This article is about the mountain in Chile. For the settlement in Chile, see: Cerro Castillo, Chile

Cerro Castillo, Chile

Cerro Castillo is a hamlet east of Torres del Paine National Park, and is the head of Torres del Paine commune, in Magallanes Region.The village is close to the Argentine border. The Chilean customs and immigration offices serving the border crossing are located in the village....

. For the mountain in Ecuador, see Cerro Castillo, Ecuador.

Cerro Castillo is a jagged rocky peak located in the Aisén Region of Chile

Chile

Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...

, within the Cerro Castillo National Reserve

Cerro Castillo National Reserve

Cerro Castillo National Reserve is a nature reserve of Chile located in the Aisén Region, south of Coyhaique. The reserve is named after Cerro Castillo, its highest mountain and main attraction. The Carretera Austral passes through the reserve....

. Castillo means castle in Spanish, and the steep basalt walls of the mountain indeed make it look like one. On its sides are a few small glaciers and lakes fed by them.

Approach

Cerro Castillo is 75 km south of the city of Coyhaique

Coyhaique

Coihaique , also spelled Coyhaique in Patagonia, is the capital city of both the Coihaique Province and the Aysén Region of Chile. Founded by settlers in 1929, it is a young city. Until the twentieth century, Chile showed little interest in exploiting the remote Aisén region...

 along Carretera Austral

Carretera Austral

The Carretera Austral , formerly known as Carretera General Augusto Pinochet, is the name given to Chile's Route 7. The highway runs about from Puerto Montt to Villa O'Higgins through rural Patagonia....

. There is a small village Villa Cerro Castillo just off the road. The base of the mountain can be approached from the road in one day along Estero Parada river. An alternative is the excellent 4-day hike that starts on a spot called Las Horquetas Grandes on Carretera Austral, goes through forests, has two river crossings (no bridges), and goes over a 1,400 m mountain pass

Mountain pass

A mountain pass is a route through a mountain range or over a ridge. If following the lowest possible route, a pass is locally the highest point on that route...

adjacent to the rock walls of Cerro Castillo. The area is remote and sees less than one hiking party per day during the season.