The northern gateway to the Austral Garden Route is located at La Junta, a small pioneer village at the confluence of the Palena and Rosselot rivers, from which it's name derives. La Junta means the union, place of encounters. Renowned for it's cowboys, free ranging cattle and sheep, La Junta i surrounded by vast nature; forests, mountains, glaciers and rivers.
La Junta has many things to offer travelers along the Carretera Austral, including: Hotels, cabanas, hostels, restaurants, bars and shops, and the only gas station for many miles. Most establishments accept credit cards, which is very useful as the closest bank and cash machines on the Carretera Austral are in Chaiten (175kms) or Coyhaique (300kms).
La Junta is also known for it's friendly and welcoming people. For many years, until just recently, the residents of the village were only connected to the rest of the world by horseback, riding for days or weeks, on rough lonely trails, passing through forests and mountains, welcoming the site of an Alamo tree, planted to alert travelers to a homestead where they could find refuge, a meal and warm place to rest and catch up on the events of the day. This hospitality, born out of the necessity for survival in a harsh landscape, can be experienced at homes and farms throughout the region.
Three Austral Garden Route establishments are located within easy walking distance of La Junta: Terrazas Del Palena, Paul & Konomi's Garden and EcoLive, which makes it an ideal place to use as a base for your visit to this beautiful part of Patagonia.