World’s Most Beautiful DEAD END🇨🇱 Ep.24

What have you done? That’s not fair, yaar! In this area it’s a big culture, and it’s such a small village — only about 100 people. People have come here to sell salad.

“I am from India.”
“India.”
“Good morning, salaam, namaste, Sat Sri Akal, Ram Ram to everyone.”

Once again, welcome to our little home for the night. We slept here and have just woken up. It’s already 9:00 am because there was heavy mist last night. Because of that, our entire camp got wet. We are still waiting for it to dry a bit before packing. If we pack it wet, we’ll face trouble again tomorrow morning. The rest of the सामान (luggage) is already packed.

For breakfast, we just had coffee. The kitchen is right over there. We paid ₹900 for pitching the tent at this camping site. They provide hot water for bathing, which is what we need most. Whenever we talk about official camping sites, they usually have hot water facilities. Otherwise, it becomes difficult.

Right now, we are on the Carretera Austral, considered one of the most beautiful roads in the world. We need to reach Chaitén, which is about 209 km from here. We’ll try to reach there in the next three days. There’s only one big climb left in between. We’ve already completed about 800 km on this road.

Look at how many cyclists pass through here — groups of five, six, even ten at a time. Most of them are from Europe, especially Germany.

After 200 km, we need to take a ferry. There are two options: either take one direct ferry or take three smaller ferries because the road is still not fully connected. Construction began in 1970, and even now it isn’t fully linked. So parts of Chile are connected by sea, not entirely by road. Otherwise, people would have to travel through Argentina.

Now I’ll pack my tent and get ready to leave. It’s still wet at the bottom, so I need to dry it for five minutes before leaving. Why make it wet again, yaar?

Our neighbours gave us Starlink internet last night. They’re from Brazil. There’s a language barrier — they don’t speak much English, and Portuguese is spoken in Brazil. Even their Spanish is a bit different.

It’s 9:30 am. I’m leaving now. Today I plan to ride 66 km. There’s a small town ahead where I’ll stop, reload supplies, and then continue.

This was our camping site. The food truck here was good. Yesterday I ate there when I arrived, and at night I cooked porridge.

Let’s go. Let’s climb back onto the road. You saw the drone footage earlier — I’ll show more.

What lovely weather! Look at the plantations on both sides. We used to have such greenery back home too, but now trees near roads are rare. In this area, you’ll see a plant whose leaves can be 5 feet wide — even more! If anyone knows its name, please comment.

There are so many birds here in different colours, but it’s very hard to photograph them. Before I click, they fly away. There must be around 100 varieties here. Back home, even common birds are disappearing. In my area, we used to have peacocks — now they’re gone too. What can we do? Industry must grow, the country must develop… sometimes it’s hard to understand.

This road has been carved out of the mountains. Look — there’s the sea (a fjord), and glaciers are visible ahead. There’s even a hotel built there, with boat entry directly from the water. Amazing!

But what have you done again? I had just cleaned my clothes and bags, and now there’s gravel again! For the next 15 km until the town, it’s all like this.

We’ve reached a small town. It was settled in 1935 by Germans. Many Germans came here in the 1930s and liked the place because of the nearby glaciers. You can still see some German influence here. Maybe that’s why even today about 70% of tourists I meet are German.

I needed to pass through the town anyway to buy food.

Here’s a supermarket. Let’s buy something. So many cyclists are standing here — some are even selling their bikes.

I bought onions, pumpkin, green chillies, tomatoes, tahini, some other items, and juice. I don’t use plastic bags; I carry my own container. The juice is sugar-free — I tried it earlier and liked it.

I’ll now arrange everything on Dhano (my bicycle) and take a short round of the town before moving on.

Oh wow, more cyclists are arriving! I’ve never seen so many cyclists in my life. It’s such a small village with only about 100 residents.

Look how clean it is. There’s a small park, flowers planted everywhere. Christmas has just passed. Boats are parked along the edge. The entire economy runs on tourism.

This is our Dhano, standing neatly. See how clean everything is — only a few fallen leaves, nothing else. There’s even a tsunami warning sign here.

Look — a lady is doing yoga alone. Two cyclists are sitting over there. The view is fantastic.

And look at this — a whole Chilean family travelling in a converted bus! It’s not a normal bus; they’ve attached their bikes and motorbikes at the back. What a way to travel!

The children’s bikes are parked here as well. Now they will cook some food here and then leave for another place. Look at this amazing view. We came from over there, and now we have to go that way.

Someone came kayaking, jumped straight into the water here. People go boating here. There are small personal boats inside. And that’s a watchtower. Right now it’s low tide, so all these boats are resting here. When it’s high tide, the water will rise and the boats will float automatically. They’ve even installed rollers underneath to help move them.

Tonight, I plan to ride about 50 km further from here. Earlier my plan was to stop at 60 km, but now I’ll stop at 70 km. I can see another camping site around the 70 km mark. We should reach Chaltén the day after tomorrow. I haven’t booked the ferry yet because it runs at night.

I withdrew some Chilean pesos. Roughly speaking, 10 Chilean pesos equal about ₹1. I withdrew 100,000 Chilean pesos (around ₹10,000), and I had to pay an extra ₹8,500 in charges. I withdrew the money from an ATM at a petrol station because I had run out of cash. The next big city is about 150–200 km away, or I’ll have to take a ferry towards Puerto Montt. I thought it would be better to carry some cash because many hostels and places here don’t accept cards.

Now I’ll grab a coffee and head out.

Here is the fire station — even though the village has only 100 people, fire can still happen. Most houses are made of wood. There’s also a tourist information centre. They even have a boat in case there’s a fire near the sea. There’s one ambulance and two fire trucks — one outside and two inside.

Here’s a bakery shop. I bought some bread to have with juice. The bread is still warm. They weighed it before giving it to me. The shopkeeper closed the shop and left. These people stick to their fixed working hours — they come on time and leave on time.

I’ll cook proper vegetables once I reach my stop. For now, I’m managing. I’ve been travelling on this road for the last 10–15 days. The road is terrible, but the natural beauty makes it worth it. Otherwise, no one would travel here just for the road. Nature has given such stunning views that my heart feels joyful all the time.

In the next 200 km, I’ll reach a proper city. Then we’ll talk about city life, history, and knowledge. Until then, enjoy the journey with me.

Even in a village of 100 people, almost every house has turned part of their home into a guesthouse or restaurant. Here’s a hostel under construction. “Cabana” written outside means accommodation.

The road is blocked here due to construction. They stopped me because blasting work is going on. A construction vehicle is following me.

“I am from India.”
“India.”

I met two guys from Argentina — they were so warm and welcoming. As soon as I said I was from India, they were amazed.

After 20 km, there’s a huge lake. The road runs beautifully along its side — up and down, like waves. It was so much fun. We built up speed and climbed well today. Now I’ll take a short rest.

Look at the birds — so many varieties! After 20 km, a break is necessary. I used to make a mistake earlier by not carrying dry fruits. They’re a great energy source.

The road improved after that village. Come on, my Dhano, slowly let’s reach today’s destination. It’s 2:30 pm. I should reach by 5:00 pm easily.

We’ve reached our stop for today. It’s 5:15 pm. We rode around 70 km. I started at 9:30 am. This is the entrance to the town. We’ll stay here tonight. First, let’s find tea or coffee.

There’s a petrol station. I had coffee and continued. Then I found a hostel with a camping site. I parked my bicycle there. The bottle is here, and I’m carrying my bag.

This place cost ₹1,800 for one night — quite expensive. I don’t know if anyone else will share the room, but they charged me fully. Normally, rooms here cost about $50, but I got this one for $18, so that’s decent.

I cooked pumpkin curry and made chapatis. There was no gas, so I used my camping stove. Before taking a shower, I felt strange — like something was off. Then I realised I was just very hungry. So I cooked first. Now I’ll shower, do some light editing, and sleep.

It’s hot again — 28°C today. Yesterday was pleasant, but today it’s warm again. Anyway, let’s have dinner — or rather “drunch,” since it’s not exactly lunch or dinner.

Good morning, friends.

Yesterday I rested the entire day. I only went out once to withdraw cash from the ATM, about 1.5 km away. Otherwise, I did nothing — just rested.

This morning, Dhano is ready. We’re leaving now. This was our guesthouse, locally called a “cabana.” It also worked like a camping site. A couple of bikers and a few cars were here; otherwise, it was empty. Since it’s slightly inside, maybe that’s why it’s less crowded.

Rooms here are not easy to find, especially affordable ones. Normally they cost $50, but I got mine for $18. I stayed two days to rest because my hand was hurting badly — probably stiffness or a muscle cramp.

Now we move ahead. The ferry point is 140 km from here. I’ll divide it into two days or maybe do it in one — it depends on my mood, pain, road conditions, and wind. If the wind is behind me, maybe I’ll even do 140 km. Otherwise, 70 km is fine.

Almost every house here has turned into a hostel. The flowering is beautiful — every street has different flowers. It looks lovely.

That’s a supermarket — just a small shop inside a house, but they call it a supermarket. The highway is ahead. This is a slightly bigger town, maybe 1,000–2,000 people, around 300–400 houses.

There’s even a scrap shop here. And on the highway, there’s a Shell petrol pump. Let’s see if they have a coffee shop. If yes, I’ll grab coffee before continuing.

No, we decided to leave without coffee at first because normally all the shops here open after 9:00 am. But one shop was open, so we thought let’s go there. First coffee, then we leave. After having coffee, we moved on.

There was a sign saying cameras were not allowed. I thought, why take unnecessary risk? This is a Shell petrol pump. The name of this village is La Junta. Look, this is the village entry. We are now at the exit point, but see how beautifully they have designed the entrance.

For the next 3–4 kilometres, the body will hurt a bit. Once it warms up, it works like a Tata engine – once heated, it pulls strongly. People say Ashok Leyland engines pick up slowly. There is a nice-looking bridge ahead. It is a single-lane bridge. A bit risky – one vehicle goes from one side, the other waits. What a huge river alongside! It was so close; I should have come here yesterday to explore. See, that car has stopped. Until I cross, it will not move.

While riding, I was thinking about something. What is different in me that I have kept going for 10 years without stopping? Then I realised – fear has left me. I no longer worry about what people will say or think about me. When fear leaves your mind, self-belief starts growing automatically.

Think of a seed. Until it trusts that the outside atmosphere is suitable – that rain will come and conditions will be right – it does not sprout. But once it gains that small confidence and fear disappears, it sprouts and becomes a tree. In the same way, generate trust within yourself. Tell yourself, “Yes, I can do it.” Whenever problems come, create belief inside yourself and free your mind from fear. The day fear leaves your mind, confidence will begin to grow.

When a baby is born, it trusts that the mother will feed it milk, so it cries without hesitation. As the child grows, society’s opinions start affecting it. Neighbours comment – your child is not studying, your child is doing this or that. Slowly, those outside thoughts enter so deeply that we lose confidence in ourselves. Why not become like children again and have the same trust? A small child holds just one finger of a parent and hangs fully because it trusts that person will not let them fall. But as we grow older, that trust starts shaking.

I was riding while thinking all this. I do not often share such thoughts, but from now on I will try to share them with you. I have stopped to record because I cannot speak properly while riding. So here I am, standing and talking to you – keep faith in yourself. Do not take pressure from society. Trust your own thoughts. You will succeed. Keep moving.

We found another shop. I thought let’s have coffee again. After many kilometres, finally a café. The cappuccino was 300 pesos. The place is beautiful and even has Wi-Fi. We sat for a while. It is getting warm. We have done 20 km, about 50 km remain. If we stop nearby, good; otherwise, maybe 120 km in this area.

There is a sticker culture here. Cyclists and campers paste their own stickers in shops everywhere. I met a cyclist from the USA who is going to Ushuaia. You see many colourful birds here.

Another small bridge ahead. Only one vehicle at a time. The river is beautiful – this is the Palena River, one of the biggest rivers in Chile. We were 31 km from the target when I saw something strange – a steam engine lying abandoned. Trees have grown over it. It must be very old. I do not know its history, but it is fascinating.

One big problem in this area is no network. You cannot check for camping sites ahead. Network appears only near cities. Luckily, Karan bhai arranged another eSIM for me from Santiago, so sometimes I get limited signal, but calls barely work and internet is almost unusable.

I stopped and took out some preserved chickpeas. First, I washed them properly to remove preservatives, then ate them with a spoon. While climbing uphill, I saw a waterfall from far away and thought of flying my drone there. It was 2–3 km away. I did it. If you liked the drone footage, please comment and share.

I ran out of water but found a natural water source. Filled my bottle – pure mineral water from the mountains. I met some hitchhikers from Chile and some cyclists. This place is paradise for travellers. People from the US and Canada would love cycling here.

We reached the 70 km target at 3:50 pm. There is a 600-metre climb ahead. If I cross it today, tomorrow will be easier to catch the ferry. Heavy vehicles above 4.8 tonnes cannot use this route; they must go via Argentina.

After resting, I reached Villa Santa Lucia, a small wooden church town. In 2017, a flash flood destroyed this entire village. The glacier broke from the mountain and washed everything away within a minute. The photos show how empty it became.

I decided to push 10 km more because there is a hostel ahead. Sunset here is around 10:00 pm, so I had plenty of time. This road on the side goes to Argentina; the border is 80 km from here.

After riding further, I found a camping site near a lake. It cost 20 dollars for pitching a tent, but they provide a covered area because humidity is high. I set up my tent near the lake.

I was very hungry after riding 90 km. I made rajma with tomato and spices on my small gas stove. No oil – I use a little olive oil mixed in spices. After boiling it well, I ate it with bread and salad bought from locals. It tasted amazing.

I set up my tent and sleeping bag. It was 10:20 pm, and the sun had still not set. As I move further south towards Ushuaia, it stays light until almost midnight. Tomorrow I have 60 km to ride and need to book the ferry, but there is no proper network here.

Now I will switch off the light before mosquitoes come. Let us end today’s video here.

Stay happy. Stay busy. Stay joyful. Stay healthy.

Jai Hind. Jai Bharat.