Ruta 40

This article is an itinerary.

Ruta 40, also called National Route 40 or RN40, is a route in western Argentina, stretching over 5000km from Punta Loyola near Rio Gallegos in Santa Cruz Province in the south to La Quiaca in Jujuy Province in the north.

Understand

Ruta 40, also called National Route 40 or RN40, is a route in western Argentina, stretching from Punta Loyola near Rio Gallegos in Santa Cruz Province in the south to La Quiaca in Jujuy Province in the north. It runs parallel to the Andes mountains. The southern part of the route, a partly unpaved road through sparsely populated territory, has become a well-known adventure tourism journey, although it is planned to pave the whole road, which is already almost completed as of April 2016.

Route 40 is the longest route in Argentina and one of the longest in the world (along with the U.S. Route 66, Canada's Trans-Canada Highway and the Stuart Highway in Australia -without counting the unofficial Panamerican Highway-), more than 5,000 km (3,107 mi) long. At its traditional southern end near the city of Río Gallegos it starts at sea level, crosses 20 national parks, 18 major rivers, 27 passes on the Andes, and goes up to 5,000 m (16,404 ft) above sea level in Abra del Acay in Salta.

The road crosses the provinces of Santa Cruz, Chubut, Río Negro, Neuquen, Mendoza, San Juan, La Rioja, Catamarca, Tucumán, Salta and Jujuy.

Prepare

• The official website of the Ruta 40 is http://www.ruta40.gov.ar/

• A good source of information for Patagonia is the website http://www.patagonia.com.ar/

Regions, Cities, Places of interest

Places mentioned here are located either on or close to the Ruta 40.

Regions, from south to north

• Santa Cruz
• Chubut
• Rio Negro
• Neuquen
• Mendoza
• San Juan
• La Rioja
• Catamarca
• Tucumán
• Salta
• Jujuy

Cities

• Mendoza
• San Carlos de Bariloche (and Nahuel Huapi National Park
• El Chalten
• El Calafate (and Perito Moreno Glacier)

Other places of interest

• Cueva de los manos

Go/Walk/Drive/...

• Note that as of Apr 2016, about 70km of the road between Gobernador Gregores and Tres Lagos are still gravel and mainly in bad condition. It goes through some hills, is very windy and offers few/no spots protected from the wind. Especially due to rain and snow, a 2WD car was struggling to pass some sections of this road, and some cyclists were really miserable.

Stay safe

• The wind is very strong at any time of the year. Ensure you have a strong tent before camping along the Ruta 40, especially in the pampa. When camping, try to find a spot protected from the wind.

• Parts of the road, especially in the south, are very remote and sparsely populated. Get enough gas, food etc in towns.

Go next

In many places along the way you can easily enter into Chile

• Puerto Natales and Torres del Paine National Park

• You can also drive the Carretera Austral in Chile.

• Connect to Ushuaia, further south.

This itinerary is an outline and needs more content. It has a template, but there is not enough information present for it to be of real use. It was last edited on 2016-04-18 and will be deleted if not modified for one year. Please plunge forward and rescue it!