The Carretera Austral is the name given to Chile's Route 7. The highway runs south for about 1,240 kilometers (770 mi) from Puerto Montt to Villa O'Higgins, passing through rural Patagonia.

Villa O'Higgins is a small town in the Aysén Region of southern Chile, located 220 km south of Cochrane and 550 km south of Coyhaique. Founded in 1966 and named after the Chilean independence hero Bernardo O'Higgins, it is the capital of the O'Higgins commune of Capitán Prat Province.