Paso Los Libertadores - Chile - Argentina | Tourist Attraction

Border crossing Chile - Argentina: easy and fast, just one stop for everything. It's not a real drive through. You exit and visit the counters one by one. Can be a mess, when people just park in the drive through lines. But all in all quite efficient (30 minutes), friendly officers and no-one investigated the car.

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Facility for exiting Argentina and entering Chile only - not both directions.

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This place is in wrong location - it is located at -32.82139, -69.92257

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This is not the border like people stated before. Please change icon

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As described vantage point and not border spot. The view is definitely worth the route instead of a tunnel! Road on the Argentinian side easy, on the Chilean side a bit narrower and more curvy, but doable. Border crossing currently takes place in both directions in the same border building of the country of entry.

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This is now only the Chilean side of the process. It looks like it's temporary. The process is very confusing. The roads sign are for the previous process. Look carefully and follow the trucks. You have to drive around the biggest building. Enter at the back. Then go into the building. Don't queue with the people from the buses. Walk in and queue for immigration Autos. After the passport is stamped go to the next queue for you car. Its marked Solo conductor. Only driver. Then the next queue where they check you Argentina paperwork. Then you can exit the building and driver to Argentina side of the Mountain and do the Argentina process.

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THIS IS A TOURIST ATTRACTION, not a customs or immigration checkpoint.

We drove from Argentina side to Chile and it was absolutely gorgeous. So incredible, really. No snow this time of the year but we had to pull out our jackets because it was chilly and windy. From Argentina to the Cristo Monument it was steep and windy but doable in our 2WD. From the Cristo Monument to Chile side it was downhill and much tighter turns. We did it on a Sunday late afternoon and we saw only 1 other vehicle the entire way. If you can take this detour, definitely do it! PS, the road is not paved but in very good condition, no issues with that.

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No boarder check here. Tourist attraction on the old road and with beautiful view on (melting) glaciers around. Hard drive with a big 4wd up from Argentina. Lots of cars stuck and lots of tour busses on saturday on the narrow road.
Toiletts and a kiosk on the top.

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This is not the location of the Migración and Aduana. You can take the tunnel and you will arrive at the border. You don't have to go on the switchbacks. The man gave us papers and told us to continue 15km down the road to do all the trámites. We did not do any paperwork or stamps or anything here.

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Taking the pass instead of the tunnel was fun! We crossed from Argentina in to Chile.
Lots of hairpin bends, and great views on both sides of the mountain. The Argentinean side is perfectly doable with 2wd and the bends are quite wide, ... the chilenean side is a bit more narrow and especially longer vans can have dificulties to take the sharp bends... we are 6 meters, with a big turning radius, and in some corners we were on the limit. We wouldn't recommend to go up from the Chilenean side with 2wd, since the road is steeper and there's a lot of loose rocks ...!

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We did the road to the Christ Redemptor from Chile to Argentina and avoid the Tunnel, it was the best idea ever. We already travelled through a big part of South America and we just think this drive is one of the most epic one ! The view are splendid.
Yes it's gravel/dust road and it's really, but it is really really really - one more - really worth it.
We have a 2wd van and we made it, slowly but at least we could enjoyed the views.

If you really want to appreciate this landscape do not take the Tunnel !
Hope - sure - you will enjoyed it !

And yes it's windy but who cares.

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Note that motorbikes do not have to pay a toll on any part of the pass.

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You can cross through the tunnel, but I really recommend going through this road. Amazing view from the mountains! The road going down to Chile is quite scary, but we sought normal small cars doing it.
For immigration, both Argentinian and Chilean border control are in the same place, together with Chilean Aduana. so you can get all the stamps on your passport there.

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Missed the road to the pass from the chilean side and went up and down from the argentinian side with 2WD. Great views and doable in any vehicle. Some tricky parts with sand. Two cars turned back. Others passed. Recommended!!

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Tunnel cost is 30 ARS now, other pass was closed. Not much options to change money - some greedy and ignorant owner of nearby cafe. At last some Chileans just gave us 10 pesos that we needed to have 30, we had wrong info on the price.

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They recommended us not to take the pass up (ARG -->CHL) due to snow... So we unfortunately took the tunnel.

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Note that this spot is actually in the wrong location. It plots at the pass at 3850m that you reach when you don't take tunnel (tollfree btw!). The road was in good condition when we took it and offers stunning views. Takes about 45 minutes, opposed to the 10 minutes for the tunnel.

Argentina - Chile: drive all the way past the tunnel and join the line of cars. You'll need to get out at some point however we have no experience crossing this way.

Chile - Argentina: Drive all the way past the tunnel and stop at the gendarmeria to get your ticket. Then continue 10km to the border control on the left-hand side of the road and join the row of cars. No need to get out here, it's a drive-through setup which was new for us. Rest all standard practice as others have written.

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Took us 13 hours in total.... had to wait for the road to be cleaned due to snow... everybody was asked for snowchains... so be prepared!

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big border. a lot of cars. but still fast and professional. we spend 1 hour there. there is also a possibility to change chil.pesos to argentina money. current was okay for us.

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Went from Argentina to Chile. Border crossing for exit+entry in one big green building. Once you pass by the shockingly long line of trucks it's a big, but effective and friendly border crossing. Checked for fruits, eggs, honey, and seeds but were fairly relaxed. Only one more stop at a small green building to check the vehicle papers on the way out. Passed mid week around noon, in under one hour.

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This post is from  Life Remotely [LINK: http://www.liferemotely.com/] . To read their full experience and see photos, see the detailed article at  http://liferemotely.com/trip-shenanigans/trip-information/186-border-crossings

Border name: Los Libertadores
Closest major cities: Mendoza, Argentina to Santiago, Chile
Cost for visas: $0
Cost for vehicle: $0
Total time: 1 hour 45 minutes
Date crossed: Sunday November 25, 2012

StepsDrive up the mountain pass and through the tunnel. Don’t stop at any of the random aduana buildings on the side of the road. These are for busses and trucks.Several kilometers on the other side of the tunnel there will be a big building over the road. This is immigration and aduana for both Chile and Argentina.Stop at the back of the auto line. Someone will approach your car and give you a paper for your car, and tourist cards and customs declarations for everyone in the vehicle. Fill out the papers while waiting in the line.When there is an open space in the parking lot, an attendant will instruct you to park.Take your completed papers inside the building and follow the numbers on the boards above the windows.Number 1 is Argentinian immigration. Hand over your passport and the tourist card you received when you entered. They will stamp you out and keep the tourist card. The will also stamp the vehicle permit paper you filled out while waiting.Window number 2, just to the left, is Chilean immigration. They will stamp your passport and take one copy of your Chilean tourist card you, the other copy is yours. They will also stamp the vehicle permit paper.Window number 3 is Argentinian aduana. They will take your Argentinian vehicle permit and stamp your Chilean vehicle permit.Window number 4 is Chilean aduana. They will take the vehicle permit paper you filled out at the beginning, explain to you that it is the wrong one, and give you a new, nearly identical form to fill out.Take the new vehicle import form around to window #2 and get another stamp. Keep the old vehicle permit paper (we needed this to exit).Return to Chilean aduana (window #4). The official will sign the form and send you outside.Outside, an aduana officer (in a red coat) will take your permit and verify your license plate. They will sign and stamp the paper.Find a food and agriculture inspector (in a green shirt with SAG embroidered on it).The inspector will ask for your customs declaration forms and may search your vehicle. They will likely use dogs. They will confiscate any illegal foods and will stamp your form.Drive out of the parking area. An official will stop you and check that your vehicle permit has been stamped sufficiently. You may have to present both of the vehicle import permit papers.

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Since I've crossed now several times: the line going into Chile really depends upon day of week and time of day! Last time, on a Friday, I left Uspallata in Argentina a tad before 10 in the morning and was through in no time (under 1 hour!). Inside the building don't line up with the bus passengers, as they have special counters (usually with longer lines).
Last time I drove INTO Argentina was on a Sunday, crossed the border around 12.30 in the afternoon, and the line before the Chilean customs was at least 3 kilometers long (which would probably mean 3-4 hours of waiting plus an extra hour for the formalities). It was the end of a long weekend in Chile! So check online calendars for any holidays.
The custom clearance ( = entire border formalities) going INTO Argentina is beyond the pass, very close to Puente Del Inca in Argentina. Large open space with roofed building on the LEFT side of the road! Much more laid back there, with a car or motorbike you come to a line of drive-up windows, numbered in order of procedure 1-4. With an RV take the bus lane, far right, and walk the counters of the car lane.

The twitter account https://twitter.com/UPFronterizos has more regular updates about border conditions and closings than the website (mentioned in other post)!

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This is a guest post from  2 For The Road http://www.2fortheroad.co.uk/index.php/2012/06/22/finally-on-the-road-crossing-the-border-from-chile-to-mendoza-argentina  from a June 2012 crossing. Click to the link to see photos.

RouteSantiago, Chile – Mendoza, Argentina (RN57,RN60,RN7)Distance365KmTravel Time10 hoursRoad ConditionsGood TarmacWeatherFreezing Cold, Very WindyTerrainMountainous, Pass of 3175mFood and PetrolLos Andes, Uspallata, MendozaAccommodationChara Hostal, MendozaSantiago to Los Andes (avoiding the Autopista) and up to the Los Libertadores pass to Mendoza, a total distance of about 365Km. I was obviously thinking of about 4 hours journey time, with two more for breaks and customs/immigration. The Los Libertadores (also known as Christo Redentor) It’s about 3400m high and snowy. The road snakes up 29 or so serpentines and then reaches the Christo Redentor tunnel. It’s been closed for a few days due to bad weather (delaying us even more) so I’m checking for black ice but it’s fine – they seem to have strewn salt on the road. You get a view of Aconcagua on the the level stretch before the border police compound but it’s shrouded in clouds so we can only just see it.

We used the following web sites to check the state of the Chile – Argentina border crossings and weather conditions before travel:
http://www.pasosfronterizos.gov.cl/ (Chile’s official border management page) [LINK: http://www.pasosfronterizos.gov.cl/
http://www.gendarmeria.gov.ar/pasos/estado.html (Argentina police border info page) [LINK: http://www.gendarmeria.gov.ar/pasos/estado.html
http://greenash.net.au/thoughts/2011/04/highway-border-crossings-between-chile-and-argentina/ (Independent info on various Chilean land borders) http://greenash.net.au/thoughts/2011/04/highway-border-crossings-between-chile-and-argentina
http://www.meteochile.gob.cl/pronostico.html (Chile meteorological website) [LINK: http://www.meteochile.gob.cl/pronostico.html]
http://www.windguru.cz/int/ (Detailed weather conditions including wind, precipitation etc) [LINK: http://www.windguru.cz/int

At the Aduana (the customs & immigration checkpoint) we reach the back of a long queue of cars and buses. We park and I get chatting to the guy parked ahead of me. He suggests, why don’t I just take the bike through to the front of the queue. He recons that’ll be alright. Excellent, because we, not being in a car, are more likely to freeze to death waiting in line up here. We move forward and see a couple of bikers just a few cars from the entrance, so we park up near them and get talking. They’re Brazilian, have been on about a month’s journey from somewhere around Sao Paolo, West and into Northern Chile, down to Santiago and completing the loop back from here. Apparently they’ve been waiting for three hours already! (Good thing we moved ahead!)

Once in the Aduana building things again take time. Cars outside are regularly blowing their horns in frustration – sounds as if they’d just won the football or something. Finally we get to do the paperwork formalities and the customs folks start getting complicated about my RUT: it’s only valid for 3 months and, they say, this will be a problem if I want to re-enter Chile after three months time. (Strange, the guy I bought the bike from re-entered on an expired RUT, because he had to renew his to sell the bike.) One of the Brazilians help us out with translation a bit. His advice to me is as follows: “When you’re biking through South America like this you have to learn to create problems for yourself and fix them later on the fly, otherwise you’ll never go anywhere.” Eventually our paperwork gets stamped and we’re free to go. By the time we move on it’s nearly dark. We notice the temperature difference immediately as we move on. My fingers go numb in no time.

We pass some Argentinian soldiers, clearly enjoying their shift standing out here in the snow waiting for vehicles to pass, and continue our freezing journey down to Mendoza. We don’t like riding at night in any case, but this journey is terrible! It’s painfully cold and powerful gusts of wind threaten to blow us down every few hundred metres. I have to lean the bike into the wind as if taking a corner but still ride straight. Scary stuff! Thankfully we arrive ok.

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From my border crossing in early 2010. Blog at A Few More Miles http://afewmoremiles.com/2010/03/12/northern-chile/
The road has an amazing climb going from Chile to Argentina! 

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