Los Libertadores Pass Chile to Argentina
Border Crossing at Paso de Los Libertadores
The Chile Argentina border crossing formalities at Los Libertadores pass take about an hour and a half to two hours, depending on the traffic. After a steep climb up the Andes, our El Rapido double decker bus from the bus terminal in Valparaiso and Vina del Mar pulled to a stop in along line of buses to wait our turn to pass through customs and immigration.
Los Libertadores is the main highway route through the Andes between Chile to Argentina (to Mendoza). From Santiago, Chile, take Autopista Los Libertadores to Route 60 junction then east to the border (about 150 km; 90 miles).
Welcome to the Republic of Argentina Los Libertadores Border Crossing
About an hour or so east of Los Andes in the Aconcagua Valley, the bus pulled to a stop at the Argentina-Chile border at noon.
After 4 hours on the bus, passengers were happy to be let out to wander around until our bus was summoned to pass through immigration and customs.
Though at altitude here, it was not cold, but most people wore jackets in brisk wind.
A small kiosk sold drinks and snacks; other than sitting on the bus, or wandering around this small flat area or climbing a rock, there's not a lot to do.
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Sloped Metal Roof of Chile Argentina Border Facility 
The border crossing formalities take place under the sloping metal roof of the border buiilding at Los Libertadores.
Steeply-sloped metal roofs help shed heavy winter snows; this crossing is closed when roads become unsafe or impassible.
Even in Summer the highway can be closed due to landslides. See Chile's official site for frontier crossing information.
The elevation here is shown as 2000 meters (6,562 feet). The long, slow ascent from sea level to these lofty heights seemed to avert any breathing problems.
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Buses Line Up at the Los Libertadores Andes Frontier 
After wandering around this large, flat and mostly barren field for an hour or so, our driver called out for us to re-board the bus.
Heads all counted, the bus driver entered the large hangar-like building, and parked in one of many bus bays.
We were asked to offload all our hand luggage then place it on a large shelf while we waited in line for our turn with customs and immigration; Sniffer dogs ran among us. Checked bags were also offloaded by crew, and run through the x-ray scanners.
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Andes Valley Views from Los Libertadores Chile Argentina Border
None of the customs agents spoke English, and my minimal Spanish skills were no help.
Happily and with much sign language and pointing, the steward from my bus helped me fill in the required form and I was approved.
He held the form in place against a light post, pulled out a ballpoint pen, pointed to the required line then my passport, and wrote in the info needed.
Chileans are really helpful and go out of their way to help out hapless visitors.
Within half an hour, we were back on the bus, heading to Mendoza via Potrerillos, Argentina
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