Fitz Roy Trek & W Trek – Patagonia Tour

We will travel along the steppe (220 km) until reaching El Chalten, at the foot of the Mounts Fitz Roy & Torre.

Upon our arrival, we start the adventure, carrying only the necessary things for our  2 nights/3 days first experience in some of the most amazing trails of Patagonia. We will be following part of the Fitz Roy Trek, gaining height over the River de las Vueltas valley up to the first viewpoints over Fitz Roy massif. We will continue walking across bogs and forests (a gentle walk) until reaching our Full Camp in the Poinconenot area. In the area, there are beautiful views of the Fitz Roy group spires rising from the surrounding glaciers.

Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch Box, Dinner.
Lodging: Full Camp*.

*Full Camps are equipped with igloo tents (double or singles), insulation mat and sleeping bags. There is also a dinning tent, a kitchen tent, tables, benches or chairs and a full set of table service and kitchenware. The sanitary services are latrine-type.

Early in the morning, before breakfast, we can try to catch Fitz Roy granite walls colored by the first lights of the day: a spectacular scenery.  After breakfast, carrying only the very basic stuff (leaving the rest at the camp) we’ll continue our Fitz Roy Trek towards Rio Blanco, where a steep 1 hour trail leads us to one of the most spectaculars viewpoints of the National Park: Laguna de los Tres.  Its zephyr blue color lies at the foot of the massif, offering full close up views of Fitz Roy massif spires and glaciers. The Fitz Roy Mount (3405 mts) is considered the “King of Patagonia”, and one of the three most beautiful mountains in the world.

Return to our camp site. Walking hours today: around 5-6 hs.

Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch Box, Dinner.
Lodging: Full Camp.

We’ll pack our personal gear and walk south along Lagoons Madre and Hija, until reaching the Cerro Torre trail. On the way we’ll go through beech forests, bogs and shrublands; and we’ll finally get to  Laguna Torre, enclosed by moraines and with Glacier Grande calving in its west side. Usually we can see icebergs pushed by the wind in the coast of the lagoon. The maing highlight in the area is the Cerro Torre, a thin and elegant needle 3128 mts high. The Adela range in the background complete this spectacular view. In the afternoon ,we head back to El Chalten, hiking along the Cerro Torre trail.

Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch Box.
Lodging: Hotel/Lodge.

This mountain, immediately south of Cerro Torre, offers some of the best panoramic views of the Fitz Roy and Torre Mount, and the spectacular glacier valley in between both. As a bonus, we might see Paso del Viento with a view of the mountains that stick out from the Patagonian Icefield. According to the rythm that we take, we choose the lower terraces or try the summit, a long but gentle climb in scree. We’re back in El Chalten around late afternoon.

Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch Box.
Lodging: Hotel/Lodge.

Free day to enjoy at leisure, or to take optional activities (for instance, Lago del Desierto).

In the late afternoon, we return to El Calafate

Meals included: Breakfast.
Lodging: Hotel/Lodge.

We dedicate this day to one of the World’s Natural Wonder: the Moreno glacier.

We will walk along the tracks and will make stops to take photographs. From the view points we will clearly see ice blocks of different sizes continually detaching from the glacier and falling into the water, causing a tremendous sound and amazing waves, which makes this view an unforgettable sight.

Transfer back to the lodge.

Meals Included: Breakfast.
Accommodation: Hotel/Lodge.

We’ll depart from El Calafate early in the morning towards our camp in Paine (6 hours drive through the Patagonian Steppe, crossing the Chilean border at Cancha Carrera/ Cerro Castillo). The  lansdscape starts changing while approaching the Park.  The main highlights (mountains) are the Paine Grande, the Horns, Admiral Nieto and the Towers. Once in the Park, we’ll familiarized ourselves with the surroundings through a 1-2 hours trek. The wildlife at the Park is very rich: guanacos, lesser rheas, condors and all types of wetland and buzzard birds surprise us at every step. Also lots of flowers. After the walk, we drive towards our camp at the foot of Paine massif.

Meals Included: Breakfast,  Lunch Box, Dinner.
Lodging: Full Camp*.

*Full Camps are equipped with igloo tents (double or singles), insulation mat and sleeping bags. There is also a dinning tent, a kitchen tent, tables, benches or chairs and a full set of table service and kitchenware. This is an area WITH sanitary services.

We’ll work towards the bridge over the Ascensio river, headtrail for the world famous Paine towers. We “warm up” hiking a steep one hour slope, to get inside the valley itself, a narrow “V” shape alpine valley coming from inside the Paine massif. Those who are not willing to do the full day hike, can get back at the “Refugio Chileno”, a comfortable point on the way. We continue at a gentle march along the river side and inside beech forest. After a  final climb on moraine, we reach the Towers viewpoint: a glacier origin lagoon and the three towers rising vertically 1000 mts from the glacier:  just amazing!!! We hike back to our camp along the same trail.  The hike takes around 7-8 hs.

Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch Box, Dinner.
Lodging: Full Camp.

We’ll drive to Pudeto’s Port (still in the Park), in order to board a Catamaran that leads us to the other side of lake Pehoe (another area of the W trek). Once we reach it, we start our French Valley trek.  We’ll skirt Paine Grande south slopes and lake Skottberg, until reaching the hanging bridge upon the French River: a breathtaking location view to the Horns. We continue our walk 1 h further  (Italian camp), surrounded by beautuful landscapes. After lunch and some photos, we retrace our steps back to Paine Grande Full Camp.Walking time: around  5-6 hs.

Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch Box, Dinner.
Lodging: Full Camp.

Lake Grey trail leads from Pehoe valley across ridges to reach Grey valley. This magnificent valley flows down
60 km from the Patagonian Icefield, featuring the huge glacier calving down in the grey colour lake. Our trail
skirts the lake, going up and down the westerns slopes of Paine Grande, offering some of the most impressive
sights of the Park. From the high sections of the trail, many different viewpoints allow us to see the south end
of the lake where the blue icebergs gather, the mountains rising far in the distance above glaciers Grey and
Tyndall, and of course lake and glacier Grey. We reach the main viewpoint, a rocky point somewhat 2 hs away
from Pehoe, with views over the Lake and Glacier Grey and the surrounding glaciers and mountains. We
come back along the same trail, crossing bogs, shrublands and forest. By noon we take the boat to cross lake
Pehoe back and then we go to our accommodation in Puerto Natales, a picturesque fishermen town located in
the shores of the Ultima Esperanza (Last Hope) fiord.

Meals included: Breakfast,  Lunch Box.
Lodging: Hotel/Lodge.

We’ll drive  from Puerto Natales all the way south to Río Grande, crossing the legendary Magellan Strait !!  The Strait separates the Continent from the island of Tierra del Fuego, gate to the End of the World. Already in Argentina, we’ll reach Estancia Las Hijas, near Rio Grande, a typical lunch where a delicious lamb will be cooked in the classical Patagonian style.

Provided meals: Breakfast, Lunch Box, Dinner
Lodging: Bed in refuge. A dinning saloon, toilettes and showers are availables.

After visiting the Estancia, still in the morning, we’ll  continue south  towards Ushuaia, going through the Andean Range and seeing how the landscape changes drastically from the dry Pampa to the forests and lakes of the Mountains. We pass by lake Fagnano, and we reach Ushuaia-southernmost city in the world- around noon.

We take advantage to visit Tierra del Fuego National Park in the afternoon. The main attraction of the Park and the whole Island actually are the mountains coming down to the sea.

Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch box.
Lodging: Hotel/Lodge.

Today, we’ll navigate on the legendary Beagle Channel. We’ll see the Sea Lions & Birds Islands (with Cormorans), and the Light House Les Eclaireurs built on 1919.

Afternoon free.

Meals included: Breakfast.
Lodging: Hotel/Lodge.

Optional excursion *recommended (not included): Estancia Harberton and Penguin colony in Isla Martillo.

At an agreed upon time, transfer to the airport.

Additional extension or services available on request (check our tours in the rest of Argentina, Chile, and Antarctica!).

Meals included: Breakfast.

– * Full Camps are pitched up early in the season, so we find the camp ready upon arrival. It offers comfortable 3 people igloo type tents for each 2 passengers, with mattresses and sleeping bags. An inside cotton sheet is provided as inner clothing for the sleeping bag. The camp also features a spacious dinning tent, a kitchen tent, tables, benches or chairs and a full set of table service and kitchenware. In El Chaltén, the sanitary services are latrine-type. In Torres del Paine, there is a sanitary service area (shared bathroom with showers available on request). There is no electricity in the camp sites, therefore is recommended to bring a backup of batteries.

– In Patagonia, the weather is very unpredictable. It means that it can change from sunny to cloudy, unstable, windy and rainy at any time, which can make the conditions difficult to have good pictures or nice views. Particularly in El Chaltén, due to the big ice field behind Fitz Roy Mount. Nevertheless, February is within the best time to go.

Recommended gear

Backpack, 50 lts or so
Thermal underwear
Trekking shoes or boots
Trekking pants
Fleece
Softshell jacket
Parka and overpants
Gaiters
Gloves
Termal socks
The necessary spare cloth
Wool hat
Sun hat
Sun glasses
Sun screen (UV is very strong during the southern spring, from september thru december)
Personal items
Lamp
Trekking poles (recommended, if you are use to them)
Personal medication
Personal documents to cross the border between Argentina and Chile.

Notes

The travel agency holds the right of changing the itinerary or cancel any of the activities when any natural cause (or any other cause of any type) justifies it in order to look after the group safety.

If trekking is of your interest, we recommend our Patagonia Hiking Tours.

If you are interested in Patagonia, we invite you to check out our other Patagonia Tours.

We invite you to see our Argentina Tours, where you can experience the true Argentine culture.