Adventure holidays in Patagonia

We will fly from Buenos Aires to El Calafate, and from there we’ll get a transfer to El Chalten: the capital for trekking in Argentina, at the feet of Fitz Roy and Torre Mounts. This village is 3 hours away from El Calafate, through Ruta 40, and there will be waiting our trekking guide to tell us about the experiences of the next two days.

After breakfast, we will start a full day guided trek to lago Torre, a lake with ice chunks and a hanging glacier, at the foot of Cerro Torre (with its specatacular granite needle). We’ll continue then to the north, along a trail that crosses the Madre e Hika Lagoons, until reaching the Poincenot Camp (rural area), where we’ll stay for the night. This is a strategic point to reach Laguna de los 3 with the first lights of the day, tomorrow in the morning.

The camp will be ready (prepared by our porters), including sleeping bags as well.

Lunchbox, snacks, and tea or coffee for the afternoon and dinner at the camp are included too.

– 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. It’s suggested to get dressed in layers as an “onion”.

Suggested 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.

After waking up in the middle of the mountains we will head towards Laguna de los 3.  This lagoon is probably the heart of the Fitz Roy Trek, where you can get a spectacular view of the Fitz Roy Mount, two lagoons, and a few glaciers: unforgettable.  The idea is to reach with the sunrise (if possible), since the sun light gives a special color to the granite wall of the mount.

We’ll continue then through the trail that passes by Glacier Piedras Blancas, until reaching El Pilar, a meeting point where a transfer will be waiting for us in order to take us back to the village.  We’ll get a lunch box and reach El Chaltén around noon.   Breakfast and snacks are included as well.

Will recharge energies for the next days.  Overnight in El Chaltén.

Today, we’ll visit an emblematic lake right at the border with Chile: Lago del Desierto.

We will bike for about 90 minutes in an unpaved road until reaching Lago del Desierto, from where we can either go back to El Chaltén or choose to do a hike up to Huemul Glacier and Lagoon, or do a boat ride in Lago del Desierto.

In the late afternoon we’ll return to El Calafate.

After being picked up from our hotel in El Calafate around 09:30, we will get to a small farm in Lago Roca, where we will hop onto a horse and begin the ride. It’s a one hour ride to the principal balcony where you can see not only Lago Roca, but Glacier Perito Moreno (from far away), Península de Magallanes, and other highlights. The immensity of the valley is overwhelming.

Next, we will ride to a camp that is close by and have a barbecue with onions and garlic, alongside a wine tasting. We will be there for about 2 hours and then return to El Calafate, reaching the hotel around 17:00.

After breakfast, we will visit the impressive Perito Moreno Glacier.
The transfer will take us to the entrance of the park. Next, we will get into a boat and navigate to the other side of the southern arm of the Lake Argentnio. There we will walk along a forest, and then we will reach to the southern part of the Glacier. There you will change your shoes (put some crampons) and do a mini trek over the ice of the glacier for about 2 hours. As soon as we get down from the ice we will go back to the initial port.

Afterwards, we will head to the balconies of the Glacier: a spectacular serie of paths that lead us to different stunning views of Perito Moreno.

Return to the hotel.

OPTIONAL: the minitrekking experience can be changed by a kayaking experience among the icebergs

Today, we’ll go on a 4×4 excursion towards Torres del Paine National Park, where we will combine scenic activities with short hikes. We’ll have some views of the Sarmiento de Gamboa Lake, Cuernos del Paine, Laguna Amarga, Salto Grande, Nordenskjold Lake and some more attractions. The Park is about 4-5 hours from El Calafate.

We will have the drop off in Lago Grey or in Hotel Las Torres, where we’ll stay for the night (inside Torres del Paine National Park).

Today, we’ll do one of the most popular hikes in Chile: the full day trek to the base of the Towers (which is also one of the hikes of the W trek).

Overnight in Torres del Paine.

Today, we kayak for about 2 hours in the middle of the ice-cold water of Lake Grey and get very close to the ice wall of the glacier. We’ll get the neoprene suit, waterproof jacket, life jacket, the kayak, and the paddle, at the same time that we learn about everything we need to know about the experience.

Overnight in Torres del Paine.

We’ll have the morning for optional activities, and in the afternoon, we will return to El Calafate.

OPTIONAL: as this is a flexible tour, the activities and number of nights in Torres del Paine can be changed. You can swap to a W trek of 3-4 nights, or travel to Puerto Natales / Punta Arenas, or adapt the trip to your wishes and preferences.

Transfer to the airport and flight back to Buenos Aires, where we’ll get another transfer to the hotel in the bustling and beautiful Argentinean capital.

Transfer to the airport in order to board the flight back home or take an extension in order to visit some of the other great destinations in Argentina and Chile.

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

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