Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
1
La Oriental 1km from Lago Belgrano T 011 4152 6901,
W estanciasdesantacruz.com. This working estancia is
beautifully situated, but standards of accommodation and
service are not always as high as they should be. Room
rates incl ude half board. Clo sed April-Oct. Camping/person
AR$120 , doubles AR$450
El Chaltén is Argentina's youngest
town, created in 1985 as an outpost
against Chilean encroachment. Since
then it has experienced a tourist boom,
with campers, hikers and climbers
descending in droves every summer,
especially in January and February. In the
spring the winds are fierce; March is the
best month to visit, with fewer tourists
and less wind. Most businesses close
between Easter and mid-October.
PARQUE NACIONAL LOS
GLACIARES
he PARQUE NACIONAL LOS GLACIARES
hugs the eastern slopes of the Andes,
extending for 170km along the border
with Chile. A UNESCO World Heritage
Site, nearly half of the park's 6000
square kilometres consists of virtually
inaccessible continental ice fields.
Elsewhere, thirteen glaciers sweep down
from craggy mountains into two parallel
turquoise lakes - Argentino and Viedma
- while dry Patagonian steppe and
sub-Antarctic forests of ñire (Antarctic
beech) and lenga (lenga beech) trees
provide exceptional trekking country
and a home for endangered huemul deer,
red fox and puma.
The park's northern section can be
reached from the village of El Chaltén,
where the jagged jaws of the Fitz Roy
mountain range dominate a skyline
as dramatic as anything in Torres del
Paine in Chile (see p.470). Tremendous
glaciers, including the show-stopping
Glaciar Perito Moreno (see p.142), are
the stars of the park's southern sector,
within easy reach of the resort town
of El Calafate.
HIKES FROM EL CHALTÉN
The sky-puncturing peaks of Fitz Roy
and Torre offer some of the planet's most
challenging technical climbing, but there
are plenty of paths for beginners. In
contrast to Chile's Torres del Paine, those
short on time can enjoy a number of
day-hikes in the national park with
trailheads that start right in town.
The trail most travelled is the relatively
flat hike to Laguna Torre (11km; 6hr
round-trip), which follows the Río Fitz
Roy to a silty lake resplendent with floating
icebergs, overlooked by Cerro Torre. A
more strenuous hike is to Laguna de los
Tres (12.5km; 8hr), which ascends sharply
to a glacial lake with in-your-face views of
Fitz Roy; this is impassable in the winter.
For the best panoramic views in the area
- of both Fitz Roy and Torre as well as
Lago Viedma - hike uphill to 1490m-
high Lomo del Pliegue Tumbado (12km;
8hr). Shorter walks include those to the
Chorrillo del Salto waterfall (4km; 2hr)
and uphill to the Los Condores viewpoint
(1km; 1hr 30min) overlooking the town.
A classic multi-day hike is the Monte Fitz
Roy/Cerro Torre loop (3 days, 2 nights),
which leaves either from El Chaltén or
just beyond the park's boundaries at
Hostería El Pilar (15km north of town;
T 02962 493002, W hosteriaelpilar
.com.ar). There are three free campsites
(with latrines only) along the route.
Weather in the park is predictably
unpredictable, and cloud often obscures
the peaks of Fitz Roy and Torre. The park
office produces an excellent free trekking
map , but for something more detailed,
the 1:50,000 Monte Fitz Roy & Cerro
Torre map published by Zagier and
Urruty can be purchased in El Chaltén.
EL CHALTÉN
Argentina's self-proclaimed “national
trekking capital”, the rapidly growing
town of EL CHALTÉN lies within the
boundaries of the Parque Nacional
Los Glaciares, 217km northwest of
El Calafate. It is set at the confluence of
two pristine rivers, with the granite spires
of Monte Fitz Roy (3405m) and Cerro
Torre (3102m) protruding like jagged
teeth on the horizon. El Chaltén means
“smoking mountain”, a name given to
Monte Fitz Roy by the Tehuelche, who
probably mistook the wisps of cloud
around its summit for volcanic activity.
 
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