Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
370
El Calafate with a Half-Day to Kill
Because of flight and bus schedules, many people are “stuck” in El Calafate the
day they arrive or depart.
Here's our list of the best things t o do t o make use of this ex tra time:
• Who k new ther e w ere flamingos in P atagonia? Take y our binoculars and
stroll along the shallow shore of Laguna Nimez, on the edge of town. Other
birds include cauquén geese , black -necked swans , and ibis bir ds. Join a
guided tour with
Ecowalks
(
&
02902/493196
).
• Slated t o open in 2009, the new
Glaciarium
(w ww.glaciarium.com) is a
state-of-the-art glaciology facilit y calling itself a “Museum of P atagonian
Ice.” Inspired by the Ec ocentro museum at P uerto Madryn, it's sure to be a
worthwhile museum-style interpretive center.
•
Calafate Historical In terpretation C enter
(see abo ve) is a exhibition
center that c overs 14,000 y ears of hist ory. Five blocks fr om downtown, it's
open daily until 10pm.
• Let y our inner gaucho ride fr ee on a half- day
horseback
riding trip . S ee
below for details on outfitt ers.
• T he
estancia
El G alpón del Glaciar
(see belo w) has af ternoon sheep -
shearing shows, and ev ening folklore dinner sho ws. Similar pr ograms are
offered at
Parque de la Bahía
(see belo w).
12
has a good visitor information center and a lo vely garden. New to town is the planned
Glaciarium: Museum of Patagonian Ice
(www.glaciarium.com), which is scheduled to
open in late 2009. Located 3km (2 miles) fr om town, it will focus on interpr etation of
the ancient ices of Los G laciares National Park, with a 3-D theater, interactive exhibits,
and a thorough catalog of the planet's glaciers. The plans looks very impressive.
ATTRACTIONS & EXCURSIONS AROUND EL CALAFATE
For information about visiting the glaciers and the national par k, see “Parque Nacional
Los Glaciares & Perito Moreno Glacier,” later in this chapter . Other typical ex cursions
from El Calafate include E l Chaltén, for tr ekking beneath the famous peaks of Cerr o
Torre and Mt. F itzRoy in 1 day , or a jampacked day visiting Chile 's Torres del P aine
National P ark. F or either of these, tr y
Patagonia E xtrema,
A v. del Liber tador 1341
(
&
02902/492393;
www.southroad.com.ar), or
Los Glaciares Turismo,
Brown 1188
(
&
02902/498320
). More and more adventure activities and excursions are popping up
in El Calafate, capitalizing on the tourism boom.
FISHING
Calafate F ishing,
Av. del Liber tador 1826 (
&
02902/496545;
www.
calafatefishing.com), has half- and full-day fishing (mainly fly-fishing) trips in r emote
areas of Los Glaciares National Park, in search of brown, rainbow, and brook trout. Full-
day trips start at $225 (£152).
HORSEBACK RIDING
Patagonia is horseback-riding heav en, and a number of agen-
cies offer good trips. Whenever possible, try to get away fr om tours that depar t directly
from El Calafate. A company called
Cerro Frias,
Av. del Liber tador 1857 (
&
02902/
492808;
www.cerrofrias.com), offers half-day horseback riding trips in the wide-open
