Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
386
tourist shops in El Calafate and El Chaltén. You'll also need to register at the park service
office at the entrance to E l Chaltén. The best thing about hiking in E l Chaltén is that
almost all trails start and end in the town itself, meaning you can return each evening for
a hot shower, a nice meal, and a good bed. Two standard half-day hikes leave from town:
Laguna Capri, which offers a marvelous view of FitzRoy, and the Laguna Torre Lookout.
For full-day hikes, the best are Laguna Torre and Laguna de los Tres. Trails here run from
easy to difficult, and they take anywher e from 4 to 10 hours to complete. S ee below for
trail descriptions.
Trails in the El Chaltén Area
The El Chaltén area of Los Glaciares National Park has incredible trails for hikers, not to
mention imposing challenges for alpinists and mountaineers. The beauty of this ar ea,
besides the stunning scenery, is that the valleys are long and don't require too much uphill
or downhill hiking, and you can make it back to town each night to a warm shower and
good dinner. While overnight camping trips are available, El Chaltén excels in its proxim-
ity to day-hike trail heads. U nlike the Torres del Paine hikes, which generally r equire a
few nights of camping, all of the main highlights her e can be seen in a fe w day hikes.
What makes hiking in El Chaltén so good is the varied terrain and the relatively little
climbing required to get amazing vie ws. These hikes all leav e from town and r un from
easy to difficult. They'll each allow you to see the famous spir es from many angles. The
times given are estimates for the av erage walker fr om El Chaltén.
Note:
These trips ar e
listed according to difficulty, from easy to strenuous.
Cascada Chorrillo del S alto
The easiest and flattest hike in the ar ea, this trail is
level and stays along the E l Chaltén valley floor. Follow the Rio de las Vueltas riverbank
northeast of town to the Chorrillo del Salto waterfall, which emerges from a dense forest.
Give yourself an hour each way to walk at an easy pace.
Return 90 min. 4km (2.5 miles) one-way. Easy.
Cerro Torre Lookout
Known as “E l Mirador del Cerr o Torre” in Spanish, this is a
nice half-day hike. The trail head is behind the Los Cerr os hotel. After climbing 200m
(656 ft.) to get abo ve the E l Chaltén v alley, you'll stroll along a raging glacial F itzRoy
River, through thick beech for ests, meeting a spectacular vie w of the needlelike Cerr o
Torre, with its namesake lake and glacier in front. This is an excellent way to sample some
of the world 's finest tr ekking and a gr eat choice if y ou arrive midday. Climb off to the
left (river side) of the trail for the lookout at Cerr o Dos Condores.
Return 3 hr. 3km (2 miles) one-way. Easy to medium.
12
Laguna Capri
A bit longer than the other gr eat local half-day hike to the Cerr o
Torre Lookout, Laguna Capri is the must-see destination for lovers of the FitzRoy massif.
The trail leads nor th fr om to wn past Cerr o R osado befor e heading w est to ward Mt.
FitzRoy. Many trekkers come her e as a pilgrimage to one of the world 's finest granite
mountains, saving some time to scour the walls of F itzRoy with binoculars, to look for
climbers. It's a 2-hour hike into the lagoon, follo wing the same trail that leads to the
Poincenot camp.
Return 4-hr. 7km (4 miles) one-way. Easy to medium.
Laguna Torre
Continuing past the Cerr o Torre lookout (see abo ve), the trail
winds its way up the FitzRoy River to the sheltered nook at the D'Agostini campground,
which is a good spot for a pr otected picnic. From here, you climb up o ver the moraine
and face first into the ho wling wind for a jaw-dr opping close-up of Cerr o Torre, its
