Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
you want to see glaciers, stick to the southern
portion of the park.
Lago Argentino
is its
heart. At 600 square miles, it is four times as
big as Lago Nahuel Huapi. It was discovered in
1873 by Francisco P. Moreno. The glaciers at
the western end of the lake cut into the Andes.
It is their run-off which is responsible for the
lake's green or turquoise color. However, the
30-mile-long Upsala, located at the northern
end, is the lake's largest glacier and sends huge
blue icebergs tumbling into the lake.
The park's best known glacier is the
Glacier
Moreno
. Unlike most of the world's glaciers,
which are receding, Moreno is still growing. At
last measure, it was three miles wide and rose
200 feet above the surface of the lake. You can
reach the Glacier Moreno by road, but pay care-
ful attention to falling ice.
Other than glaciers, Lago Argentino also offers
fine fishing and even swimming on especially
warm days. Birdwatchers should visit in the
spring and summer when torrent ducks, eagles,
condors, austral parakeets and buffnecked ibis
make their home in the park.
The northern section of the park is less accessi-
ble and a visit here should be attempted only by
serious hikers and climbers. Top attractions
include the glacier-fed
Lago Viedma
, over 400
square miles in size, and the infamous
Mt.
Fitzroy
. Climbers have lost their lives
attempting to scale the latter, but their have
been several successful attempts. The peaks
surrounding Mt. Fitzroy are known as
torres y
