Adventures in Argentinian Patagonia
Viewpoint of El Chalten, Argentina
Torres del Paine National Park in Chile may be the most famous land in Patagonia, but the Patagonia region encompasses a much larger portion of South America than just this one national park. Just around10% of the Patagonia region is actually in Chile and about 90% of it is located in southern Argentina. When exploring the Argentina side, the two towns travelers commonly visit are El Calafate and El Chalten.
El Calafate
El Calafate is the gateway to Patagonia on the Argentina side. There are direct flights from Buenos Aires and a decently large town for visitors to enjoy restaurants, breweries and shops when they aren’t adventuring around Patagonia’s landscape.
The town is clearly setup for tourism, yet it still has its own local culture intact and invites visitors to engage in it. For example, during my visit I saw many Argentinians in traditional clothing walking around as there was a heritage dance event at their amphitheater down the street. Also, in nearly every store, I noticed yerba mate cups being sold as this is a very popular drink among locals. Mate is part of everyday life and while it looks like tea, the process behind making it properly is much more involved. Exposing visitors to common traditions like these are a great way to engage guests with the local culture.
Nativo Experience
I also got a deeper look at the history of the region from the “Nativo Experience”, a popular tourist activity in the area. As part of the evening tour, you are picked up in a 4x4, taken to a beautiful point for sunset over Lago Argentino and El Calafate, and then given a tour of cave paintings which are 4,000 years old, before having a delicious dinner set in a cave. While it was a more touristy experience, it also was really unique to the area and does a great job at connecting guests to the natives who roamed the land so many years ago.
Nativo Experience with sunset over Lago Argentino in the background
Perito Moreno Glacier
Perito Moreno Glacier, Los Glaciares National Park
The most popular activity near El Calafate is Perito Moreno Glacier, which is part of the third largest ice field on the planet (after Antártica and Greenland). The significance of this glacier is its size and proximity to human civilization, located just about an hour and a half from the town of El Calafate. Its location within Los Glaciares National Park is protected by conservation efforts and regulations. Not only is it protected to preserve its beauty, but also to preserve one of our planet’s main water sources.
Minitrekking on Perito Moreno Glacier
There a few different ways to experience the glacier, including a system of walkways and platforms that offer different viewpoints. Another way is to do the “minitrekking” tour, which includes a boat ride across Lago Argentino and about an hour and a half trek on the glacier itself. Lastly, there is an option to do the “Big Ice” tour that gets you deeper into the ice and involves much more trekking. I opted for the minitrekking and found it to be totally worth it. To experience the glacier by foot gives you perspective of how vast the glacier is and how alive it is. While it looks like tons and tons of ice stacked together, it is actually very dynamic — moving and changing all the time. Since the climate where Perito Moreno is isn’t as cold as somewhere like Antártica, the glacier has more water under it so it moves more fluidly over the lake. Our guide explained that it takes about a decade for fresh snow to accumulate into glacial ice, and then hundreds of years for that ice to reach the end of the glacier that we could see. Just like an ocean or sand, the glacier moves as well and as far as this one goes, actually pretty quickly. Not only is it breathtaking to look at, but it’s also fascinating to experience and learn about.
El Chalten
Just three hours north of El Calafate is a village located in the national park called El Chalten, Argentina’s trekking capital. El Chalten feels more like a base camp than a proper town, although it does have several restaurants and bars for visitors. One of the most popular places in town is the camping equipment store, where most tourists go to rent gear for multi-day treks on the many trails in the area. While there are several trails in the area to choose from, the most famous is Laguna de Los Tres, which goes to the base of Mt. Fitz Roy. This trail is commonly used by day hikers and overnight backpackers who camp at one of the free campgrounds along the trail and summit the base at sunrise. I did the ladder and while it was a challenging experience in spring weather conditions (ice and snow still on the trail), it was extremely satisfying. The red hue that beams from Mt. Fitz Roy as soon as the sun hits it makes all the effort worth it. There is definitely something special about spending the night along the trail as well, as long as it’s not too cold and you have warm gear of course.
Mt. Fitz Roy, El Chalten
Los Glaciares National Park, El Chalten
I fell in love with the calmness and ruggedness of El Chalten as well as the culture, heritage and natural sites around El Calafate. These two areas truly embody the wild spirit of Patagonia that I’ve read so much about. There is a deep appreciation for the outdoors and animals here, and it’s clear that preservation of the land is taken seriously. While I’m really glad to have later experienced the infamous Torres del Paine National Park as well (more to come!), I feel that my visit to Patagonian’s Argentinian satisfied my need to have the full Patagonian experience.
