Fitz Roy and Perito Moreno Glacier Trekking

8 days -7 nights

Day 1 - El Calafate

Reception at El Calafate airport and transferred to a hostel or hosteria. The name of this town comes from a bush with a lot of needles, the Berberis microphylla, whose flowers are yellow and it is typical in this region of Patagonia, its fruits are royal purple in colour. The climate is dry and temperatures oscillate between -5° in winter and the 20°s in summer.

• Lodging: Hostel room with shared bathroom. // Hosteria or Inn, double or single room with private bathroom
• Meals we provide: Dinner
• From / To: El Calafate / El Calafate

Day 2 - El Calafate - El Chaltén

After breakfast we go to the town of El Chaltén that is in the Santa Cruz Province, on the Andes Mountain Range, very close to the Fitz Roy and Torre mountains and the banks of the Río de las Vueltas. It is a town whose fundamental activities are related to trekking, rafting, horse riding and mountaineering. Apart from the Fitz Roy Mountains its major attractions include the Viedma Lake, the Lake del Desierto, Lagoon Capri, the Piedras Glacier and la Lagoon de los Tres.

We travel a little more than 200 kilometres north and then leave the ruta 40 and take the road to El Chaltén where we can see the Viedma Lake to our left. We go directly to our camp lodgings in the National Glacier Park and for this reason we need to take the minimal and indispensible requirements for the three days of trekking. We take the trail that runs alongside the Río de las Vueltas until we reach the principle viewpoint of the Fitz Roy Mountain. We then continue by the Lago de los Patos until we finally reach our camp site at the Lagoon Capri.

• Lodging: Lagoon Capri Full Camp in double or single tent (rural area)
• Meals we provide: Breakfast, box lunch, dinner
• From / To: El Calafate / El Chalten / Lagoon Capri
• Duration: 3 hours
• Difficulty: Intermediate

Day 3 - Fitz Roy Mountain: From La Cascada Chorrillo del Salto until La Laguna de los Tres

After breakfast we make our way to the Chorrillo del Salto and until the Base Camp of the Fitz Roy Mountain: River Blanco. The Chorrillo del Salto is a waterfall of some 20 metres of height that we find hidden in the middle of the forest. This waterfall is close to the end of the River Chorrillo, before it enters the River De Las Vueltas. From there we have a steep slope of 400 metres before we reach one of the most important points: La Laguna de Los Tres. Here we can appreciate the Fitz Toy Mountain with its extraordinary ice needles that reach to a height of 1500 metres. This climb is hard, but manageable, the end part is stony. You arrive to La Laguna de Los Tres openmouthed admiring the impressive view of the mountain and its surrounds, more beautiful than you can imagine.

Before we learn the descent we take advantage of the wonderful silence to regain our energy. Very close to the Laguna de Los Tres is the Lagoon Sucia, another work of nature. If we are lucky then we will see some of the magnificent condors, which live in these heights, flying around. After, we return to our camp at the Lagoon Capri, relaxing after an intense day with five hours of trekking that will have been really worth it for the unforgettable memories of the area that we will take home with us.

• Lodging: Lagoon Capri Full Camp in double or single tent (rural area)
• Meals we provide: Breakfast, box lunch, dinner.a
• From / To: Lagoon Capri / Lagoon de Los Tres / Lagoon Capri
• Duration: 8 hours
• Difficulty: Intermediate

Day 4 - Leaving the Laguna Capri to reach the Lagoon Torre

We leave from the Laguna Capri to reach the way that goes to the Valle de las Lagunas Madre y Hija. This trail is where the one from the Laguna Torre meets the one from the Laguna de Los Tres. This part of the trail is relatively easy without too much of a slope. During the trek we have some unique views of the Torre Mountains, Standhart, Adela, Grande and Solo. We pass by a very dense forest of lengas and Antarctic beeches, with a high formation of mallines, before going down to the Mountain Torre Valley where flows the River Fitz Roy which we follow until its source in the Laguna Torre. Before we arrive at the Laguna we pass the rough Padre de Agostini camp site that is the base for the more intense and long expeditions. We walk another 500 metres to arrive at the Laguna. This Laguna is surrounded by morenas, and the here we see the icebergs that are deposited from the western front of the Glaciar Grande. The landscape here includes the magnificent ice needles of the Torre Mountain that are more than 3,000 metres high.

• Lodging: Cerro Torre Full Camp in double or single tent (rural area)
• Meals we provide: Breakfast, box lunch, dinner
• From / To: Lagoon Capri / Lagoon Torre
• Duration: 5 hours
• Difficulty: Intermediate

Day 5 - Getting to know the Lagoon and Glacier Torre and the return to El Chaltén

We make the trekking around the Lagoon Torre obtaining some formidable views of the Solo Mountain and the Adel Glacier. As an option it is possible to take a trek over the Mountain Torre Glacier. This trek requires a good physical effort and we need to walk over the glacier in order to reach the extraordinary views of the vertical walls of the Torre Mountain. We put on our crampons to be able to tread on the ice and explore the crevices, drains and caverns, arriving to the blocks of broken ice that have fallen from the different walls of ice with diverse slopes. In late afternoon we return by the River Fitz Roy and the Mountain Torre trail, a journey of approximately three hours.

• Lodging: Hostel room with shared bathroom. // Hosteria or Inn, double or single room with private bathroom
• Meals we provide: Breakfast, box lunch and dinner
• From / To: Lagoon Torre / Glacier Torre / El Chaltén
• Duration: 5 hours
• Difficulty: Intermediate to intense

Day 6 - We leave from El Chaltén to return to El Calafate

We breakfast in the Hostel. This day we have a rest day after three days of trekking in the National Glacier Park. We can take the free day to get to know the town of El Chaltén to visit its chapel or go to the Lago del Desierto, famous for its historic border conflict between Argentina and Chile and being one of the prettiest sites of the region.

• Lodging: Hostel room with shared bathroom. Alternative: Hosteria or Inn, double or single room with private bathroom
• Meals we provide: Breakfast
• From / To: El Chaltén / El Calafate

Day 7 - Perito Moreno Glacier: Walking until the Canal de los Témpanos (Iceberg Canal)

After breakfast in the hostel, we take the journey to the Magallan Peninsular to visit the Perito Moreno Glacier, which originates from the Southern Patagonian Ice Fields. After travelling the 80 kilometres to the glacier we have a short trek to take us to the Iceberg Canal. After taking some time to see the spectacular force of nature that results in the continuous and loud icefalls from the glacier walls, we return to El Calafate.

The Perito Moreno Glacier that extends from the southern side of the Lago Argentino has a frontage of some 5 kilometres and a height up to 60 metres. It is known as one of the earth's most impacting glaciers and is considered to be one of the wonders of the world. It is situated inside the National Glacier Park in a zone covered in forests and cordoned by the Andes Mountains.

• Lodging: Hostel room with shared bathroom. // Hosteria or Inn, double or single room with private bathroom
• Meals we provide: Breakfast
• From / To: El Calafate / Glacier Perito Moreno / El Calafate
• Duration: 1 hour
• Difficulty: Mild

Day 8 - El Calafate - the Airport of El Calafate

We are taken from El Calafate on our last day of adventure and transferred to the Calafate Airport.

• Lodging: Hostel room with shared bathroom. // Hosteria or Inn, double or single room with private bathroom
• Meals we provide: Breakfast
• From / To: El Calafate / El Glaciar Perito Moreno / El Calafate