Patagonia - El Chalten

The final destination of our Patagonia trip was to El Chalten, two hours north of El Calafate. El Chalten is also part of Los Glaciares National Park and was named a "World Heritage Site of Humanity" by UNESCO in 1981. After looking at the weather for the upcoming days, we saw the best day for hiking would be our first day in the park. With that in mind, we woke up at 4:30am in El Calafate, checked out of the hotel, and drove directly to El Chalten. The hotel in El Chalten was nice enough to store our luggage for the day and even let us have breakfast and coffee from the buffet! After a quick bite, we drove to the start of the Laguna de Los Tres Hike. This 14-mile out and back hiking trails leads you to the base of Mount Fitz Roy, Laguna de los Tres, Glacier de los Tres, and Lago Sucia.

I am so glad we made the effort to get up early and take advantage of the weather. It was an amazing day, perfect for hiking, and we were rewarded with clear skies and unobstructed views of the area.

The next day, we had a slow morning as we were still a bit worn out from the day before! We started out by getting gas at the one and only gas station (which was really just a shipping container right outside of town - cash only!). There is only one attendant and one pump. We arrived just as it was opening and still had to wait about 15 minutes in line!

With “get gas” checked off our to do list, we drove to the Mirador Los Condores trailhead. This short hiking tail takes you up the mountain and gets its name as the area is often overflown with Andean condors, one of the largest birds in the world that can fly. Although it was SUPER windy, we lucked out with being able to see a few of these large birds as well as the surrounding mountains.

On our final day in Los Glaciares National Park we completed the Laguna Torre Hike. Another one of the most popular hikes in the park, the trail meanders alongside Rio Fitz Roy and Torre Massif. This hiking trail ends at a lake with views of Cerro Fitz Roy. Unfortunately, it was a bit cloudy this day and although we saw some beautiful sights along this hike, we were unable to see the jagged tower of Cerro Torre. I guess that means we’ll have to visit again!

Cerro Torre covered by that one annoying cloud!

This really was a once in a lifetime trip and I’m so grateful we were able to find time to visit this unique part of the world. The scenery was simply stunning and it’s hard not to appreciate how beautiful nature can be.

Hotel: Los Cerros del Chaltén Boutique Hotel

Restaurants: La Vinería, PAISA High Mountain Coffee, La Zorra Taproom and La Cervecería