Perito Moreno Glacier

When we arrived in El Calafate, we checked into our hotel and set off on foot. Thankfully we had lots of cold weather gear from hiking the Andes in Peru.  Let’s just say there’s a reason that an outdoor tough weather clothing company chose to call the company Patagonia…

From El Calafate, there’s a lot to do along the Chilean/Argentine border.  From trips to hike Fitz Roy to glacier climbing Perito Moreno, if the weather is nice it’s a great place to spend a week or two.  Unfortunately the weather was cold and windy when we were there, and although it was starting to look like spring, the warming temperatures made many of the hiking trails impassible (mud!) and the glacier walking a bit unsafe.

Fortunately we had a great time walking along the cross walks in front of the glacier.  It’s hard to get a scope for how big the glacier is- I’m still probably 100 m away from it.  As we stood at the overlooks watching the ice, which was a fabulous bright blue color, we saw chunks fall into the lake… thankfully the boats stayed back!

IF YOU GO: It is easiest to fly into El Calafate- we took a very long bus from the coast.  El Calafate is a tourist town, so expect prices to be higher than the rest of Argentina. Check out our Backpackers Guide to Argentina for quick tips and advice on traveling through Argentina.