Argentina

From El Chalten, the trail starts Avenida San Martín, where El Chaltén town ends. There you can park your vehicle in a designated parking area, or just walk from your hotel. The slope is steep to begin with, but levels off after the first kilometer. In about 4 hours (with pack), you will reach the Poincenot campsite. It's a free campsite with no reservations, just note that there are no fires a...

From El Calafate, the town of El Chalten is about 2 1/2 - 3 hours away. The entire drive is incredibly scenic as you will have views of Lake Argentina Viedma to start with, and as you get closer to the town, Fitz Roy and Cerro Torre get closer with each passing kilometer. There is also one place to stop with food and restrooms along the way - don't miss La Leona and their incredible empanadas f...

There is only one company that has a permit to go on Martillo Island, while all the other tours take people to shoot photos from a boat. The company that has the permit is Pira Tour. We paid $100 usd (it was a little less because we drove ourselves one hour to Harberton. It was so worth it!!! If you don't do anything else while in Ushuaia, please don't miss this experience! From the Acatushin M...

Mount Fitz Roy is one of the most iconic mountains in the world and is still relatively undeveloped, allowing visitors to experience the landscape without the massive hoards of people. The best place to start the trek is in the town of El Chalten. I would recommend coming to the town with plenty of cash and backpacking food. The town is very rural and most of the grocery stores do not carry the...

This 13 mile roundtrip hike begins in El Chalten, at the end of Avenida San Martín, the main street in town. Within the first 10-15 minutes, you should encounter a clearly marked sign for "Senda al Fitz Roy" ("Path to Fitz Roy") with park rules and information about points of interest.From there, the trek continues about half a mile to Mirador Rio de las Vueltas (viewing point for Rio de las V...

From the town of El Calafate in Argentina, the glacier is less than two hours away down route 15. There are easy signs the entire way. You will then reach the park entrance, where you will pay roughly $20SUSD/per person for entrance. About 20 minutes from the park entrance, you will reach the parking lot for the glacier. From here, there are many different angles to shoot the face of the glacie...

When you drive in to El Chalten, you will see the visitor's center directly on your left. Park here, and there are signs to the lookout from the parking lot. It's an easy 1.2 mile round trip hike, but the views of Fitz Roy and Cerro Torre are magnificent. Give yourself about 30-40 minutes though to get up before the sunrise as there is a little bit of a climb.

The Perito Moreno glacier is one of the big draws in El Calafate, Argentina and all of Patagonia.  Once you see it for yourself, you'll understand why - it's easily viewable from a series of well-constructed walkways, the glacier shines vibrant blue when the sun hits it and there are constant ruptures sending huge chunks of ice into the surrounding lake.  If you want to view the glacier from a ...

This trail has awesome flexibility whether you're looking for a day hike or looking to stay a few nights. You head North/West out of El Chaltén on the Sendero al Fitz Roy trail. It’s a big pull out of the valley. Depending on what you’re carrying, some will find it easier than others. With a full pack of backpacking gear, it took about an hour to fully get out of the valley. Not ten minutes aft...