Fitzroy Trek

Starting from either Puerto Natales or Torres del Paine, take a ride toward the Cerro Castillo border crossing where you will board the regular tourist bus to El Calafate in Argentina (approximately 180 miles). El Calafate is a small town set on the edge of Los Glaciares National Park amidst dramatic scenery. Upon arriving in El Calafate you will be met and transferred to the hotel. This afternoon, around 3:00 pm, you’ll take part in a guided excursion to the Perito Moreno Glacier, a very active glacier on the south arm of Lago Argentino. A 200-foot-high relic of the Ice Age, the Perito Moreno Glacier creates a unique geographic event approximately every three or four years. As it advances, it pushes out across the surface of the lake, cutting the lake into two separate sections. As water pressure builds up on one side over the years, the glacier eventually explodes open with a torrent of water and a fury of splintering icebergs. Although this spectacular event no longer occurs as cyclically as it did during the past 50 years, the glacier is constantly moving, calving, and crackling – an incredible sight and sound at any time. Later you return to El Calafate for your overnight stay at Hotel Libertador, Hotel Lar Aike, or similar.

Enjoy an early breakfast and then take the regular tourist bus from El Calafate to El Chalten (about 140 miles). Travel on isolated dirt roads across the pampas and along the northern end of Lago Viedma until you reach the settlement of El Chalten, a tiny outpost beside Los Glaciares National Park and at the foot of the impressive Mount Fitzroy. Time permitting, walk by the River Electrico on a trail through the beautiful Lenga forest of Patagonia. Spend the next 3 nights at a hosteria in El Chalten.

Spend these days exploring the park, where you’ll undertake two main walks into the nearby mountains. One trek takes you to the Fitzroy Base Camp (about 6 to 7 hours) and the other trek heads in the direction of Cerro Torre (6 to 7 hours). These hikes will depend on weather conditions at the time. Most of these hikes are on well-established trails so that shorter options are often available. While hiking in the park, the trails will take you to places as Laguna Torre, the base camp of Cerro Torre, Laguna Capri, Laguna Madre, and Laguna de los Tres, which is located directly in front of Mount Fitzroy and Piedras Blancas. The scale of the scenery, with the jagged mountain peaks and the incredible glaciers makes these walks extremely rewarding.

After your morning hike in the Fitzroy area, you will be transferred to El Chalten’s bus terminal to board the regular tourist bus back to El Calafate. Overnight at a hotel in El Calafate.

Take the early morning regular tourist bus to Puerto Natales (about 5 hours). You will be met at the bus station and transferred to your hotel. The rest of the day is free for you to explore this quaint town. Overnight at Hotel Aquaterra, Hotel Francis Drake, or similar.

You will be transferred from your hotel to the bus station. Here you take the regular bus to the airport in Punta Arenas. You arrive with plenty of time to catch your outbound flight.