El Calafate ed El Chaltén
Se avete tempo di scendere a sud, questa regione è assolutamente spettacolare — una delle zone più belle dell’Argentina. El Calafate è la base per il Perito Moreno; El Chaltén, a tre ore a nord, è la capitale del trekking. Abbiamo guidato tutto in quattro giorni a fine 2019: le passerelle del ghiacciaio, una camminata sul ghiaccio da Puerto Bajo las Sombras, la barca Ríos de Hielo verso Upsala e Spegazzini, e un’uscita all’alba verso Chaltén che non rifaremmo. Restate almeno tre o quattro giorni — due a Calafate, due a Chaltén — con strati e scarponi. Il vento e il tempo cambiano in fretta.
- Alloggio
Hostería Los Canelos
Visitato: 26 dic 2019
Note di arrivo: Noleggio auto all’aeroporto
· Apri in Google Maps (si apre in una nuova scheda)
L’hotel era bellissimo e la reception molto disponibile. Era bello avere un letto comodo perché ogni giorno era estremamente faticoso.
- Ricreativo
El Calafate and Lago Argentino
Come ci sono arrivato: Auto — The town is the hub. We had a rental car from the airport and used it for everything.
· Apri in Google Maps (si apre in una nuova scheda)
Give the town and the lake a day of their own, not only the glacier. El Calafate sits on Lago Argentino: wind, light, and a walkable centre. This is the half of the stay that is not an excursion — eat, recover, look at the water.
- Attrazione
Glaciarium
Come ci sono arrivato: Auto — A short drive west of town on RP11.
· Apri in Google Maps (si apre in una nuova scheda)
A glacier museum just outside town — ice, climate, and the Southern Patagonian Ice Field explained well. Worth it if you have an extra half day, especially if the weather has shut down a hike.
- Attrazione
Pasarelas del Perito Moreno
Come ci sono arrivato: Auto — Drive into Los Glaciares National Park to the glacier walkways. Park ticket required.
· Apri in Google Maps (si apre in una nuova scheda)
The boardwalks face the glacier wall directly. You hear thunder when chunks of ice calve into the lake — glimpses and sound, over and over. Breathtaking. Perito Moreno is one of the few glaciers in the world that is still advancing. Give it hours, not a photo stop.
- Ricreativo
Walk on Perito Moreno — Puerto Bajo las Sombras
Come ci sono arrivato: Barca — Drive to Puerto Bajo las Sombras, then the short crossing to the ice. Book the minitrekking well in advance.
· Apri in Google Maps (si apre in una nuova scheda)
We walked on top of the glacier departing from Puerto Bajo las Sombras — crampons, ice, and the surface from the middle instead of from the railings. Book well in advance; Hielo y Aventura runs the classic walk. A different glacier from the one you watch from the pasarelas.
- Ricreativo
Ríos de Hielo — Puerto Bandera
Come ci sono arrivato: Barca — We drove to Puerto Bandera on Lago Argentino and boarded there.
· Apri in Google Maps (si apre in una nuova scheda)
The Ríos de Hielo excursion takes you up Lago Argentino to Upsala, Spegazzini, and the other walls you cannot reach from the Perito Moreno walkways. A full day on the water among bergs — the scale of the ice field finally makes sense.
- Ristorante
La Tablita
Come ci sono arrivato: A piedi — In town, on Coronel Rosales. We walked from the hotel.
· Apri in Google Maps (si apre in una nuova scheda)
The place for cordero — Patagonian mutton, grilled the old way. A Calafate classic. Go hungry.
- Ristorante
Pantagonia
Come ci sono arrivato: A piedi — On Avenida del Libertador in the centre.
· Apri in Google Maps (si apre in una nuova scheda)
A bakery on Libertador run by its German-descended owners. I was with German friends and they felt closer to home. Coffee, cakes, and a pause from the wind.
- Attrazione
El Chaltén
Come ci sono arrivato: Auto — About three hours by car from El Calafate; buses also leave daily. We drove, departing at 4am and coming back in the afternoon.
· Apri in Google Maps (si apre in una nuova scheda)
The trekking capital of Argentina: turquoise lakes, granite spires, and trails in every direction. We went for the day — 4am out of Calafate, back in the afternoon, all by car. If you can, do not do this. Stay at least one night. Two hiking days is the right amount.
- Ricreativo
Laguna de los Tres
Come ci sono arrivato: A piedi — The classic full-day hike from El Chaltén to the face of Mount Fitz Roy.
· Apri in Google Maps (si apre in una nuova scheda)
The hike to see Fitz Roy face-on. A full day from El Chaltén — steep at the end, worth every switchback. You cannot honestly do this as a day trip from Calafate. Stay in Chaltén and start early.
- Ricreativo
Laguna Capri
Come ci sono arrivato: A piedi — Shorter trail from El Chaltén, on the way toward Fitz Roy.
· Apri in Google Maps (si apre in una nuova scheda)
Shorter than Los Tres and still a must: a turquoise lake with Fitz Roy in the frame. A good first hike, or the one that fits if you only have a short day in town.
Riepilogo del percorso: Hostería Los Canelos → El Calafate and Lago Argentino → Glaciarium → Pasarelas del Perito Moreno → Walk on Perito Moreno — Puerto Bajo las Sombras → Ríos de Hielo — Puerto Bandera → La Tablita → Pantagonia → El Chaltén → Laguna de los Tres → Laguna Capri