Overview
A frontier town on the shore of a milky turquoise lake in deep Patagonia, El Calafate exists to deliver you to the Perito Moreno glacier — a wall of ice the size of a city that calves into the lake with a sound like thunder. It’s also the springboard for El Chaltén, Argentina’s trekking capital.
Top things to do
Perito Moreno Glacier
A five-kilometre-wide, 60-metre-high wall of advancing ice viewed from steel boardwalks across the channel.
Lago Argentino
The vast glacial lake the town sits on, milky blue with rock flour from the icefields.
Laguna Nimez
A lakeshore reserve of flamingos and birdlife on the edge of town.
Glacier boardwalks & boat
Spend a day on the walkways watching the ice calve, then sail to its face on a boat.
Ice trekking on the glacier
Strap on crampons for a guided "mini-trekking" walk across the glacier’s surface.
Day-trip to El Chaltén
Drive to the trekking village for the Laguna de los Tres view of Mount Fitz Roy.
3-day sample itinerary
- 1
Perito Moreno
Full day at the glacier boardwalks and a boat to the ice face.
- 2
Ice trek or lake
Mini-trekking on the glacier or a quiet Laguna Nimez morning.
- 3
El Chaltén
Long day-trip for the Fitz Roy trails.