Adventure in Patagonia (AR 085)

Departures: daily.
Guide: Spanish and bilingual (English – German – French – Italian)
Meals: according to itinerary. Air Fare: not included.

Southern Patagonia, dominated by the two vast continental icecaps, the Northern Ice Field and the Southern Ice Field, are the most intensely glacier-covered regions in South America.
Undoubtedly one of the world´s most beautiful places, Southern Patagonia includes the worldwide renowned Los Glaciares and Torres del Paine National Parks. Their towering granite peaks attract thousands of trekkers every year.

Day 1 – El Calafate
Reception at El Calafate airport and transfer to the hotel. Accommodation.

Day 2 – El Calafate / El Chaltén
Breakfast. Transfer to El Chaltén by regular bus line. El Chaltén is a village located in the heart of Los Glaciares National Park and at the feet of Mt. Fitz Roy (or El Chaltén) which is found at the northern end of the park and which is part of a range of bizarre peaks including the needle-like rock pinnacle of Mt.Torre. From El Chaltén, one of the most popular hikes leads to the first camp site for the ascention to Mt. Torre. From here, it's possible to admire the walls of this granite mountain that for many decades was considered “impossible to climb”.
The primitive inhabitants of the area venerated Mt. Fitz Roy and called it El Chaltén, which means “mountain that smokes” as they believed it to be a volcano, probably because its summit is always covered with a layer of clouds. Its summit, that can be easily seen from far beyond, must have served them as an orientation signal during their annual migrations from the Atlantic Ocean to the Andes.
In the evening take a short trek to Chorrillo del Salto Cascade across lenga and ñire woods. Return to El Chaltén. Accommodation at the hotel. Dinner.

Day 3 – El Chaltén
Breakfast. Excursion to Laguna Torre. This stunning upward trekking and through the forest will take you to the foot of one of the world´s nicest and most challenging mountains in the world, Mt. Torre.
The starting point is a steep upward slope which will enable you to gain altitude over De Las Vueltas River Valley. You will arrive at a lookout where you will be able to appreciate a breathtaking view of the rest of the circuit up to the bottom of Fitz Roy River Valley, facing Mt. Torre and Adelas Range.
Continue across a log bridge hanging over a stream, and along the lower edge of a moraine until you reach Jim Bridwell Camp. A walk through young moraines with no vegetation will lead you to the coast of Laguna Torre and to another extraordinary panorama which has rendered this area as a “must” for trekkers and climbers from all over the world: Mt. Torre flanked by Egger, Standhard and Bífida spires and the Adelas Range, Mounts Ñato and Grande, both with their respective glaciers spreading down towards Laguna Torre. Box Lunch. Return to the hotel. Accommodation. Dinner.

Day 4 – El Chaltén
Breakfast. Full day trekking towards Laguna de los Tres. This 12 kmadventurous trek will give us the chance to reach the spot with the most spectacular views of the “Patagonic giants”. Every turn of the trail offers a new and impressive landscape. During this 7-hour hike you will be in touch with amazing spots of the Andean Patagonian region. Continue towards Laguna de los Tres, passing by Mt. Rosado and Mt. León, skirting Chorrillo del Salto River, with a breathtaking view of Fitz Roy, Saint Exupery and Piedras Blancas massifs. Luncheon.Then continue to Poincenot camp site, named after the 1952 French expedition participant who died trying to cross Fitz Roy River. Crossing Río Blanco, you will arrive at the camp site with the same name where the ascention starts, until reaching Laguna de los Tres at the foot of Mt. Fitz Roy. Instead of returning to El Chaltén, go down the valley along Blanco River. One hour after passing by Poincenot base camp reach Laguna Piedras Blancas. The heavily seraced Piedras Blancas Glacier appears on the eastern face of Mt. Fitz Roy in a series of icefalls that sprawl down into this impressively bleak melt water lake. Continue unti you reach Hostería El Pilar. Accommodation at the inn. Dinner.

Day 5 – El Chaltén
Breakfast. Today your trek begins over rolling wooded slopes and through small fire-cleared pastures sprinkled with calafate bushes, to enter the enclosed upper valley of Eléctrico River below high glacier-sheered cliffs. Proceed over a path that goes gently up beside the rushing, murky-grey river and through an open, cattle-grazed lenga forest. Reach Los Troncos Refuge. From here climb up to Piedra del Fraile where you will have a great view upvalley of Eléctrico Lake, a dramatically bleak lake exposed to the fierce and incessant winds blasting down from the nearby Southern Ice Field. Lunch Box. Return to the inn. Accommodation. Dinner.

Day 6 – El Chaltén / El Calafate
Breakfast. Day at leisure. Optional Tour: (*) Pliegue Tumbado: This is the only place in the area of El Chaltén where you can see the entire panorama of the most impressive mountains in Patagonia: Mt. Torre and Mt. Fitz Roy Ranges. The spectacular views of these peaks transform this trek into the most wonderful in the zone, offering a special look at one of the wildest and most untouched areas in the planet. Departure to El Calafate at 5.00 pm. Accommodation.

Day 7 – El Calafate
Breakfast. Overland trip to Perito Moreno Glacier, one of the world’s largest active continental glaciers, declared Universal Mankind´s Heritage Site by UNESCO because of its breathtaking beauty and its unusual behaviour. Box Lunch. Return to the hotel. Accommodation.

Day 8 – El Calafate
Day at leisure.


Optional Tour (*):
Upsalla & Onelli Navigation: Departure from your hotel towards Puerto Bandera to board a catamaran that will take you to Upsala and Onelli Glaciers. Sail along the Northern Armof the Argentino Lake towards Upsala, the largest continental glacier in the Southern Hemisphere.
Disembark at Onelli Bay for a walk through the lenga forest to reach Onelli Lagoon where Bolado, Onelli and Agassiz Glaciers converge down into the waters. (If icebergs prevent disembarking at Onelli Bay you will stop at Puesto de Vacas). Return to the hotel. Accommodation.

Day 9 – El Calafate
Breakfast. Transfer from the hotel to El Calafate airport (#) or to the bus station for the optional post tour to Torres del Paine.

(*) Optional tours are not included in the price of the package.
(#) Note: in case of flying from Río Gallegos, optional bus transfer to El Calafate (316 km) (This transfer is provided without bilingual guide due to operational reasons)