Friday, March 7, 2008

El Chaltén: Trekking Capital of Argentina

Mt. Fritz Roy

Our first real destination after Bariloche was the small village of El Chaltén set to the backdrop of Mount Fritz Roy and located at the northern end of Los Glaciares National Park.

The town itself is in a beautiful valley just past Lago Viedma, in between the confluence of Río De las Vueltas and Río Fitz Roy.

ElChaltenCity9853.jpg

If you are a hiker, this is the place for you. There are endless hikes of all lengths and levels of expertise. And the great thing is most hikes start right from the town.

We were only there for two days. The first day, we were forced inside because of a freak wind storm with hurricane force winds that kicked up dirt and debris and sent it stinging into your skin. No hiking for us that day.

The second day, things cleared up and I was able to head out early for a few hikes.
I even got a shot of an Andean Condor on one hike.

Andean Condor

I highly recommend taking the all day hike to Laguna del Desierto which will take you past a beautiful waterfall (Chorrillo del Salto) and awesome views of Cerro Torre and Fritz Roy.

Chorrillo del Salto

Another recommended outing is taking the Viedma Discovery cruise and hike. A boat takes you across Lago Viedma to the glacier and then you put on your crampons and head out over, on top of, under and through the glacier on a spectacular ice trekking adventure.

ElChaltenFritzRoy9816.jpg

There are accommodation's for every price range in El Claltén. From very cheap hostels to a 5 star hotel (who's prices are as higher than Fritz Roy). We stayed at Lo De Tommy in a two story apartment. It was very comfortable and nicely furnished. They also provide a great breakfast at the main house.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

great blog... going to watch it so i can convince my hubby to do the same... wanting to move to Punta. maybe you will inspire