The northern part of Parque Nacional Los Glaciares is a newer travel destination and most visitors go there in order to trek and get a view of majestic Cerro Fitz Roy and Cerro Torre. Unfortunately, both are very difficult to spot, since they are almost always covered by clouds. We met people who went three days in a row to finally see all of Cerro Fitz Roy, but still could not see Cerro Torre.
The taxi ride between El Calafate and El Chalten was much faster than what we thought it would be: it took us 2 hours and 40 minutes one way, instead of 4 to 4.5 hours on a bus. And it “only” cost 400 Pesos for three people, whereas the bus cost 300 Pesos, no big difference.
El Chalten is a rather weird little village. It seems that lots of people realized the potential of tourism and churned out hostals and restaurants of any shape and color. But basically there is nothing there except the trekking / mountain activities close by. Being there for the day we were glad that we did not decide to stay there for a few days.
Gilles and his two brothers Joel and Guy, together with Alain, Gilles’ father, Alexandra, Guy’s girlfriend and Heidi did a pleasant 1.5 hour walk to a Mirador from where we could see at least parts of Fitz Roy, the surrounding mountains and the glacier on the bottom.
On the way back the wind picked up and by the time we reached El Chalten, it had turned into a violent storm. Lots of people were then starting out on a longer hike, equipped with tents, ice picks and serious mountaineering gear. We truly admired their stamina.
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