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GROUP SIZE 4 -14
OCTOBER TO MARCH
13 DAYS
2020-2021
TALK TO A LOCAL TRAVEL EXPERT
In the Patagonia Trekking Tour we visit Fitz Roy and Cerro Torre, may be the two most emblematic mountains of Patagonia. Then we move to the Perito Moreno Glacier (only one in the world that shows a closure and rupture process) and Torres del Paine National Park in Chile. We eventually drive back to El Calafate.
Patagonia Trekking Tour is a tour for those willing to enjoy Patagonia at a closer, deeper level, with a group where you will certainly make friends along the way. It has no demanding passages nor risky paths, and virtually anyone can take it, it just requires the will to approach this sort of tourism as a balanced mix of outdoors, comfort and nature caring.
Private transfer from El Calafate airport to your hotel
Start your Patagonia Trekking Tour in El Calafte. We welcome you at the airport and transfer to town to check in at your accommodation. You get the rest of the day to enjoy the town and later you have your welcome dinner.
Private transfer from El Calafate to your hotel in El Calten
The second day of the Patagonia Trekking Tour, the adventure starts. After breakfast we take our bus for the 220 km long drive to El Chaltén, a small and picturesque village at the foot of Fitz Roy & Cerro Torre massif. We make a stop half way to enjoy local pastries and hot coffee. Once in El Chaltén, we start our trek. We carry in our packs only the necessary items for these 2 nights and 3 days in which we’ll overnight in our Full Camps inside the National Park. What we don’t need is left behind at our office and you will find it back at your accommodation when we arrive back to El Chaltén on day 4. We hike up a gentle slope on Fitz Roy trail to gain height over the River de las Vueltas valley up to the first viewpoints over Fitz Roy massif, which we will first spot after a couple of hours walking. From these first viewpoints, another 2 hours of gentle walking across bogs and forests take us to our camp, from where we will enjoy a spectacular view of all the Fitz Roy group spires rising from the surrounding glaciers.
Lodging: Full Camp
Provided meals: Breakfast, Box Lunch, Dinner
Full Camps are pitched up early in the season, so we find the camp ready upon arrival. It offers comfortable igloo type tents for 1 or 2 passengers, with insulation mat and sleeping bags. The camp also features a spacious dinning tent, a kitchen tent, tables, benches or chairs and a full set of table service and kitchenware. The sanitary services are latrine-type (rural area).
Enjoy the stunning landscapes in this Patagonia Trekking Tour. Early in the morning, before the first coffee, we can try to match up the morning light getting pink in Fitz Roy granite walls. You only need this to feel the trip is worthwhile. But of course the day offers much more.
After breakfast, carrying only day personal items such as our parka, gloves, our camera, water bottle and box lunch, we hike along Fitz Roy trail up to Rio Blanco, climbers basecamp to the east side of the mountain. From here a steep 1 hour trail leads us to one of the most spectaculars viewpoints of the National Park: Laguna de los Tres, with its zephyr blue color, lies at the foot of the massif, offering full close up views of Fitz Roy massif spires and glaciers. Each wall raises something from 600 to 1500 mts above the surrounding glaciers. Fitz Roy, with its 3405 mts above sea level, is considered the “King of Patagonia” and also considered one of the three most beautiful mountains on Earth (together with Alpamayo in Perú and K2 in the Karakoram). We hike back to our camp in the late afternoon. Walking time is 5 to 6 hs.
Lodging: Full Camp
Provided meals: Breakfast, Box Lunch, Dinner
Today we walk south along Lagoons Madre and Hija Valley and down to Fitz Roy river valley, where we meet Cerro Torre trail. The trail runs along beech forest, bogs and shrubland and leads to Laguna Torre, enclosed by moraines and with Glacier Grande calving in its west side. It is usual to see icebergs pushed by the wind in the coast of the lagoon. The thin and elegant 3128 mts of Cerro Torre group and the Adela range in the background complete this spectacular view. In the afternoon we hike back to El Chalten along Cerro Torre trail to finish the 4th day of your Patagonia Trekking Tour.
Lodging: Lodge
Provided meals: Breakfast, Box Lunch
One of the most renowed mountains of this Patagonia Trekking Tour is Cerro Torre of 1500 mts tall, is located immediately south of Cerro Torre valley and offers some of the best views over the different group of mountains, glaciers and lakes that features the area. From the lower terraces to the summit, you can get spectacular views of Fitz Roy, Torre and the spectacular glacier valley in between both. From the summit the bonus is the sight of Paso del Viento and some of the mountains that stick out from the Patagonian Icefield. According to the group capacity, we choose the lower terraces or try the summit, a long but gentle climb in scree. The lower part of the mountain is covered by shrubland and forest. We are back in Chalten by late afternoon.
Lodging: Lodge
Provided meals: Breakfast, Box Lunch
Private transfer from El Chalten to your hotel in El Calafate
This day is at leisure to visit the town or to go on optional excursions around the area. In the late afternoon, we return to El Calafate.
Lodging: Lodge
Provided meals: Breakfast
We dedicate this day of Patagonia Trekking Tour to one of the World’s Natural Wonder: the Moreno glacier. This ice field- type glacier flows down from the Patagonian Icefield, a big sheet of ice that with its 22.000 square kilometers is the third largest glacier area in the world, after Antarctica (14 M sq km) and Greenland (1 M sq km). Because unusual favorable local conditions, this glacier is the only one in the world that shows a closure and rupture process. The road leads to the very front of the glacier, which will be only meters away from your eyes. The roar of the chunks of ice falling inside the glacier or from the glacier into the lake, the frequent collapse of the front seracs into the turquoise water, makes out of this day a very special and unique experience.
Lodging: Lodge
Provided meals: Breakfast
Transfer from El Calafate to Torres del Paine
Today the Patagonia Trekking Tour starts early for a 6 hs drive to our camp in Paine. We drive across the patagonic steppe, still following by parts the legendary route 40, to get around Sierra de los Baguales, an impressive range in between Calafate and Paine. We cross the Argentinean Chilean border at Cancha Carrera/ Cerro Castillo. After the border crossing, we start our final sprint to Paine National Park, World Heritage by the UNESCO (United Nations Education, Science and Culture Organization). Approaching the Park, we start to see the different mountains that feature the area: Paine Grande, the Horns, Admiral Nieto and the Towers. Once we entered the Park, we go for a short 1 to 2 hs walk to get familiar with the landscape, the wind and the rich wildlife: guanacos, lesser rheas, condors and all types of wetland and buzzard birds will be available for our eyes and cameras. Also lots of flowers. Back in the bus, we reach our camp at the foot of Paine massif.
Lodging: Full Camp
Provided meals: Breakfast, Box Lunch, Dinner
Full Camps are pitched up early in the season, so we find the camp ready upon arrival. It offers comfortable igloo type tents for 1 or 2 passengers, with insulation mat and sleeping bags. The camp also features a spacious dinning tent, a kitchen tent, tables, benches or chairs and a full set of table service and kitchenware (area with sanitary services).
Early in the morning we start walking towards the bridge over the Ascensio river, headtrail for the world famous Paine towers. We “warm up” hiking a steep one hour slope, to get inside the valley itself, a narrow “V” shape alpine valley coming from inside the Paine massif. A gentle downhill leads us to Refugio Chileno, a cozy and comfortable mountain lodge, which can be a good turnaround point for those not willing to make a full day hike. We then walk in a gentle slope along the river side and inside beech forest. A final climb on moraine take us to the Towers viewpoint: a glacier origin lagoon and the three towers rising vertically 1000 mts from the glacier. The lack of breath will be either because the climb and the sight!!!! We go back to our camp on the same way we came. Walking time: 7 to 8 hs. Lodging: Full Camp Provided meals: Breakfast, Box Lunch, Dinner
Early in the morning a 1 h drive takes us to Port Pudeto to board the catamarán that crosses lake Pehoe twice a day. Once at the far side of the lake, we leave unnecessary items in our tents and we set out to the French Valley trail. The trail skirts Paine Grande south slopes and lake Skottberg, to take us after 2 hs and a half of continuous ups and downs, to the hanging bridge upon the French River. This breathtaking location is at the foot of both the 2700 mts south east face of Paine Grande (to the west) and the Horns, with its characteristic black sedimentary topping, to the east. We continue walking 1 h further by Italian camp to reach breathtaking viewpoints over the area. After lunch and photos we retrace our steps back to Paine Grande Full Camp. Walking time: 5 to 6 hs.
Lodging: Full Camp
Provided meals: Breakfast, Box Lunch, Dinner
Lake Grey trail leads from Pehoe valley across ridges to reach Grey valley. This magnificent valley flows down 60 km from the Patagonian Icefield, featuring the huge glacier calving down in the grey colour lake. Our trail skirts the lake, going up and down the westerns slopes of Paine Grande, offering some of the most impressive sights of the Park. From the high sections of the trail, many different viewpoints allow us to see the south end of the lake where the blue icebergs gather, the mountains rising far in the distance above glaciers Grey and Tyndall, and of course lake and glacier Grey. We reach the main viewpoint, a rocky point somewhat 2 hs away from Pehoe, with views over the Lake and Glacier Grey and the surrounding glaciers and mountains. We come back along the same trail, crossing bogs, shrublands and forest. By noon we take the boat to cross lake Pehoe back and then we go to our accommodation in Puerto Natales, a picturesque fishermen town located in the shores of the Ultima Esperanza (Last Hope) fiord.
Lodging: Lodge
Provided meals: Breakfast, Box Lunch.
Transfer from Puerto Natales to El Calafate
We leave early in the morning Puerto Natales, as our fellow travelers are going south in a long drive today and we are getting back to the border to reenter Argentina and drive back to El Calafate. Upon arrival to El Calafate you will be met by our staff and transferred to you accommodation. The rest of the day is at your own to visit town.
Lodging: Lodge
Provided meals: Breakfast.
After breakfast we transfer to El Calafate airport where our services ends.
Provided meals: Breakfast.
Included services
• Receptive service upon arrival.
• Bilingual tour leader during all the activities
• Mountain guides while on trek
• Moreno Glacier excursion
• Lake Pehoe boat trips (in and out)
• All transfers El Calafate airport – El Calafate – El Chalten – El Calafate – Torres del Paine – Puerto Natales – El Calafate – El Calafate Airport
• During the trip we combine private and regular buses.
Services not included
• Entrance fees to National Parks
• Medical and life insurance
• Tips
• Drinks and beverages (all foods are without alcoholic or non alcoholic drinks)
• Flights or airport taxes
• Optional excursions. The recommended optional activities match the timetable of our program
• Services not shown or detailed in the program.
Recommended gear
• Backpack, 50 lts or so
• Thermal underwear
• Trekking shoes or boots
• Trekking pants
• Fleece
• Softshell jacket
• Parka and overpants
• Gaiters
• Gloves
• Termal socks
• The necessary spare cloth
• Wool hat
• Sun hat
• Sun glasses
• Sun screen (UV is very strong during the southern spring, from september thru december)
• Personal items
• Lamp
• Trekking poles (recommended, if you are use to them)
• Personal medication
• Personal documents to cross the border between Argentina and Chile.
Notes
The company holds the right of changing the itinerary or cancel any of the activities when any natural cause (or any other cause of any type) justifies it in order to look after the group safety.
Contact a destination specialist, who will take the time to fully understand your preferences and ideas and turn them into the perfect itinerary for you according to your budget. The itinerary can be modified as many times as you want until you are completely happy with the result.
Call us or use the contact form below and tell us about your ideal journey.
We will create a detailed itinerary based on your preferences.
We work with you to refine the itinerary until it's exactly what you're looking for.
Once you arrive at your destination, you will enjoy every experience for as long as you travel with us.
Contact a destination specialist, who will take the time to fully understand your preferences and ideas and turn them into the perfect itinerary for you according to your budget. The itinerary can be modified as many times as you want until you are completely happy with the result.
We only use the info you provide to us to communicate with you about your trip. We will never sell or pass on your info to third parties.
