13-day Best of Patagonia Tour

Welcome to El Calafate, the gateway to Los Glaciares National Park! If you’ve got time after travelling, you can go birdwatching at Laguna Nimes or visit the ice museum, perhaps with a drink at the ice bar included.

Start the Best of PAtagonia tour today with one of the park’s most-visited sites, the Perito Moreno Glacier. Drive to the port where you’ll take a boat to the glacier, giving you a unique view of its icy blue sheer sides. Keep an eye on the sky for condors and eagles!

Continue along the Canal de Los Témpanos to the northern face of the glacier. Pass Bahia Toro, a unique black sand beach, where you can disembark from the boat to enjoy a walk around this amazing area. A thundering waterfall is your endpoint, and here your guide will tell you all about the glacier you just saw. Grab a hot drink at the nearby cafe and spend some time adventuring on your own before departing the Perito Moreno area.

After breakfast, you’ll be off to a trailhead in the petrified forest. Walk while you learn about the geology of this unique area where dinosaurs roamed 70 million years ago.

After lunch, you’ll be transferred to El Chaltén, with the rest of the afternoon free to do as you please.

This morning, depart for the Piedras Blancas Glacier viewpoint for a beautiful start to your day. Continue to the Poincenot Campground, where mountaineers from all over the world camp between their adventures. After a break here, you’ll hike up to Laguna de los Tres. This is the closest you can get to Mount Fitz Roy without any technical climbing, and the view of the distinct jagged peaks atop the impossibly blue lake is truly one of the best in Patagonia.

Descend via Laguna Capri, another pretty spot. Celebrate your hike tonight at a local restaurant.

This morning on the Best of Patagonia Tour, you’ll drive to Lago del Desierto, a gorgeous trip to an even better location. Your kayaking instructor will teach you the basics once you arrive, and then you’re free to take to the water to explore the hanging Huemul Glacier and admire the surrounding mountains.

Enjoy some time to explore freely today as you hike to Laguna Torre without a guide (but with plenty of preparation from one!). You’ll pass through different kinds of forests and beside several small lakes along this relatively flat path, then drop into a glacial valley that leads to Laguna Torre. Geologists and photographers alike love this valley for its perfect U shape.

Admire the stellar sight of Laguna Torre framed by Mount Torre, one of the most difficult mountains to conquer in the world due in part to its permanent ice mushroom cap formed by strong, cold winds.

After lunch, you’ll head back to El Chaltén through the Fitz Roy Valley.

Your final adventure in Patagonia is another self-guided expedition, but this one starts right outside the front door of your hotel. Hike out along a lesser-walked trail that culminates in a 260-degree viewpoint of Fitz Roy, Viedma Lake, and the Patagonian steppe. What a view! Keep an eye out for marine fossils on the trail back.

You’ll bus back to El Calafate tonight to start a new leg of your adventure.

So long for now, Argentina! You’ll spend today travelling across the border to Puerto Natales, Chile. You’ll have some time in the evening to review the route for the next few days and ask any questions you may have.

Today you’ll start with a bus into Torres del Paine, driving across open steppe and passing estancias (ranches). You’ll drop your bags at a hotel and start hiking up to the Towers, ending at a large moraine with a perfect viewpoint. Enjoy lunch in this pristine place, admiring the aptly named Towers rising into the sky.

Return to the hut or campsite (depending where there’s availability) and enjoy dinner.

After breakfast, pack up your lunch and begin your hike, passing the Inge Lagoon, where condors like to hang out. Ascend towards the base of Almirante Nieto, crossing the Bader River. You’ll stop your hike at Refugio Los Cuernos, your overnight destination.

Fuel up at breakfast for a more challenging hike today. You’ll be trekking up to the Paine massif in the French Valley, a splendid natural basin surrounded by hanging glaciers and mountains. At the entrance to the valley, you’ll scramble over a few boulders and enter a dreamy lush area, relatively rare in this region. Continue to a viewpoint over the towering summits nearby, a truly sublime spot to have your picnic.

After lunch, skirt around the southwest side of Paine Grande, the park’s highest peak. You’ll hike through evergreen forests to tonight’s mountain hut.

Early this morning, begin hiking along a narrow path, passing sections of the huge Southern Patagonian Ice Field, a geological feature that actually hides a handful of unclimbed mountains. Hike up to the lookout point for Grey Glacier, a massive ice sheet flowing between summits. After lunch, you’ll board a boat to sail around the glacier, being treated to an up-close view of the lines and cracks.

You’ll end the night in Puerto Natales. Celebrate the end of your epic journey!

How incredible was that journey? After covering Patagonia from one side to the other, it’s time to head home. You can either fly out of Puerto Natales or return to El Calafate by bus.