Spectacular Day Hikes in El Chalten, Patagonia

Situated in the stunning northern reaches of Patagonia’s Los Glaciares National park and tucked under the shadow of Mount Fitz Roy, sits the tiny mountain town of El Chalten.

The area around El Chalten encapsulates everything that travelers love about Patagonia. It is home to hanging glaciers, sculpted mountains, and crystalline lakes. One would be hard pressed to find a town with a more picturesque setting.

During Patagonia’s summer, El Chalten bursts with backpackers and outdoor enthusiasts who flock to the area for the abundant hiking and climbing opportunities that lie at the town’s fingertips. Made popular for its proximity to some of South America’s most striking scenery, El Chalten is a magnet of sorts for hikers, adventure-seekers and longterm travelers.

I understood El Chalten’s magnetic pull the moment I stepped foot in my hostel and met my bunk-mate–a passionate and enthusiastic Argentine named Nancy. “This place is like a paradise!” She kept crying, over and over and over again. “I never want to leave! It is just paradise!”

 

EL CHALTEN ARGENTINA

El Chalten is to Argentina what Torres del Paine is to Chile. Both are havens for hikers. Both contain a melange of craggy, glacier-crowned mountains draped in glistening waterfalls. Both offer varied terrain, from scrubland to windblown cliffs and from rolling meadows to glacial lakes. Both offer spectacular views that are difficult to capture in pictures and impossible to describe in words.

And yet, while I loved both Torres del Paine and El Chalten, my experiences in the two popular hiking meccas were entirely different. Torres del Paine is remote and more difficult to access. Hiking in the park requires preparation, forethought and gear that is suitable for unpredictable weather.

On the other hand, hiking in El Chalten is made easier by the fact that most of the scenic trails leave from town and can be explored as day hikes. Thus, warm hostel beds and hearty food options are never more than 30km away. For those who feel more comfortable taking day trips rather than carrying their homes on their backs, El Chalten offers a great alternative to trekking in Torres del Paine.

 

POPULAR HIKES IN EL CHALTEN

El Chalten is a mecca for day hikers and backpackers alike. The town is the starting point for the challenging Paso del Viento trail, as well as a launching pad for spectacular day hikes to the glacial lakes at the base of Mount Fitz Roy.

Though there are many El Chalten hikes that cater to varying levels of fitness, the lengthy day hikes to Cerro Torre (~24km) and Laguna de Los Tres (~30km), are among the most popular in the park.

 

• DAY HIKE TO LAGUNA TORRE FROM EL CHALTEN

On our first day in El Chalten, Dan and I decided to hike the popular trail to the base of Laguna Torre. Roundtrip, the hike to Laguna Torre from El Chalten is about 24km long and takes hikers along the Rio Fitz Roy, to the base of the towers. The area around the Rio Fitz Roy is home to a colorful array of birds. Throughout the hike, Dan and I kept our eyes peeled for colorful woodpeckers and other signs of wildlife.

During our day hike to Cerro Torre, we followed the river through forests and over hills, using the jagged mountain peaks as our compass. We could see the serrated peaks throughout the hike–rising dramatically above the wide valleys and windswept landscapes.

When we reached the lake, we sat in the shade of the mountains for a while, admiring the floating chunks of ice and watching the clouds dart around Cerro Torre’s towering granite spires.

After admiring the surrounding scenery from the lakeshore, Dan and I decided to continue hiking up a ridge toward an unmarked lookout. We scrambled up rocks and over loose scree to discover sweeping views of a large glacier that flows down the mountainside.

Though the overcast skies cast a grey shadow around us and muted the colors of the landscape, we counted ourselves lucky that we were able to dodge Patagonia’s notorious wind and rain for yet another day.

 

• DAY HIKE TO LAGUNA DE LOS TRES

The following morning, we were even luckier when the cloud cover lifted during our longer and more strenuous 30km hike to Laguna de Los Tres. On our second day of hiking in El Chalten, light drenched our surroundings in color–bringing out the greens of the trees, the turquoise of the water and the varying shades of grey and brown in the cliffs.

Laguna de Los Tres is the most famous day hike around El Chalten. Like the trail we took the previous day, it crosses over riverbeds and through forests, offering hikers breathtaking views of the serrated peaks that rise above the Earth like jagged teeth.

As we neared the laguna at the base of Mount Fitz Roy, the trail became steeper and steeper, until I found myself practically scrambling 1.5km up the vertical side of a mountain.

For a moment, I wished that the brilliant sun would disappear behind the clouds and give me some relief from the heat.

Then, I saw the peaks in all their colorful glory and reminded myself that seeing them basked in sunlight would be worth the pools of sweat, the burning in my legs and the prodding in my head.

And was it ever.

From the summit of the hike, we were rewarded with spectacular views of Cerro Fitz Roy. Rising from the turquoise waters of the lagoon, the mountain’s jagged spires pierce the sky, poking and prodding the swirling clouds.

We hiked around the lakeshore and scrambled over boulders–exhausted and sore, yet driven forward by the promise of beautiful panoramas and by the ever-expanding views of the adjacent Laguna Sucia.

 

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El Chalten is one of the world’s greatest hiking meccas. From its small cluster of hostels and guesthouses, outdoor enthusiasts can explore a number of spectacular day hikes and long treks around the base of the iconic Mount Fitz Roy—Argenitina’s most beloved mountain.

Along with the towers in Torres del Paine and the vertical wall of the Perito Moreno Glacier, the Mount Fitz Roy range is an iconic symbol of Patagonia. It is these peaks that inspired the logo for Yvon Chouinard’s popular clothing brand, Patagonia. And it is this raw and wild scenery that draws thousands of visitors annually to the tiny and otherwise sleepy village of El Chalten.

As we waved goodbye to Patagonia and headed toward the airport en-route to Buenos Aires, I couldn’t help but think that our hostel-mate, Nancy, was right.

El Chalten really is a little slice of glacier-studded, granite-spired paradise on Earth.

 

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