Patagonia is a vast region, spanning two countries, with thousands of lakes and glaciers. I visited only the area around the towns of El Calafate and El Chaltén. I chose this spot for several reasons. First, on the map it looked like it had more glaciers than other areas. Second, Ushuaia and Bariloche seemed like they were already too well known. Third, flights to El Calafate were affordable.

Check out my articles about El Chaltén in Fodor’s Travel, Wander With Wonder, Thrifty Nomads and Pedacitos!

The other reason to go to El Chaltén is the the numerous hiking trails that leave directly from town. On this trip I was traveling by bus and plane, but not renting a car (for both environmental and budgetary reasons). The airport is in El Calafate, which Matador Network rated as the third best hiking town in the world. However, I do disagree with the rating. El Chaltén is much better for hiking than El Calafate, and it’s only a two hour bus ride away!

The only day I had scheduled for El Calafate, I signed up with Latina Azul for a full day boat ride around to visit several glaciers. Below are just a few of the many beautiful photos I shot of the glaciers.

El Chaltén, Patagonia

Your first stop in El Chaltén should be at the park ranger station, where you can get all the information you need about hikes in the area. There is also an interpretive garden of native plants, each labeled with common and scientific names and other information. At the ranger station you can also learn about the wildlife common in the area and the best places to spot them. The most popular is the huemul, a small deer endemic to the area. Unfortunately, there aren’t many left and I didn’t see one during my week there. However, I did spot several wild hares, foxes and lots of birds. The other important piece of information I got was that you can drink the water just about anywhere near the glaciers. On every trail I found springs to fill my water bottle and even drank directly from a few glacial streams. Below are the trail maps for the hikes I went on.

Full story about El Chaltén coming soon!

The Fitz Roy and Poincenot peaks are so striking that I couldn’t help taking dozens of photos: in the morning, in the evening, with clouds, with a clear blue sky, with the sunset, from the east, from the south … you get the idea. I would have spent a lot more time taking pictures of them, if I didn’t also have glaciers and lakes and icebergs to capture my attention. Below are just a few of my favorites of Fitz Roy and Poincenot.