The ice crunches underfoot as they balance on metal crampons clinging to trekking shoes.
Among caves, cracks and turquoise lagoons
, thoughts run wild and imagine ancient expeditions to the poles and… The voice of the guide brings you back to the cold reality: more than an hour of walking on the
Perito Moreno glacier
, in
Santa Cruz
.
"Here the soul is purified," encourages Esteban, who makes this excursion twice a day, but patiently explains how to climb up or down the steep ground.
During the Ice & Adventure minitrekking, you have to pay attention, walk in line, wear gloves for the ice splinters and leave the photos for the group stops.
Luckily, this morning there are no traces of the "unnameable", as they call the wind in these Patagonian latitudes because when it starts to blow you don't know when it will go away and it is annoying.
Minitrekking on the Perito Moreno glacier, in Santa Cruz.
PD photo
Like all excursions in
El Calafate
, this one also begins with the search for passengers in the city located 80 km from
Los Glaciares National Park
.
Once you reach the Bajo de las Sombras port, you embark for about 20 minutes to cross Lake Rico and reach the imposing south face of Perito Moreno.
A group of mountain guides lead the group to a refuge with lockers where the travelers leave their backpacks, they are given the necessary information and the trekking begins!
At all times, the concepts of glaciology, safety talks and practical advice are being qualified.
With the blue tones of the ice, the earth and the sediments that make up the landscape, groups with helmets and crampons are organized upon reaching the edge of the glacier, which begin to walk on this frozen terrain, of medium difficulty and declared a World Heritage Site. .
The
surface of the ice is irregular but it is firm and safe
, and during the walk, several of the typical formations of a glacier can be appreciated, from deep cracks, sinkholes (circular wells that are enlarged and deepened by the action of the running water) to streams and huge seracs (cracks that appear as a jagged and chaotic accumulation of walls of ice).
There are also stops at viewpoints to the mountains and Lake Argentino.
The refuge to rest after the minitrekking in the Perito Moreno.
PD photo
The tour ends with the classic toast:
whiskey is served with ice from the glacier
(previously, it is combined in a bowl with a spout) and a chocolate.
Then, with your feet on the ground, you cross a Patagonian Andean forest through wooden paths until you reach the refuge, have your own lunch and have a coffee.
From there, you take the boat again and walk through the footbridges of the National Park before returning to the starting point in El Calafate.
In case tourists choose to go by their own means, the mini-trekking lasts approximately 4 hours and a half, with departure and arrival at the Port.
land of glaciers
Declared a World Heritage Site by Unesco in 1981 and with 726,927 hectares,
Los Glaciares is the largest of the Argentine national parks
and preserves an area of continental ice and glaciers, with southern Andean-Patagonian forest and some sectors of Patagonian steppe.
Los Glaciares National Park, in Santa Cruz.
PD photo
Precisely, on the road from El Calafate to Perito Moreno, the immensity of the steppe is covered in the first 40 km and you can even see groups of guanacos.
And as you arrive at the Park, you can already see the tree vegetation and the temperature changes.
Upon entering and looking at the signs to decide which of the circuits to start walking through, the first thing that is explained is that Lake
Argentino
is the southernmost of the great lakes of Argentine Patagonia.
With almost 1,500 km² and a depth of several hundred meters (a sector exceeds 700 meters), the mirror of water has arms that go into the Cordillera and in them tributaries of southern Patagonian ice discharge glaciers.
These glaciers detach icebergs that later drift towards the main body of the lake, in the arid zone of the steppe and the plateaus.
There are four circuits in the National Park
, differentiated by colors: the Central (yellow) has a low complexity, it extends 600 meters and it takes 1 hour to cover it;
the Lower (red) covers 1,100 meters, is more difficult and takes 1 hour 15;
the Del Bosque (green), medium complexity, takes 45 minutes and measures 570 meters;
the De la Costa (blue), medium and is the longest with 1,117 meters and a walk of 1 hour 30.
The Perito Moreno Glacier, the star of Los Glaciares National Park.
PD photo
Each one chooses whether to walk one of the paths along the stepped walkways, with wooden railings and metal floors.
Or everyone.
One hears one's own footsteps, distant and soft voices (no one shouts in a contemplative destination, where people sit down to drink mate and look at the ice) and some explosions that you don't know if they seem like thunder or dynamite.
They are the
continuous detachments of the glacier
, which fall into the water with a roar.
Why is this glacier so famous?
The guides' question finds three interrelated reasons: Perito Moreno acquires tourist relevance due to its easy access, proximity and accessibility;
for its stability, balance;
and because it is the protagonist of a natural phenomenon called rupture.
Facing the Magallanes Peninsula, the glacier has the Brazo Rico on one side and the Canal de los Témpanos on the other.
According to what they explain to the travelers, it is on the move and many times it goes up to the peninsula and becomes a natural barrier.
When the water level rises for several months, it generates a leak that becomes the famous arch.
Los Glaciares National Park has several circuits.
PD photo
In Los Glaciares National Park, the landscape is completed by the presence of lagoons and melting rivers, lakes and imposing hills such as El Chaltén or Fitz Roy and El Torre.
While the Perito Moreno glacier is close to 30 km long and has a front of 4 to 5 km on the southern arm of Lake Argentino, the Chaltén hill measures 3,405 meters and is a destination sought after by climbers around the world.
In the forests, the lenga, the ñire and the guindo stand out.
As you descend from the mountain ranges you will find the calafate (thorny shrub whose flowers give off an intense aroma) and the notro (its showy red flowers are visited by the ruby hummingbird and insects).
In turn, to the east of the Park is the Patagonian steppe with its characteristic grasslands and thorny bushes.
Among the birds, the Andean condor, the Moorish eagle, the giant woodpecker, the pitio and the torrent duck stand out;
and among mammals, the red fox and the puma.
In addition, the emblematic huemul stands out, a deer that has its southernmost population in this place, it is a species considered in danger of extinction and declared a National Natural Monument in 1996.
Undoubtedly, of all the information absorbed in the last day, perhaps this is the most surprising fact:
the surface of the glacier is 254 km²
, making it larger than the City of Buenos Aires.
Hours go by and it's hard to assimilate.
The entrance and the free van service of Glaciarium.
PD photo
The ice Age
A good place to better understand the impressive landscapes traveled is
Glaciarium
.
It is worth spending half a day getting to know this cultural and scientific center where the latest research on glaciers and their environment is disseminated.
About 6 km from El Calafate, there are
free shuttles
that run regularly from the city center.
Within its spaces it has thematic areas and audiovisual exhibitions, as well as a permanent exhibition dedicated to climate change.
“It is the first glacier interpretation center in South America inspired by one of the most fascinating expressions that nature can offer: ice”
.
The Glaciarium museum offers free transportation from El Calafate.
PD photo
With this sign, the museum welcomes visitors, who begin to tour the different interpretation rooms, which explain the anatomy of a glacier, why ice is blue, what an iceberg is, and the global distribution of glaciers. .. There are panels about the formation of ice, the history of explorers and scientists, photographs and a large model of the Southern Patagonian Ice Field.
In addition, the area in honor of Francisco P. Moreno, the sector dedicated to the Perito Moreno Glacier and its behavior, interactive screens that allow viewing the
54-year retreat of Uppsala
, a documentary in the auditorium and a tunnel with projections that warn about global warming.
If visitors have time, it is worth taking a guided tour at the Glaciarium.
As the tour closes, the words of the American philosopher and naturalist Henry David Thoreau remain resounding,
“...not a single snowflake escapes the shaping hand of nature”
.
The ship María Turquesa sails between icebergs and glaciers.
Photo Marpatag Cruises
One day of navigation
“It is the most complete excursion and, thanks to a fast and comfortable boat,
we can get to see more than 10 glaciers in a single day
: Upsala and its tributaries, Spegazzini, Peineta, Heim, Seco, Mayo, Perito Moreno... ”, affirms Pablo Quinteros, guide of the Los Glaciares National Park, aboard the ship María Turquesa of the cruise company Marpatag.
The full-day tour begins from the moment you leave El Calafate behind and cross the infinite steppe, heading towards Punta Bandera.
After the visitors pay separately for the entrance to Los Glaciares National Park (this is always the case on excursions), they get on board the boat that will tour Lake Argentino.
4-step menu on board the Marpatag navigation.
PD photo
The company also offers a Premium service, with infusions and non-alcoholic beverages throughout the tour, an exclusive balcony to observe the glaciers, access to the command bridge and a four-course lunch with wine and coffee.
To the delight of Israeli, Austrian, Mexican, Australian and American diners, among other nationalities, the menu includes delicious Patagonian lamb.
The icebergs seen on the boardwalks and from the walkways of Los Glaciares National Park.
PD photo
Among white and bluish icebergs, the navigation through Lake Argentino covers a route through the North Arm, passing a few meters from the imposing
Spegazzini glacier
, with walls 1.3 km wide, 17 km long and an approximate area of 134 km2.
The front of this glacier remained stable between 1968 and 2010, and in the southern sector of the front it retreated only 150 meters.
The Spegazzini is resting on the bottom of the lake, which in this area is about 150 meters, and is characterized by a 135-meter high wall that gives off icebergs of fascinating shapes and colors.
A classic: passengers take photos as if they were holding up the towering wall of ice.
The Spegazzini glacier, with its high walls.
Photo Shutterstock
Very different is the case of
Uppsala
, which can be seen from afar in a panoramic way and which has lost 49 km2 in 24 years, reaching 847 km2 in 2010.
When passengers disembark at
Puesto de Las Vacas,
they take a 45-minute walk to learn about the history of the ranches, sheep farming, wool production, and how Patagonia was populated.
And how in this area of the Cordillera some people brought cows, they were left loose in the place and they are trying to eradicate them.
This position has been abandoned since 1996, and its last inhabitant was the Finn Harry Hilden.
Returning to the María Turquesa ship -which has bilingual guides, restrooms, central heating and games for children-, the guide explains that we have navigated through the Canal de los Témpanos of Lake Argentino towards the north wall of the Perito Moreno Glacier.
In the ship María Turquesa de Marpatag, to see the glaciers.
PD photo
"Sometimes, this glacier forms an ice dam that does not allow the water from the Brazo Rico to pass in the direction of the Canal de los Témpanos, the water level rises and a rupture begins until both parts of the lake level off."
The guide Pablo Quinteros witnessed the rupture in 2004, but remember that in 2006 it happened at night, in 2008 in the morning and not many people came to see it, in 2012 he had no witnesses either because the phenomenon occurred at dawn...
The last times were in 2016 and in 2018, which was the last time.
"The same in those days one is observing the whole process," he notes before telling that the lake does not freeze and it can be navigated throughout the year and before explaining to a French tourist what several passengers are taking: "Mate ”.
dinner in the cave
"The vertical ravines are covered with signs traced by the hand of man... up to this Argentino Lake and the painted figures that I copied from the abrupt and vertical walls of Punta Walicho, the name I have given to this promontory."
The fragment of Viaje de la Patagonia Austral, by Francisco P. Moreno in 1876, takes on great relevance in one of the Nativo Experience excursions to the Walicho Caves.
It is a
4x4 journey on the shores of Lake Argentino
, with panoramic views, and a tour of an archaeological site with
rock art more than 4 thousand years old
.
Then lunch or dinner is served, according to the contracted schedule.
Crossing in 4x4 to Cuevas de Walicho.
PD photo
“Very tall and corpulent, the Tehuelches or Patagonians -as Magallanes calls them- were nomads and hunted guanacos with boleadoras.
These animals served as food, clothing and tools.
This is a reproduction of his house (Kau)”.
Guide Pol points out a canopy of branches covered with guanaco skin, easy to transport.
Then, the group advances to a panel of anthropomorphic figures painted in reddish tones on the yellowish rocks.
You can see men, hands and other objects that were shaped with iron oxide, their own urine and the marrow of the guanaco.
During the late sunset, the wind blows strongly: the turquoise waves of Lake Argentino remind of the sea, the visitors wrap up in ponchos and the organizers serve dinner in an adjoining cave.
Lamb in country bread, dinner in a cave.
PD photo
Pumpkin soup, lamb casserole in country bread and chocolate mouse, with drinks.
An unforgettable experience.
It is recommended to save a day to enjoy the streets of the city, buying regional products in the shops (dulce de calafate, liquor, chocolates, alfajores) and enjoying the gastronomy of El Calafate, from the traditional lamb to trout and guanaco , in addition to calafate ice cream and the most varied desserts.
In addition, you can visit the nearby
Laguna Nimez Reserve
, on the shores of Lake Argentino.
It is a wetland that is home to a variety of flora and almost a hundred water, land, raptor, shore and migratory birds.
Bird watching in the Laguna Nimez Reserve.
Photo Shutterstock
With attention to the visitor and brochures, this Important Area for the Conservation of Birds (AICA) offers an interpretative and self-guided path of 3 km of easy travel, with viewpoints and observatories of species.
Legend has it that whoever eats the fruits of the calafate will return to Patagonia.
I hope it's true.
MINIGUIDE
How to get.
By Aerolíneas Argentinas, the flight to El Calafate costs $29,000 pesos with taxes.
They also fly Flybondi and JetSmart.
At the airport there are shared and private transport services to get to the city.
Where to stay
A double room in a hotel costs from $13,000 and there are a wide variety of options, including the hostel.
The ship María Turquesa, from Marpatag.
PD photo
Excursions and walks.
-Marpatag full day navigation: Classic option with lunch, $39,500.
The Gourmet Glaciers excursion, $75,000, with the additional Premium of $35,500.
Children from 5 to 15 years old, 50% discount.
Transfers, $7,000.
The Argentino Lake is navigated, near the Spegazzini, Upsala, Mayo, Seco, Heim and Peineta glaciers, among others.
Through the Canal de Los Témpanos you reach the north wall of Perito Moreno.
Landing and walk in Puesto de Las Vacas.
The boat has a games room, toilets and heating.
The Premium service includes an exclusive external balcony to see glaciers, access to the command bridge, herbal teas, drinks and a 4-course menu with typical flavors such as Patagonian lamb (crucerosmarpatag.com; +549 2966 725682).
-Mini Trekking on the Perito Moreno Glacier with navigation.
For people from 8 to 65 years old.
Bring a lunch box, waterproof and warm clothing, trekking shoes, sunglasses, sunscreen and gloves.
It costs $42,000 and transfers $7,000 (www.hieloyaventura.com; +549 2966-722215).
-Walicho Caves: Deep Patagonia in 4x4, archaeological site and lunch/dinner in the cave, $19,000 (www.patagoniaprofunda.com; +549 2902 403005).
-Entrance to the Glaciarium, $3,500 with discounts for retirees and minors.
Free transfer from El Calafate (www.glaciarium.com).
-Entrance to Los Glaciares National Park: national tourists, $1,500;
minors from 6 to 16 years old, $750;
foreigners, $5,500.
Retirees, pensioners and people with reduced capacity, free.
Where to find out:
elcalafate.tur.ar
info@elcalafate.tur.ar
info.elcalafate.redes@gmail.com
Facebook / Instagram: @elcalafatetierradeglaciares
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