Hard Truths:
- El Chaltén is a hiking hub = Expensive
- Airbnb’s and hotels book up fast in high season
- The road from El Calafate to El Chaltén is pretty desolate
- Estancias appear to be very elusive
- Cycling this road can be dangerous – Be Careful!
- Mount Fitzroy sometimes likes to hide
- Wifi isn’t great in the area
Can’t Miss:
- Mount Fitzroy
- Hiking, hiking and more hiking
I couldn’t travel to Patagonia without seeing the trademarked brand’s logo so, after El Calafate, the next stop was El Chaltén to see the majestic Mount Fitzroy. The drive is just under 4 hours, even less if the roads are empty which we found them to be.
Whether you choose to drive yourself or take a bus, bring whatever you need for the ride because there is pretty much nowhere to stop and nothing to see! I had read about all of the Estancias, or ranches, in the area that you can apparently visit. And I did see all these signs for them on our route, but there was literally no entrance or road! It was very strange, maybe they have secret entrances. I saw the one and only ‘town’ of La Leóna on the map so I figured it would be a good stop on the way. It turned out to be a restaurant! At least they did have the essentials: empanadas, cake, and toilets.
In addition to no stops, there isn’t much to see on this drive either. Get some good tunes or podcasts going for entertainment. If you do happen to blankly stare out of the window, you might see some guanacos, aka llamas, peeking out to say hello. Once you get to Lago Viedma the great Patagonia views you’d expect start to appear. The last stretch of road leading up to El Chaltén has spectacular views and on a nice day you can see Mount Fitzroy in the distance.
El Chaltén is a very cute, very tiny trekking town. It has a much better vibe than El Calafate, but apart from hiking, there’s not much to do, so you only need a few nights here max. Or enough time to get in all the hikes you crave. However, the après hike scene is pretty great. Typically everybody hikes early in the morning, so the bars are hopping by the afternoon. There are some great roof top bars and bars with outdoor seating, all with views of the infamous Mount Fitz (when he’s not hiding behind the clouds!). Most bars have local craft beer that is good enough to compete on a global scale (no idea why they don’t export). But prices are just as high as El Calafate (food, wine, and even beer, which is usually cheaper than water, can be 2-3 times more expensive than in other parts of the country such as Buenos Aires) since it’s another tourist hub.
It’s a very friendly town too. My friends and I shared a table with a Scottish couple at one of the bars and it turned out they lived in Brooklyn down the block from us! I love when travel proves how small the world really is!!
As expected, there are loads of hikes to choose from in the area. Check out All Trails to find the perfect hike to fit your wants and needs.
The most well known hikes are the ones that take you up close to Mount Fitzroy but they are pretty long and strenuous. Laguna de Los Tres is probably the most famous which is ~15 miles (24km) long and can take 8-10 hours and then there is also Laguna Torre which is ~11 miles (18km) and can take 7-9 hours. Being the most famous tends to make everything the most popular so these hikes can get very crowded during high season.
With the looming W Trek next on the agenda, I didn’t want to chance a long strenuous hike so opted for the Laguna Capri hike which is an abridged version of Laguna Torre. It’s around 5 miles (8km) and takes about 4-5 hours. Most of the hikes start at the trailhead at the end of the main road in town so it’s really easy to find.
We embarked on the uphill climb that starts the hike. It’s mostly rock stairs taking you up the ascent. Once it levels off you see the first sweeping views of the valley. It’s a great, and well needed, rest stop after the arduous climb. The trail then takes you along a ridge where Fitz peaks out in the distance on a clear day.
After walking for about 90 minutes the trail splits to form the loop of this hike. The signs show Laguna Capri to the left and Mirador del Fitz Roy to the right. We followed the Laguna Capri route. This direction doesn’t have much in the way of views. It’s mostly through the forest, but soon after, the lake appears with a gorgeous view. Since the weather in Patagonia is so temperamental it’s very hard to plan for a clear day. The clouds love to hang around and Fitz likes to hide behind them so you might not get to see this majestic mountain at all. When we went Fitz was hiding the entire day!
The other half of the loop has some amazing views which helped make up for the fact that we didn’t get to see the full force of Fitz. It’s a little hard to see the trail at times but even when you veer off you end up at another spectacular view point and can get right back on very easily.
As Fitz was hiding on our hike, we were determined to see this cheeky mountain before we left. Luckily the following morning it was a beautiful clear day so we decided to just do half the Laguna hike to get the perfect views. We had realized that following the Laguna Capri route when the trail spilts ends up with Fitz behind you once you pass the lake so you miss out on the mountain views. We decided to take a right at the fork towards Mirador del Fitz Roy and it was definitely the better way to go. I’d highly recommended taking this route and hopefully you’ll have a clear day to stare off at Fitz for this entire part of the hike!
Don’t Forget:
Restaurants: La Tapera, La Mafia, Rancho Grande, B&B Burger Bar, La Cerveceria
Bars: Fresco bar, Cayetano Bar, La Vineria, La Cava
Hotels: Destino Sur Hotel, Los Cerros Boutique Hotel, Los Cerros Boutique Hotel,, Air BnB
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