EL CHALTEN TRAVEL GUIDE 🏔️🤩 | What to Do in El Chalten, Argentina

Welcome to El Chalten! Affectionately known as “the trekking capital of Argentina”, this town is surrounded by epic mountain peaks, granite spires and turquoise rivers waiting to be explored. If you’re coming here, it’s understood that you’re planning to hit the trails!

Most travellers to El Chalten are looking to catch a glimpse of two of the most iconic peaks: Mount Fitz Roy and Cerro Torre. However, there are loads of trails that lead to glacial lagoons, waterfalls and lookouts where you can see condors.

In this travel guide, we’re going to share some of the best things to do in El Chalten, and that includes some epic hikes, places to eat, where to stay, plus some practical travel tips. So let’s dive right in!

Things to Do in El Chalten, Argentina
00:46 - Getting to El Chalten from El Calafate
02:00 - Mirador de Los Condores
03:24 - Laguna de los Tres / Laguna Capri
06:07 - Laguna Torre
09:23 - Chorrillo del Salto Waterfall
11:10 - Mirador de las Aguilas

Where to Stay in El Chalten
11:44 - Vertical Lodge

Where to Eat in El Chalten
13:02 - Senderos
13:47 - La Cerveceria Chalten
14:30 - La Zorra Taproom
15:58 - La Wafleria
17:08 - Curcuma

Getting to El Chalten

The only way to reach El Chalten is via El Calafate, so you’ll have to fly into Comandante Armando Tola International Airport (FTE). You’ll then need to catch a bus, taxi, or rent a car to continue onwards to El Chalten.

Mirador de los Condores

We’re starting with the hike to Mirador de los Condores, because it’s an easy way to ease into El Chalten. This is the hike that we tackled on our first afternoon in town.

This is a short and easy hike that rewards you with great views all around. You get a nice perspective of the town from here, plus, if the clouds cooperate, you can see some impressive mountain peaks.

Laguna de los Tres

Now let’s talk about the most impressive hike we did: Laguna de los Tres! This hike is one of the most spectacular treks in El Chaltén and for good reason; it leads up to this beautiful lagoon with a glacier and three towering peaks in the background.

The name Laguna de los Tres translates to Lagoon of the Three, and it refers to the three peaks you see behind the lagoon: Fitz Roy, Poincenot, and Saint-Exupéry.

I’m not going to lie to you, this trek is hard and it challenged us. The duration of the hike will vary depending on your pace and level of fitness, but it generally takes between 8 to 10 hours to complete.

If this is sounding like a bit too much, consider Laguna Capri, which you’ll hit less than halfway on your trek to Laguna de los Tres. The hike follows the exact same initial path and the reward is a view of Fitz Roy with a shimmering Laguna Capri in the foreground.

Laguna Torre

The hike to Laguna Torre is another iconic trek in El Chaltén offering stunning views of the famous Cerro Torre, and it is 18 kms round trip.

You start out hiking through a beautiful valley and you also get to see some waterfalls along the way.

One of the things we enjoyed about this trail was the fact that we could see Torre Glacier in the horizon, which was motivating. Plus, we got to hike through forests and along a river, so the scenery was constantly changing.

At last, we reached Laguna Torre, the glacial lake at the base of Cerro Torre. This lagoon is often dotted with icebergs, and the backdrop of the iconic mountain is pretty epic when clouds aren’t covering it!

Chorrillo del Salto

Chorrillo del Salto is a popular and relatively easy hike in El Chalten. It is 6.6 kilometres round trip on a mostly flat trail, and it can take between 1.5 to 2 hours to complete.

The trail leads to the Chorrillo del Salto Waterfall, a picturesque and serene spot surrounded by lush forest. The waterfall itself is about 20 meters high and it’s a beautiful sight.

The one thing we didn’t like about this trail is that most of the hike is on Provincial Route 23, a dirt road with car traffic, so it doesn’t have the same appeal as a forest hike.

Mirador de las Aguilas

Mirador de las Águilas translates to the Eagles’ Lookout, and that’s because you can see eagles and other birds of prey.

This loop trail starts at the same trailhead as Mirador de Los Cóndores. You then continue east until you reach another lookout with views of the Patagonian steppe, the milky turquoise waters of Lago Viedma, and the Andes Mountains. Because this viewpoint faces east, it’s a nice spot to catch the sunrise.

That is our travel guide to El Chalten. We hope you found this video helpful and that it gave you a few ideas of some of the hikes you can enjoy on the north end of Los Glaciares National Park. If you enjoyed this video, we invite you to hit subscribe and join us for more travels across Argentina!

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