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Prices
for - Argentina Trekking and Adventures

Glacier's Route
12 days – 11 nights (Demanding expedition)
Departures: Saturdays, each 14 days
Season: November thru March
Trip starts at:
El Calafate airport
Trip ends at: El Calafate airport
Group departures with a minimum of 3 pax
This Expedition runs from North to South along the east border of
the Icefiled, at the foot of the most important and impressive mountains range
of the National Park: Fitz Roy, Torre, Moyano and Norte.
While classic treks just get in the border of the National Park,
coming in and out in day hikes, this Expedition runs in the heart of the Park,
combining hiking with lakes Viedma and Argentino crossing.
In the first part of
the tour we visit Fitz Roy & Cerro Torre area, using our Full Camps. In the
second part, we get to the opposite side of lake Viedma and hike Expedition
style all the Cañadón Norte, at the foot of mounts Moyano and Norte, down to
Estancia Cristina, in the shores of lake Argentino.
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Itinerary |
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Day
1 |
El Calafate airport |
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2 |
Bus to El Chaltén |
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3 |
Río Eléctrico –
Laguna de los Tres - Laguna Capri |
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4 |
Madre and Hija valley
– Laguna Torre |
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5 |
Torre glacier – El
Chaltén |
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6 |
Lake Viedma crossing |
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7
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Towards Paso Norte |
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8 |
Cerros Norte and
Moyano |
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9 |
Fossils Canyon |
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10 |
Estancia La Cristina
– El Calafate |
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11 |
Perito Moreno glacier |
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12 |
El Calafate |
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Lodging |
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Full Camp
Expedition Camp
Hostel Room |
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Itinerary
Day 1 El Calafate
We welcome you at
Calafate airport and transfer to town to check in at your hostel. By 7 pm the
group meets in the lobby of the Hostel del Glaciar Pioneros, street Pioneros
251, El Calafate, to meet your guide, discuss details of your program and enjoy
your welcome dinner together with your fellow trekkers.
Lodging in a Hostel
room with private bathroom.
Meals we provide: Dinner.
Day 2 El Calafate - El Chaltén
Alter breakfast we take
our bus for the 220 km drive to El Chaltén, a small and picturesque village at
the foot of Fitz Roy & Cerro Torre massif. We make a stop half way to enjoy
local pastries and hot coffee. On approach, the views of both Fitz Roy and Cerro
Torre massifs and of glacier Viedma and the mountains of the Ice field are
spectacular.
During the afternoon we prepare our packs for the first part of
our trek.
Lodging at a Hostel
room with shared bathroom.
Meals we provide:
Breakfast and dinner.
Day 3 Laguna de los Tres, Fitz Roy, Laguna Capri
Alter breakfast we drive 15 km north to river Electrico bridge.
There we start our walk towards Laguna Capri Full Camp, following upriver the
Rio Blanco valley, visiting the Piedras Blancas glacier viewpoint and Laguna de
los Tres. This is the viewpoint for Fitz Roy massif. We have spectacular views
of all the spires and glaciers. 7 hs trekking.
Lodging at Laguna Capri Full Camp in double tent (rural area)
Meals we provide:
Breakfast, box lunch, dinner.
Day 4 Laguna Torre
We go around Laguna Capri
to get to the lagoons Madre and Hija valley and then to the Cerro Torre valley.
We reach our camp at Laguna Torre and visit in the afternoon the northern
moraine with spectaculars vies of Cerro Torre, Solo and Adela Range, and the
glacier and lagoon Torre. 5 hours trekking.
Lodging at Laguna Torre Full Camp in double tent (rural area)
Meals we provide:
Breakfast, box lunch, dinner.
Day 5 Cerro Torre - El Chaltén.
This day is a highlight
of the trip. We provide crampons, harnesses, and we set out to hike in the cerro
Torre glacier. We cross river Fitz Roy river through a tyrolean (horizontal
fixed rope attached to both sides of the river). We walk on the moraine around
the lagoon and then down to the glacier visiting crevices, ice caves and holes
and all the interesting places that a glacier can offer. The bonus is the close
up views of Cerro Torre group spires. We hike back to our camp and on to El
Chaltén in the afternoon.
Lodging in a Hostel
room with shared bathroom.
Meals we provide:
Breakfast, box lunch and dinner.
Day 6 Lake Viedma, Estancia Helsingfors
Alter breakfast we start the second part of our Expedition.
We drive to Bahía Tunel on lake Viedma, where we get the boat to
visit the Viedma glacier and we sail on to reach the opposite coast of the lake,
close to Estancia Helsingfors.
From there we walk up to our first Expedition Camp, along the
Moyano fiord, a narrow and sharp valley between ranges Mascarello and Huemules.
At the end of the fiord we can see the glaciers coming down from the Icefield.
Is one of the wildest and less visited areas of the National Park.
Lodging in Expedition Camp
Meals we provide: Breakfast, box lunch and dinner.
Day 7 Towards Paso Norte
We hike up the valley that leads to the Paso Norte (Northern
Pass). The sides of the valley show the traces of old forest fires. During all
day we will have spectacular views of this wild section of the Park. We camp in
the upper part of the valley. 700 mts to climb, 6 hs trekking.
Lodging in Expedition Camp
Meals we provide: Breakfast, box lunch and dinner.
Day 8 Cerros Norte & Moyano, Cañadón Norte
We go on up valley until we reach the pass that leads to the
Cañadón Norte (Northern Canyon). The pass is at 1100 mts above sea level. Once
in the Pass we are at the foot of the impressive Cerro Moyano and we can see the
Mascarello Natural Reserve (habitat for the endangered local deer, called huemul).
We can see the canyon winding down in its long way to Laguna Pearson. We start
our descent along glacier polished rocks, we cross some boggy areas and low
forest to reach 2 spectacular lagoons at the foot of Cerro Norte. The southern
one has a beautiful glacier coming down from Cerro Norte and calving in its far
end. 7 hs trekking.
Lodging in Expedition Camp
Meals we provide: Breakfast, box lunch and dinner.
Day 9 Fossils Canyon
We walk our way down along the valley, following old cattle
trails. Moving from the forest into the shrubland, we climb the ridge of the
valley that is to our left and from there we have spectacular views of the
Fossils Canyon in front of us, Upsala glacier and Cerro Murallón in the
background and Estancia Cristina in the shores of lake Argentino far away in the
distance. 400 hs mts of downhill, 6 hs trekking.
Lodging in Expedition Camp
Meals we provide: Breakfast, box lunch and dinner.
Day 10 Estancia Cristina, lake Argentino & El Calafate
We start our way down to this big wide valley, dig by the
glaciers many years ago. We cross several ridges before reaching its flat
bottom. A final effort is to be made, we need to wade river Los Perros, and we
get to Estancia Cristina.
In the afternoon we take the boat to Puerto Bandera and we drive
to El Calafate.
Lodging in a Hostel
room with private bathroom.
Meals we provide:
Breakfast and box lunch.
Day 11 Moreno glacier
We dedicate this day to
one of the World’s Natural Wonder: the Moreno glacier. This ice field- type
glacier flows down from the Patagonian Ice field. Because unusual favourable
local conditions, this glacier is the only one in the world that shows a closure
and rupture process. The road leads to the very front of the glacier, which will
be only meters away from your eyes. A beautiful, short trail, will lead us from
the shores of the lake to the upper viewpoints. The roar of the chunks of ice
falling inside the glacier or from the glacier into the lake, the frequent
collapse of the front 60 mts high seracs into the turquoise water, makes out of
this day a very special and unique experience. We will drive 80 km (1 and a half
hour) to get and come back from the glacier across the steppe.
Lodging in a Hostel
room with private bathroom.
Meals we provide:
Breakfast.
Day 12 El Calafate airport
After breakfast we transfer to El Calafate airport where our
services end.
Meals we provide: Breakfast.
Included
Bilingual Tour Leader
(Spanish – English)
Mountain guide
3 nights lodging in
Hostel room with private bathroom
2 nights lodging in
Hostel room with shared bathroom
2 nights lodging at Full
Camp
4 nights lodging at
Expedition Camp
Tents and general camping
equipment
12 breakfast, 8 box lunch
and 9 dinners
All transfers El Calafate
airport – El Calafate – El Chaltén – Bahía Túnel – Pto Bandera El Calafate – El
Calafate airport
Boat trip from Bahia
Tunel to Helsingfors
We combine private and
regular buses for our transfers.
Perito Moreno glacier
excursion.
Lodging
The RGL – The Glaciers
Route is offered in the following type of accommodation.
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Nights |
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Hostel room with private bathroom |
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Hostel room with shared bathroom |
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Full Camp |
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Expedition Camp |
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We pitch up the
Expedition Camp upon arrival to our camping site. Includes tents and all the
necessary equipment to cook and serve meals but no dinning nor kitchen tent is
provided. Meals are served outside or in your tents, according to weather
conditions.
In this style of Camps the passenger uses its own sleeping bag
which he carry as part of his personal equipment.
Full Camps are pitched up early in the season, so we find the
camp ready upon arrival. It offers comfortable 3 people igloo type tents for
each 2 passengers, with mattresses and sleeping bags. An inside cotton sheet is
provided as inner clothing for the sleeping bag. The camp also features a
spacious dinning tent, a kitchen tent, tables, benches or chairs and a full set
of table service and kitchenware.
Full Camps inside Los
Glaciares National Park are in the wilderness, so toilettes and showers are not
available. We provide hot water for personal cleaning and bathrooms are latrine
type.
In El Calafate we lodge
in hostel rooms with private bathrooms. This means that you take a bed and you
share the room with fellow travellers of your same gender and your same group.
In El Chaltén we take a
bed in hostel rooms, but with shared bathrooms. This mean the bathroom is
outside your bed room, being available different bathrooms for both men and
women. You share the room with other guests of the Hostel of your same gender.
Meals
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Days |
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11 |
12 |
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Breakfast |
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Box Lunch
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Dinner |
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Porters service
We
will carry all the general equipment for the Expedition, (tents, food, gas,
first aid kit).
In our Expeditions the
passenger carries its own personal equipment (backpack, spare cloth, sleeping
bag and mattress, personal items) and also carries the personal equipment
provided by Camino Abierto to go on trek and the box lunch for that day. This is
necessary not only to spread the weight but also to have it handy when you need
it.
The luggage that you will
not take with you in the first section of the trek stays at El Chaltén in our
office. The luggage that you do not carry with you in the second section of the
Expedition, will be taken to El Calafate and you will meet it upon arrival in
your hostel.
When this
Expedition is hired as a private group under your own brand name, out of our
regular departures, we offer you the possibility of hiring porters to carry up
to a maximum of 8 kg per pax.
Not included
National Parks fees
Medical and life
insurance
Drinks
Tips
Air tickets and airport
taxes
Services not detailed in
the program
Notes
We
hold the right of changing the itinerary or to cancel any of the activities when
any natural cause (or any other cause of any type) justifies it in order to look
after the group safety.
The lake Viedma crossing
depends on the company that runs the trip and in weather conditions. Should the
boat trip not be available, we will replace the boat trip by a land transfer to
the same location, that is Estancia Helsingfors area.
Meeting Point
The Meeting Point for the
Group on Day 1 is at 7 pm at the lobby of the Hostel del Glaciar Pioneros,
street Pioneros 251, El Calafate. This Meeting Point can be modified and will be
confirmed upon booking confirmation of the passenger.
¿Is this Tour for me?
To take the best out of
this tour you should be in good physical condition. We grade this trek as
demanding. It is not necessary to have former experience. The group walks an
average of 6 to 7 hs a day, some days may be more, at a moderate and steady pace
with the necessary stops. The trek includes some long and steady climbs, up to
800 mts in key days, some of them steep enough to be demanding. It also includes
a lot of off trail walking. Outdoors and camping experience in the wilderness is
also advisable.
List of suggested personal equipment:
Backpack of 75 to 85 lts
Good pair of trekking
shoes
Sleeping bag, down or
synthetic, for -20ºC
Sleeping mattress
Thermal underwear
Cotton t-shirt
Trekking pants
Fleece
Goretex parka
Goretex overpants.
Gaiters
Gloves
An extra pair of thin
thermal gloves
Thermal socks, a couple
of pairs, thin and thick
Trekking poles
Balaclava
Sun glasses with UV
protection
Sun screen (UV radiation
is very strong)
Flask or plastic water
bottle
Tape
Hygiene items
Lamp
Personal medication
Prices
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