Keep Walking ...

El Chalten is a very small town with only 600 inhabitants. It is known as the hiking capital of Argentina, due to the many beautiful walks you can take in the area, and the imposing and dramatic mountain range skirting the area which includes Cerro Fitzroy.

We spent 4 days in the town, went on 4 walks, and covered a total of about 70km.

The tiny town of El Chalten

Waterfall walk

The waterfall walk was an easy 8km round trip from town. We walked through a massive glacial gorge and past rushing glacial streams to reach the waterfall. It was beautiful and the water was fresh – all water in the whole of the El Chalten national park is drinkable!

Me and Mum walking

Grey's a photographer

At the waterfall

Mum at the waterfall

El Pilar to El Chalten walk

Our original plan for day 2 was to walk from El Chalten to Laguna de Los Tres and then re-trace our steps back to town. These plans were changed the night before when our waiter advised us to get a taxi (remise) out to El Pilar, so that we could trek new ground the whole way rather than turn back down the same route.

We were picked up from our cabana before sunrise. A taxi drove us through the darkness to the starting place for our walk that day. 

The walk took us:

• through a private estate (probably why the route was not publicised by the national park);
• along a beautiful, light-blue, glacial stream;
• over a fence and into the National Park;

Me with a sign

• past Piedra Blanca Glacier, a huge hanging blue glacier on the side of a mountain;
• through what felt like a secret enchanted forest, green and silent;

Grey lifts a tree which had fallen onto our path

• past hundreds of woodpeckers;
• through a red bonsai tree forest; 

Beautiful...

Autumn

• up a steep and dangerous rugged mountain to Laguna de los Tres, "only to be attempted by experienced trekkers with proper equipment" (how can someone be an expert walker? everybody walks...);

We aren't afraid of danger!

Grey and Laguna del los Tres

Me coming back down the mountain

• past Lago Capri, a glacial lake; and 
• down a slow climb back into town. 

The highlight of the walk was supposed to be the view of Cerro Fitzroy from Lago de los Tres, however, the mountain was covered with clouds all day so we missed out. We brought bread and cheese sandwiches to give us energy but when it came time to eat it we discovered that the bread was mouldy! Amateur. We walked from 7.30am to 5pm and covered an exhausting 25 kilometres but it was a magical day.

Mouldy bread!

Lago Torres and back again

On our third day, we all trekked the 11km to Lago Torres and back again. The destination, Lago Torres, was freezing, windy, rainy and misty, and not an ideal location to enjoy of cheese sandwiches (which weren’t mouldy this time), but the walk there was beautiful. Through beautiful forests and past gushing glacial streams. We ended the day with tasty empanadas in a little wooden cerveceria in the town. 

Grey beside a stream

Fresh water

Up to Lago de los Tres again and back again

There was a beautiful clear sky on our last day in El Chalten. Grey woke up early, ran outside, and saw that no clouds were covering his beloved Cerro Fitzroy. My feet were tired, but there was no stopping Grey from making the 14km journey back to Lago de los Tres for a close up view of the mountain. Me and Mum accompanied him, as best we could.

Mum turned back after 7 kilometres, while I made it to the base of the final ascent. I promptly feel asleep for 2 hours in the sun while Grey made the final ascent to Lago de los Tres and back down again.

Throughout the whole walk we had an amazing view of Cerro Fitzroy and the surrounding mountains. They were absolutely stunning. We were so lucky to finally have a cloudless day. 

Mid-walk with Cerro Fitzroy in the background

Lago de los Tres and Cerro Fitzroy