We reached our third and final destination in Patagonia after a 540 km, 9 hour, two-stage drive.

Stage 1

To begin, our driver and guide picked us up from our Torres del Paine lodgings just in time to reach the Chilean border post a few minutes after it opened at 09:00. There, we surrendered our PDIs. What’s a PDI? It’s the commonly used name for the small paper slip (tourist card) issued by immigration officers from the PDI (Policia de Investigaciones de Chile) when you arrive in Chile. It proves you have legally entered the country as a tourist. And it shows how long you can stay (typically up to 90 days). We were admonished to keep this slip of paper safe so that we could present it when leaving the country.

With the Chilean border formalities out of the way, we continued about 15 minutes down the road to the Argentinian border station. Again, thanks to our driver and guide interpreting for us, this was a smooth process. Then our route headed almost directly east for about 2 hours until we reached a hairpin junction. From there, we turned roughly north-west for another hour and a half to the El Calafate airport, arriving around 12:30. Back at home, I learned we drove a stretch of the legendary Ruta 40, a 5,194 km highway between Bariloche and El Calafate. Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman drove this highway on their e-motorcycles in Long Way Up. It’s also a popular vacation route for those who like driving vacations.

Some of the most interesting sights along the way included: the South Patagonia Icefield; sheep herding via motorbike; and distinctly layered and eroded hills that reminded us of badlands in Alberta or Death Valley, CA.

Stage 2

After some back and forth with the Explora rep at the El Calafate airport, driver Darito pulled up. We began the second stage of our transfer. Darito drove us the final 220 km in 3 hrs 45 minutes. That time included a half-hour tea break at Parador La Leona.

Darito also stopped at a couple of viewpoints, where we got our first indication of how elusive the mountain peaks would be. All but Cerro Solo were shrouded in clouds and we felt light rain.

Explora El Chaltén is at the end of a 16 km gravel road, so the final stretch consumed 45 minutes! (°ロ°)

About the Park

Parque Nacional Los Glaciares is Argentina’s largest national park, preserving a vast area of the South Patagonian Icefield, southern forest and Patagonian steppe. Perito Moreno Glacier stretches 30 km, with a 4-5 km wide face where it meets the southern arm of Lago Argentino. Mount Chaltén (aka Fitz Roy) rises to 3,405 meters and is a world-renowned rock climbing destination. The landscape incorporates meltwater lagoons and rivers, lakes, and imposing peaks such as Aguja Poincenot, Fitz Roy and Cerro Torre. It became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1981.

Check-In and Planning

After check-in, we wandered around the Explora property which opened in 2021. Until mid-2026, it was the newest Explora property. As we came to learn during this trip, newer is better in some ways. But it’s worse in others – most notably location. We didn’t relish the idea of driving 45 minutes on that gravel road to get to a trailhead.

We carried that thought into our first meeting with the guiding team, where we hashed out a plan for the next several days, subject to weather forecast changes. Our primary hope = leave Explora El Chaltén with at least one photo of Mount Fitz Roy in the clear! Unfortunately, the weather forecast for our first full day made success on that front highly unlikely. So we penciled in an easier hike starting right from the lodge for the next day. That meant deferring the more ambitious hikes with unobstructed sight lines to Mount Fitz Roy until later in our stay. I could already imagine my aching feet!

Wonderful Surprise!

What a wonderful surprise to spot new friends, Sam and Hope, in the dining room. They’d arrived a couple of days before us. We met them at the Parque Nacional Patagonia Explora Lodge a couple of weeks earlier. They’d had some overlapping days with us in Torres del Paine but had (wisely) opted to stay with Explora there, too. So we hadn’t crossed paths with them during our Tierra Patagonia stay. Anyhow, we ended up sharing a table with them, catching up on each others’ respective adventures.

Lagunas Azul, Verde and del Diablo Hike (aka Huemules)

After a hearty breakfast we stowed our lodge-packed lunches in our backpacks and headed out into the drizzle. We walked out one of the lodge doors onto the start of a trail that would take us past two lakes, then parallel to a river before reaching a third lake and Puesto Cagliero, a back-country hut. Our guide, Paola, is a contractor to Explora, filling in on certain days when needed. Our other hiking companions were American sisters who turned out to the be the same ages as our two “kids.”

Magellanic Woodpeckers

The first magical moment of this hike came just a few minutes after departure. Paola spotted a family of Magellanic woodpeckers – a male (red-headed), a female (black-headed) and a young male (salmon-headed). We learned that parents and chick stay together for up to 3 years. So a Magellanic woodpecker pair produces young only every two years. We hung around for a few minutes and then moved along so as not to disturb them. We’d last seen Magellanic woodpeckers in the very southern part of Patagonia, just outside Ushuaia, in 2023.

Our next photo stop was Laguna Azul. On a clear day, the trail above the lake would provide great views of Mount Fitz Roy. But not this particular day! Instead, we had to make do with the vibrant indigo color of the water.

I collected a photo bouquet of late season wildflowers. The orchids had gone to seed, and many blossoms faded, but a few hardy blooms caught my attention.

The trail signs were interesting. Some of them used pictographs to convey the dangers of steep drop offs, strong river currents, or point out picnic spots, etc.

We crossed back and forth across Rio del Diablo a few times, on bridges of various ages / construction methods.

At one point, Paolo pointed out a small flock of Spectacled Ducks, one of the few river ducks in the world. It’s usually found alone or in pairs, so we lucked out seeing the small group. And we felt even more fortunate after learning there are just 5,000-7,000 Spectacled Ducks in the world! Spectacled ducks have a unique foraging technique, as they sift river water for aquatic insects and seeds.

Torrent Ducks

Our next extended pause was the second magical moment of the hike! Paola spotted a pair of Torrent Ducks. Apparently they are hard to spot in the wild because they like to live on river torrents! Paola was obliged to report the sighting after we finished our hike; observations like this help with monitoring the population. Although they are considered a species of “least concern,” they are threatened by habitat loss, pollution and introduced trout, which compete directly for the insect larvae that make up the torrent duck’s food.

A few interesting facts about Torrent Ducks:

• They are remarkable swimmers due to stiff tails that act as rudders; plus they have extreme buoyancy;
• They possess powerful claws, allowing them to cling to and climb slippery rocks;
• They rely almost entirely on swimming to get around, because they are poor flyers;
• They are extremely territorial and patrol “their” section of a river (~ 4 km) to ward off interlopers; and
• Their 44 day incubation period is the longest of any waterfowl in the world.

Lunch Break

By the time we reached Puesto Cagliero, a back country hut, it was raining steadily. Constructed in 2016, the hut offers 4 quad bunk rooms and basic dining services. While solar panels supply electricity to the kitchen, there is no Wi-Fi, nor is electricity available for charging devices.

It was quite busy while we were there, on account of the weather. Fortunately, there were a few empty low sofas around a square coffee table. We spread out for lunch and to let our rain gear dry a little.

I noticed several sketches tacked to the walls, a shelf of well-worn guiding- and nature-related books and we enjoyed the ambience of the fire in the wood stove. As a special treat, Paola had pre-arranged with the kitchen to serve us warm dulce de leche crepes for dessert!

Return to Lodge

We took a slightly different route back to the lodge, this one away from the river and lagunas. We noticed waterfalls off Glaciar del Diablo across the Laguna. I spotted a late-blooming lady slipper orchid at one point, plus some interesting mushrooms. And I also noted splashes of early fall color..

Our total hiking distance was 15.5 km, with 640 meters total elevation, 246 meters net. Back at the lodge by 15:30, we had time to shower, do some laundry and consult with the guide team re: the next day’s activity.

Then we joined other guests in the grill room to learn about the wood-fired oven/grill. Mr. GeoK even had a chance to try making one of the unleavened flatbreads served as a starter each night. He learned it’s not as easy as you’d think! Our supper for two included dishes from northern Argentina and yes, some of that delicious bread.

We returned to our room to discover that rain is the reason there are water stains on some of the wooden panels along the outside wall. I used two towels to address the problem for the short-term – one for the puddle on the floor, the other to absorb any overnight rainfall.

Laguna Torre

Our 06:20 alarm allowed us time to eat breakfast and report the water leak/staining to the lodge’s manager before departing at 07:30 with Franco as our guide. We endured the bumpy ride from Explora’s lodge to the far side of the small mountain village of El Chaltén. Known as the “Trekking Capital of Argentina,” it’s alongside the Rio de las Vueltas, within Los Glaciares National Park and near the base of Cerro Torre and Cerro Fitz Roy.

We learned that El Chaltén has a lot in common with our hometown of Canmore, Alberta. Both are fast-growing small mountain towns. Canmore’s population today is roughly 1.5x that of 25 years ago. El Chaltén’s 2026 population is more than 8x what it was in 2001! During peak summer tourist season, Canmore’s population almost doubles. El Chaltén’s more than triples. So take all the housing shortage and high rent/price issues that Canmore has and amp them up even more to try to imagine the challenge El Chaltén locals have trying to secure stable housing during the busy trekking season. I’d guess that tourism-sector workers – including guides – face similar challenges in trying to earn a living wage. And given El Chaltén’s remoteness, groceries and other everyday essentials are priced high, too. No wonder so many guides we met on this trip were keen to talk to us about investing!!

Ascent

Franco led us through varied terrain and vegetation – everything from native grass-covered steppe, to forest, to barren glacial moraine. The trail was relatively busy and at our first stop, among maybe 30-40 other hikers, Franco “lost” his trekking pole. Fortunately, he’s young and fit so was better able to cope with the loss than we would have been. Even so, he was glad when we found it on our return through the same area. It hung on a sign to make it more noticeable. I guess someone picked it up by accident and hung it there when they realized their mistake?

Lunch Break

The scenery was all the more beautiful thanks to the overnight snow on the mountain peaks – the first snow of the season! However, Cerro Torre remained elusive and was not visible at all during the 75 minutes we spent huddled in a driftwood shelter at the head of Laguna Torre. Between the altitude and strong winds, it was chilly!

We took mostly different trails on the way back. Shortly after leaving the Laguna we encountered a lone Magellanic woodpecker and then a Caracara.

Our total hiking distance was 18.9 km, with 630 meters total elevation, 266 meters net. Back in town, Franco talked the van driver into taking us to the only chocolate shop in town. But it was closed! So we settled instead for ice cream cones at Domo Blanco which served Helado Artesanal (artisinal gelato). Mr GeoK made up for the chocolate shop being closed by opting for dark chocolate and hazelnut. I tried Franco’s recommendations: lemon pie and calafate berry flavours. We’d have treated Franco to a cone, but after we’d ordered he let us in on the secret that any guides taking their clients to the shop are rewarded with a free cone. 😉

Return to Lodge

Traveling the gravel road, our driver pulled off and stopped at one point because Fitz Roy was mostly visible – our best viewing opportunity in three days!

Back at the lodge our plan to rinse and repeat re: showers, laundry, check-in with the guiding desk was disrupted by the return of some guests from Pennsylvania who were in Patagonia for the fishing. Brad landed a HUGE salmon was doing his best to talk the kitchen into cooking it in the wood-fired oven.

There was no fish on the menu when we went for supper promptly at 19:30 when the dining room opened. We didn’t linger over our meals. We knew we needed our sleep, as the next day’s trail would be the most challenging over our month of travels.

Laguna de los Tres

Another 07:30 departure had us at the Laguna de los Tres trailhead in just 10 minutes. Our guide for this iconic hike, Maxi, explained that we’d be taking one route up, and returning partly the same way but then finishing our hike back in town, so that we’d see quite a variety of terrain and vegetation over the course of the day. “Los Tres” refers to the three peaks visible from the laguna’s shore: Fitz Roy, Poincenot and Saint-Exupéry.

The trail was relatively flat for the first two km, then gained a little over 300 meters over the next 6 km.

But the final 2 km was an absolute grind, gaining almost 500 meters, the grade sometimes as steep as 40%. It took us about an hour and 20 minutes to cover those last 2 km, including about 20 minutes spread over multiple short rest breaks.

Hoping for a Break

We patiently waited for 2 hours at the top, hoping to get a view of Fitz Roy, but it eluded us again! At one point it was ALMOST visible, perhaps slightly more so than during the previous afternoon’s roadside stop. Maxi told us Explora’s guideline was to allow a maximum stay of 45 minutes, but we’d made good time reaching the Laguna so he stretched it out.

During our extended lunch break we experienced graupel (snow pellets), watched an ice fall and observed an Andean condor soaring overhead. We also checked out an en plein air artist and watched other hikers – some below, some above and some trying to reach the ice field on the far side of the Laguna.

Descent

Once we were back down the steep part, we veered right instead of left (the way we’d come from), and headed towards El Chaltén.

It was a long walk back, mostly flat-ish until we were relatively close to town. We moved at a good pace, covering the final 8 km to El Chaltén in two hours. One of my feet was really feeling the cumulative effect of three days of hiking (almost 60 km with 2300 meters total elevation gain).

I was extremely grateful when we spotted the Explora van. Our driver waited with snacks and fresh strawberry juice – what a treat!

Total distance = 23 km, with 990 meters total elevation gain, 932 meters net.

Back “home” at the lodge, we went through our usual routine and worked with the guiding staff to tweak our preliminary plan for our final full day to include an afternoon pack rafting excursion. Once again, we were seated for supper promptly at 19:30. We ordered one of everything, and put down our napkins about an hour later. We both looked forward to our bed!

Glaciar Huemul

Our final full day in the El Chaltén region started with a half-day hike to a viewpoint looking across to Glaciar Huemel. After we climbed into a van with 7 other guests plus our guide, Franco, we soon realized we were heading the opposite direction from town. It was a shorter drive, on a less bumpy gravel road, until we reached our first stop – a pretty little waterfall on the Rio Túnel.

Our next stop was at Camping Lago del Desierto, where some members of our group headed off for the scenic cruise on Lago del Desierto. Franco briefed the two of us on the hiking route to the viewpoint and then sent us on to move at our own pace while he guided the other guests.

We enjoyed a couple of pretty waterfalls on the way up. And joy of joys – unobstructed views of Fitz Roy! We took way too many pictures.

The estancia installed a few ropes as touch points to help with the steepest bits of the trail, but for the most part it was easy and straightforward. After a few more stops to photograph Fitz Roy we arrived at the glacial moraine ridge overlooking Laguna Huemul and across to Glaciar Huemul.

After taking several photos from the higher vantage point, we made our way down to the lake shore where we enjoyed the company of a Patagonian Sierra Finch. Franco and the group from Pennsylvania brought the total number of others we saw on this trail to 10, absolutely quiet compared to the previous two days of hiking.

We left about 20 minutes after Franco et al, so moved at a good clip on the way back down. Total distance = 4 km, with 250 meters elevation gain.

Lunch Al Fresco

Back at the van, we learned that due to health regulations, the kitchen at Explora Lodge was not able to cook the large salmon that Brad from Pennsylvania landed two days earlier. So he’d arranged to meet up with his fishing guide at the campsite, and the Pennsylvania group had a full on lunch just about ready. They invited us to join them. After checking with Franco re: the logistics for getting to our pack rafting excursion, we accepted their kind offer. The meal was delicious.

For Franco, it was his first time eating fresh caught fish. But he wasn’t very clear about whether he liked it! However he was clear about his interest in getting started with investing, which was the conversation topic between the three of us on the drive back to the lodge.

Pack Rafting on Rio de Las Vueltas

We had a 10-minute turnaround before heading off for our pack rafting adventure with Maxi (our Laguna de los Tres guide) and Luca (lead guide with the local pack rafting company). This was an extra cost excursion that turned out to be worth every peso!

Packing

A driver dropped us off about 10 minutes from the lodge, and we all loaded up with equipment to be carried the ~ 2 km to the launching point. Our guides informed us that we walked along the shoreline of Laguna Condor to its outlet into Rio de Las Vueltas. But Google Maps labels the laguna as simply a widening in Rio Cañandon de los Torros. So two different names for the same river!?! In writing these Patagonia blog posts, I’ve discovered that Google Maps is quite weak in this region.

Rafting

Luca and Maxi set about getting everything ready to go and we helped as and when we could. After we all donned drysuits and PFDs, we launched!

It was an amazing 2 hours (mostly) floating down river. I discovered it’s much harder to steer a pack raft than an inflatable kayak (no skeg?). We actually got stuck once, when I was unable to steer around a gravel bar. I also learned that there was no stopping no matter how hard I tried! It was pretty much impossible to hold the raft steady so that Mr GeoK could frame a shot. Even so, he came away with our best photos of Fitz Roy over the 5 days. 🙂

We enjoyed tremendous views and spotted an Upland Goose and some more Spectacled Ducks before going ashore at Bonanza camp where we enjoyed strawberry juice, quince cake, brownies and freshly made torta fritas. Maxi took the leftover desserts and an extra-large order of torta fritas back to the lodge to share with staff.

Last Supper and Packing Time

We enjoyed fresh fish again for supper, and an amazing chocolate dessert.

Then it was time to pack-up, which always begins with chaos and ends with wondering whether our suitcases will zip closed in the morning!

An Observation

And the process includes sorting through the snacks we’ve accumulated to decide whether we’d like to bring any along on the next phase of our adventures. I noticed “black death” stop signs on some of the packages – warnings for high levels of sugar, salt, calories, saturated fat, etc. I remarked to Mr GeoK that we don’t have “black death” stop signs like this on packaging back home.

But now that we’ve been home for several months, I’ve noticed “black health bar” warnings. They are smaller and rectangular in shape, so not as noticeable as the stop sign shapes, IMO. Canada’s warning labels include a magnifying glass and the words “high in / élevé en” and was selected folowing research into consumer preferences. Other designs incorporated a giant “!” and a red background for the words “high in / élevé en.” The labelling requirement came into effect in Canada on January 1, 2026. Personally, I would have found the giant “!” more eye-catching than the magnifying glass. But I think Chile is leading edge here – both with the stop sign design and their 2016 implementation date. And yes, I packed these Oreos from Chile into Argentina. 😉

As usual on our last night at each lodge during this trip, I also wrote out thank you notes to hand out along with tips for our guides and other staff members. I also got a head start on working out the tips for our driver and guide in Santiago, where we’d be staying the next two nights (and where we’d stayed our first night and would be staying our last night).

Heart of the Reserve Walk

I woke with a still angry right foot (after our Laguna Torre and Laguna de los Tres hikes) so was glad for an easy route to finish off our time in Parque Nacional Los Glaciares and area. After breakfast we set out to follow the signs for Circuito Las Lolas, a 5 km loop in La Reserva.

The trail took us to a number of viewpoints, past some wetlands, and we saw plenty of wildflowers and birds. The bird species included Grass Wrens, Fire-eyed Diucons, Gray-hood Sierra Finches, Thorn-tailed Rayaditos and Buff-winged Cinclodes.

Farewell

We were back at the Lodge by 11:30, and Mr GeoK headed off to the spa to shower and freshen up. Meanwhile, I did my best to catch up on journaling, messages, WhatsApp, etc. We enjoyed lunch and with most guests out for the day, we had the dining room to ourselves.

Our driver, Rafael, picked us up at 13:30 for the three hour drive to El Calafate. He agreed to stop at the viewpoint just outside town, so we could have a “do over” to capture photos with Fitz Roy fully visible.

In El Calafate we stood in the check in line for a long time. Sky Air had only 2 people processing guests. We don’t quite understand how things work on Sky Air, because despite paying for Zone 1 tickets, we were seated in row 24! Although we did get to board first. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Our three hour flight was uneventful, but unlike our initial arrival in Santiago which took about 5 minutes to clear customs and immigration, we endured a 1.5 hours wait before we could meet up with our driver to head off to our hotel.

Final Thoughts

The first things that come to mind when I think back to our time in El Chaltén are the people and the weather. Our guides here were truly outstanding and we really enjoyed getting to know them a little, especially Franco and Maxi. And the surprise overlap with Hope and Sam’s time in the area was a bonus!

As for the weather, you get what you get. Unlike the flexibility we have here at home in the Canadian Rockies to change our plans if the weather doesn’t cooperate, when traveling there’s often very limited flexibility. So we headed out in search of unobstructed views of Fitz Roy every day. And ultimately, the weather cooperated!

I left El Chaltén feeling a little beat up, with my right foot quite unhappy after so much distance and elevation. I’m glad we came here third out of our three hiking destinations. And I’m also glad we let Maxi talk us into booking the pack rafting afternoon, probably the scenic highlight of our time here.