Los Glaciares National Park

As the name of the park suggests, Los Glaciares is home to a large number of glaciers; in fact, there are 356 of them!

Perito Moreno is the most famous and accessible glacier in Patagonia, and one of the few on which you can ice hike. It is located at the southern end of Los Glaciares National Park, feeding down from the ice cap into Lago Argentino, and accessed vie El Calafate. Named after the Argentinian explorer Francisco Moreno, Perito Moreno Glacier stretches nearly 20 miles long and is one of the few advancing glaciers in the world.

There are several other glaciers feeding into Lago Argentino in the south of Los Glaciares National Park, most notably Upsala and Spegazzini, which can also be visited by boat from El Calafate. Further north, Viedma Glacier is an impressive and active glacier feeding the large Viedma lake which is accessed from El Chalten. There are numerous less famous glaciers, including Torre and Piedras Blancas, in the El Chalten and Fitz Roy region, which can be seen when trekking in the area. 

The peaks of Los Glaciares National Park offer some stunning vistas and wonderful trekking opportunities.

At the northern end of the national park stand the famous jagged granite peaks of Cerro Fitz Roy. This mountain was initially named Chalten by the indigenous Tehuelche people, which means 'peak of fire' in their native language - it seems that they mistakenly believed the mountain was a volcano. The peak was later renamed Fitz Roy after Captain Fitzroy, who captained the ship on which Charles Darwin came to this area in 1834. Cerro Fitz Roy is notoriously difficult to climb and is only climbed, on average, once a year. There are numerous hiking opportunities for all abilities in and around the Fitzroy Range, accessed from El Chalten.

Another imposing peak, standing close to Mount Fitz Roy, is Cerro Torre. Whilst not as famous as Fitz Roy, Cerro Torre is a very distinctive granite peak and one which is almost as difficult to climb. You can take a wonderful day hike from El Chalten that takes you right up to the edge of Laguna Torre, at the foot of the imposing Cerro Torre.

There are two huge lakes in the national park, which are fed by glacial meltwater: in the north there is Lago Viedma (near to El Chalten), and in the south, Lago Argentino (near to El Calafate). The lakes of the region are very distinctive due to their milky blue colouring, making for some gorgeous photo opportunities against glacial backdrops.

At 125km in length, Argentino is the largest lake in Argentina, covering over 600 square miles in total. It is fed by the famous Perito Moreno Glacier, amongst others such as Upsala and Spegazzini, and leads to the Santa Cruz river that ultimately empties into the Atlantic Ocean.

Viedma Lake, albeit smaller at 80km in length, is particularly interesting due to the scouring effect the receding glacier Viedma has had on the landscape surrounding it. It's waters flow into Lago Argentino through the La Leona River.

The main, and only large town in Los Glaciares is El Calafate, which is south of the Los Glaciares National Park. There is no huge draw to visit the town itself, but it does have some good hotels and restaurants if you want to stay in El Calafate as part of your trip to the national park. It is also the main entry point to the region, and the gateway to Perito Moreno Glacier (just over an hour away by road). You can access the town of El Chalten, and the nearby Fitz Roy region, in the north of the national park, in around 3 hours by public bus or transfer from El Calafate.

The quirky mountain town of El Chalten lies close to Fitz Roy, and on a clear day, the peak dominates its skyline, which is why the town was given the old Telhueche name of the mountain. The town is very small and predominately caters for tourists, but there are some lovely little bars and restaurants to put your feet up in after some hard days hiking.

If you're in good shape, keen to don ice-axe, crampons and snowshoes and aching to get deep into the Patagonian wilderness, then the ice cap is the destination for you!

The South Patagonian Ice Cap (or Hielo Continental) is part of the larger Patagonia Ice Sheet, and stretches over 400km north-south, around 40km east-west and is over a kilometre deep in places. It covers 4 National parks, including Los Glaciares, and is a wild, unexplored and very dramatic place.

It still remains unexplored in some areas, and remains a 'border issue' between Chile and Argentina. Most expeditions start from the Marconi Pass or Paso del Viento, and expeditions typically take a minimum of 8 to 10 days.