South American Adventure - Argentina

View Itinerary

View Service Deatils

View Map

RGL The Glaciares Route
11 days – 10 nights (strenuous expedition)
Departures: Saturdays, each 14 days.
Season: November to March
Starts at: El Calafate
Ends at: El Calafate
Group Departures
Minimum Group Size: 3 passengers
This Expedition traverses The Glaciers National Park from north to South, trekking and sailing at the side of the mountain ranges that surround the Continental Ice Field.
It's really a unique trekking expedition, really a jewel in the adventure tourism field. It's a travel through the Park by inside, while the rest of the ordinary tourist circuits travel out the borders of the National Park. This expedition crosses the park partly walking and partly navigating him.
We trek the Fitz Roy and Torre Mounts areas, we cross sailing the Viedma Lake to disembark at the Moyano fiord and cross the Cañadón Norte at the bottom of the Norte y Moyano Mounts. Then we cross the Argentino Lake to visit the imposing greatness of the Glacier Moreno. This program combines lodging at Hostel Beds with Full Camps and Expedition Camps. From Viedma Lake to Argentino Lake we lodge at Expedition Camps where there is not bathroom and the food and equipment is adequate to the expedition.
Also in this area we have trekking tracts outside of marked trails. The passengers carry with their belongings.
DAY / ITINERARY
01 El Calafate Airport - Bus to El Chalten
02 Rio Electrico – Laguna Capri
03 Mount Fitz Roy
04 Mount Torre – El Chalten
05 Viedma Lake Navigation
06 Norte Pass
07 Mount Norte
08 Cañadón de los Fosiles
09 Estancia La Cristina

10

 De los Tempanos channel navigation

11

 El Calafate
ACCOMMODATION
4 nights at Expedition Camp
3 nights at Full Camp
3 nights at Hostel
 
ITINERARY
Day 1
Welcome at El Calafate airport. Bus transfer to Chaltén. 220 km, 190 of which are gravel road. The trip goes across the Patagonian steppe, around the East side of lakes Viedma & Argentino. Then we turn west to the mountains. El Chalten is a small 300 people village.
Lodge at Hostel Room with shared bathroom
Meals Included: Dinner
Day 2
Transfer from El Chalten to Rio Electrico. We start trekking on an easy trail under southern beech forest and bogs to our Full Camp at Laguna Capri. On the way we get wonderful views on Mount Fitz Roy and Piedras Blancas glacier. Altitude difference: 300 meters. It’s a 5 hours approx. trekking.
Lodging in Full Camp at Capri Lagoon double base (rural area)
Meals Included: breakfast, lunch box and dinner
Day 3
Today we visit Laguna de los Tres, astonishing natural viewpoint. Mount Fitz Roy, glaciers and lagoons offer some of the more incredible sights in this trip. Fitz Roy walls rise 1350 vertical meters above the surrounding glaciers. Walking down from Laguna de los Tres, we hike across Madre and Hija Lagoons valley to Fitz Roy river valley to our camp in the forest close to Torre Lagoon. We have 400 meters to climb from Capri to Laguna de los Tres, and 200 meters downhill from Madre and Hija valley to our camp in Laguna Torre. 8 hs approx walking.
Lodging in Full Camp at Torre Lagoon double base (rural area)
Meals Included: breakfast, lunch box and dinner
Day 4
Today we cross Fitz Roy River with the help of a pulley and a horizontal fixed rope hanging from our harness. We walk around Torre Lagoon and we walk down to Grande Glacier. We walk glacier up until time and weather allow us. We will have great views of Mount Torre chain and the west face of Fitz Roy. We return to El Chalten along Mount Torre trail. 9 hs trekking, with frequent ups and downs.
Lodge at Hostel Room with shared bathroom
Meals Included: breakfast, lunch box and dinner
Day 5
Alter breakfast we transfer to Bahia Tunel mooring, from where we sail to visit Viedma Glacier, a huge glacier calving from the Ice Field into the lake, and we continue sailing to Moyano Fiord far end. There will be our first campsite of the traverse between the lakes. Moyano Fiord is a narrow and vertical valley enclosed by the Mascarello and Huemules massifs. In its far end drain the glaciers coming down from the Ice Field.
Lodging in Expedition Camp double base
Meals Included: breakfast, lunch box and dinner
Day 6
We climb up the valley that lead us to Norte Pass. This valley is covered of bogs and burned forest. We settle our camp in the higher part of the valley. 700 meters to climb in a 6 hours trek.
Lodging in Expedition Camp double base
Meals Included: breakfast, lunch box and dinner
Day 7
We walk up valley to the Norte Pass, 1100 meters above sea level. Behind we can still see the Natural Area “Mascarello”, home for the last huemules (endangered local deer). Mount Moyano & Norte raise in front of us and Cañadón Norte flows down in its long way down towards Anita Lagoon. We walk down along moraines and bogs, to reach two beautiful lagoons at the base of Mount Norte. Norte Glacier is calving down on the second of these lagoons. We build here our camp, after 6 hours trekking.
Lodging in Expedition Camp double base
Meals Included: breakfast, lunch box and dinner
Day 8
We begin our descent trough the valley, following animal trails and always maintaining the river to our right. After crossing forests and heaths we ascend to cross the edges that frame the valley to the left and here we mount our last camp, the fourth. The view is absolute impressive from this point. The Cañadón de los Fosiles in front of us and the Upsala Glacier and the surrounding mounts at the background.
Our trek descent around 400 meters in a 6 hours approx. trekking.
Lodging in Expedition Camp double base
Meals Included: breakfast, lunch box and dinner
Day 9
We start our trek down through the valley until reach Estancia La Cristina. We have to wade Los Perros River. It’s a 5 approx hours trekking. From the Estancia La Cristina we sail to Punta Bandera and from there, through De los Tempanos Channel we sail until the Perito Moreno Glacier.
Lodging in Full Camp at Torre Lagoon double base (rural area)
Meals Included: breakfast, lunch box and dinner
Day 10
We will spend the day admiring the Perito Moreno Glacier and taking notice of the advance and rupture process of this special Glacier that made the UNESCO to declare it as “Patrimony of the Humanity."
Lodge at Hostel Room with shared bathroom
Meals Included: breakfast, lunch box and dinner
Day 11
Breakfast and transfer to the El Calafate Airport. End of our services

 
SERVICE DETAILS
Included Services

Certified Mountain Guide from AAGM Mountain Guide Argentina Association.
Tents and Camp equipment
All the land and sail transfers detailed in the program
All the meals and lodges detailed in the program.
 
Medical Services
The trip doesn't include medical assistance. The guides will carry a basic first-aid kit along the walks and VHF communication equipment for any emergency that could take place.
 
Cartage Service. Carrying equipment and luggage.
We transport all the equipment and the passengers are expected to carry their own luggage, including their sleeping bags and insulating mattresses.
When we operate this Expedition for your Private Group under your own brand, we are able to provide Cartage Services to carry passenger personal belongings up to 8 kilograms per passenger.
 
More Explanations
Camino Abierto retains the right to change the itinerary or to suspend some of the activities when some climatic cause or other cause of any other nature justifies it in favor of the security of each member of the group.
The navigation transfer from El Chalten to the Moyano fiord will depend on the availability of services from the sailing provider company, and it’s usually available from November to March. In the eventual case this navigation transfer will not be offered at the time of the trip, the transfer will be done by land by minibus to Estancia Helsingfors and we’ll star our trek from there.
 

List of Equipment and Clothes you should bring

  • Backpack 70/85 litres capacity,
  • Sleeping bag, duvet, for -20ºC,
  • Sleeping pad (therm-a-rest type recommended),
  • Interior synthetic clothes (polipropilene, lifa o capilene): 1 long-sleeved shirt, 1 long pant,
  • 1 cotton t-shirt,
  • 1 pant of polar fiber,
  • 1 polar fiber jacket or coat,
  • Goretex jacket with hood or similar,
  • Goretex shell pants with full-length sided zippers,
  • 1 pair of gaiters,
  • 2 pairs of wool or synthetic mittens,
  • waterproof mitten shells (goretex or similar),
  • 1 pair of thin synthetic gloves,
  • 2 pairs of thick synthetic socks, polar fiber or wool,
  • 2 pairs of synthetic liner thin socks,
  • Ski sticks, telescopic type,
  • Thin scarf or handkerchief for your neck,
  • Balaclava of wool or polar fiber,
  • Cap of wool or polar fiber,
  • Sunglasses with UV filter for high solar radiation,
  • Snow goggles,
  • Sun protector creme for skin (factor 30) and for lips (balm),
  • Thermo or plastic bottle,
  • Wide adhesive tape (cloth athletic),
  • Personal hygiene kit, elements reduced to minimum necessity,
  • Swiss Army knife, Victorinox or similar,
  • Headlamp (miners type, like Petzl) with batteries.
Services Not Included

Medical and Life Insurance
Tips
Air flight tickets and Airport fees and taxes
Services not detailed in the program