From Patagonia, we were driven across the border from Chile to Argentina and arrived at the town of El Calafate after about 5 hours. Most visitors base themselves in El Calafate and visit the Perito Moreno Glacier in the Los Glaciares National Park on a day trip. It is one of the few non-receding glaciers left in the world. There are marked walkways in front of the glacier for you to get different views as well as watch large chunks of ice break off and fall into the water.
At the time of travel, there are 2 options of trekking on the glacier (Mini Trekking and Big Ice) both operated by Hielo y Aventura. I opted for the mini trekking. They take you on a 20 mins boat ride across the Rico Arm.
You disembark and walk to a shed in groups of about 20 people and get fitted with crampons. The guide leads you onto the glacier and you chomp up and down for about an hour and a half seeing blue cravasses and drinking glacial water from small streams. At the end, they make you a scotch using glacial ice. It was an amazing experience but I think I was stomping into the ice a bit too hard with my crampons (there are parts where it gets a bit steep), that my knees were a bit sore after. Do bring gloves, jacket, and sunglasses.
Taking turns to get fitted with crampons. Make sure you wear sturdy shoes.
We were led onto the ice in a single file.
I filled my water bottle with the glacial water :)
Scotch on the rocks to end the trek :)
There wasn’t too much to do in the town of El Calafate, but I enjoyed the restaurant Isabel – Cocina al Disco a lot. It is very common in Argentina to cook meals in “plow discs” sort of like a stew. I especially liked the Mustard Chicken dish cooked in beer. Make sure you make a reservation because they do get very busy.
