En route to, and, El Chalten

We leave the hostel at 8 am for the 500 km journey to El Chalten, on the northern edge of Los Glaciares National Park. The road is fast, and the scenery is the same most of the way - steppes - as we reach the small town of Gobernador Gregores. The view is similar after the town, and the wind is cold and very strong!

Soon afterwards, we pass by a beautiful turquoise coloured lake (Lago Cardiel) and unusual flat topped hills. It's so cold and windy, not unusual in Patagonia, we have lunch on the bus. Later, we pass through the town of Tres Lagos. Snow capped mountains appear as we turn off for the final 90 km to El Chalten, and we get our first views of the Monte Fitz Roy and the Cerre Poincenot. We stop for pictures and then reach our campsite at 6:30 pm. It's a nice-looking town and is a trekking centre for this area.

It's a lovely campsite with facilities, and the vegetarian curry planned for tonight is cooked under cover. It was excellent, then into town for beers and to watch the Brazil v Argentina World Cup qualifer (0-1).Read more