El Chalten

On the bus ride here – about 3 hours – we stopped at a small café with a sign saying it was a historical site. Not initially aware what the historical significance was, Christy hunted around and found out that this was where Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid hid out for a month back in 1905 while on the run after a series of bank robberies. John’s dad would have absolutely loved this place. We’ll be stopping here on the way back to Calafate so will try and look at the small museum next to the café.
We’ve found this town, situated in a wide canyon bordered by two rivers running from the mountains and merging at the town’s entrance and offering great views to the mountains, to be much more charming. There’s great access to Glaciers National Park and many of the trails start just a few minute’s walk out of town. Surprisingly, there are no park fees. The only downside is the hiking trails are absolutely packed with people – more than any other place we’ve ever hiked except maybe Mount Fuji in Japan.
This seems to be not only a busy tourist town for casual hikers like us, but also a center for serious mountaineers and rock-climbers with the trails and town full of folks carrying serious climbing gear up towards the rock faces and snow.
We’ve experienced the ever-present Patagonian wind and totally unpredictable weather, but this is all well worth it. We’re lucky to be able to spend a few days exploring these Patagonian towns as it seems most tourists spend just one or two days in each place before moving on.Read more