Essential El Calafate
Land of the Glaciers
Argentine Patagonia is for the most part a region of vast steppe-like plains, rising in a succession of abrupt terraces about 100 meters (330 ft) at a time, and covered with an enormous bed of shingle almost bare of vegetation.
In the hollows of the plains are ponds or lakes of brackish and fresh water.
Towards the Andes the shingle gives place to porphyry, granite, and basalt lavas, animal life becomes more abundant and vegetation more luxuriant, acquiring the characteristics of the flora of the western coast, and consisting principally of southern beech and conifers.
The high rainfall against the western Andes (Wet Andes) and the low sea surface temperatures offshore give rise to cold and humid air masses, contributing to the ice-fields and glaciers, the largest ice-fields in the Southern hemisphere outside of Antarctica.
The bleak, wind-blown and wild 780,000 square kilometers (301,158 square miles) of Patagonia have a magical quality that has affected people throughout the ages.
Perhaps it is the wide openness of the desert, the strange and wonderful animals that inhabit it, or the sheer degree of desolation. Although Patagonia makes up 30% of Argentina, only three percent of the Argentine population lives there.
Perhaps it is the strong winds Patagonia is famous for, which can suddenly stop and reveal a beautiful and unnatural silence that seems to pierce the ages.
Whatever it is about Patagonia, it is certain to leave a lasting impression on anyone who experiences it.
In the far southwest corner of Patagonia lies a land of mountains cut by enormous glacier ending in stark, blue lakes.
It is a land of natural extremes.
Starting from the port town of Rio Gallegos on the Argentine coast, we drive west to the "Lakes of the White Frost", a pair of lakes where the rare Hooded Grebe was discovered in 1974.
The pleasant town of El Calafate, declared national capital of the Glaciers, is located just up the hill from the glacier fed Lago Argentino.
Traveling by boat to the immense Upsala Glacier, we watch huge chunks of ice calve into the frigid waters.
The boat trip through such spectacular scenery is exhilarating.
From the glacier it’s possible to continue on to a dock on the forest edge.
A short trail leads to the surreal Onelli Lake. The calm waters of the lake host a myriad of large, naturally sculptured icebergs, beech trees and ice capped mountains.
In Argentina's spectacular Los Glaciares National Park, you can hike on a glacier, or sit a close but safe distance from the Perito Moreno Glacier, the only known growing glacier.
You'll realize the force of a calving glacier as one massive chunk after another plunges into the water, sending powerful waves across the channel.
The raw and rugged scenery is remarkably similar to scenes from Alaska, all the way down to the spectacular bird life.
We'll look for the impressive Andean Condor, Chilean Flamingo, Austral Parakeet, Black-chested Buzzard Eagle, Austral Pygmy Owl, the powerful Magellenic Woodpecker, Chilean Flicker, and rare birds such as the Patagonian Tinamou, Great Shrike-Tyrant and Bronze-winged (Spectacled) Duck.
While the amount of wildlife is less in this region than in others, the scenery alone often makes this a highlight of any Argentine tour.
We recommend 5 days from Rio Gallegos.
Please do not hesitate to contact us for our tour information!