How to get to El Chaltén?

El Chaltén lies within Los Glaciares National Park, not far from the town of El Calafate.

The distance between El Chaltén and El Calafate is about 137 miles (220 km). Most travelers arrive from there, though some venture across the steppe to reach this trekking mecca. The road is fully paved and generally easy to drive, although snow and ice can occasionally block access in winter.

Another way to reach El Chaltén is from the north, driving along National Route 3 to Comandante Luis Piedrabuena and then crossing the province of Santa Cruz via Provincial Route 288. This gravel road is generally well maintained and suitable for standard vehicles—there is no need for four-wheel drive. The route passes through Tres Lagos and connects with National Route 40, which leads to the turnoff to El Chaltén.

Approximate distances to El Chaltén:

El Calafate: 137 miles (220 km)
Comodoro Rivadavia: 497 miles (800 km)
Ushuaia: 640 miles (1030 km)
Puerto Madryn: 990 miles (1593 km)
Bariloche: 1273 miles (2048 km)
Río Gallegos: 281 miles (453 km)
Comandante Luis Piedrabuena: 216 miles (347 km)
Buenos Aires: 1808 miles (2910 km)

Categories In El Chaltén

Absolute Argentina

Available all year round, departs daily.
Duration: 13 days.
Destinations: Buenos Aires, El Calafate, Puerto Iguazú, Ushuaia.
Highlights: Beagle Channel, Cruises & Navigation, Perito Moreno Glacier, Lake Argentino, Lake Escondido, Iguazu National Park, The Glaciers National Park, Tierra del Fuego National Park, Tango, Train of the End of the World

A 13-day journey across landscapes so distinct they appear drawn from different worlds: the vibrant rhythm of cosmopolitan Buenos Aires, the timeless ice of the Perito Moreno Glacier, the remote stillness of Ushuaia — known as the End of the World — and the lush vastness of Iguazú...

Adventures in Patagonia

Available all year round, departs daily.
Duration: 7 days.
Destinations: El Calafate, Ushuaia.
Highlights: Adventure, Beagle Channel, Mt. Fitz Roy, Estancias, Perito Moreno Glacier, Lake Argentino, Lake Escondido, Lake Fagnano, The Glaciers National Park, Tierra del Fuego National Park, Hiking / Trekking

A trip crafted for active travelers and those in search of genuine adventure. It connects two of Patagonia’s most emblematic destinations: the Perito Moreno Glacier, icon of the southern ice fields, and Tierra del Fuego, the legendary archipelago at the end of the world. In each location, the...

Bariloche, the Lakes Capital

a large body of water surrounded by trees and mountains

Available all year round, departs daily.
Duration: 5 days.
Destinations: Bariloche, San Martín de los Andes, Villa La Angostura.
Highlights: Andes Mountains, Cruises & Navigation, Lake Nahuel Huapi, Seven Lakes Road

Bariloche is at the heart of the Andean Lakes District. This tour explores its most iconic routes—from the serenity of the Circuito Chico to the sweeping views atop Cerro Campanario, and the ever-changing scenery along the famous Seven Lakes Road. Between outings, there’s time to enjoy regional cuisine,...

Buenos Aires, Essential City

Available all year round, departs daily.
Duration: 4 days.
Destinations: Buenos Aires.
Highlights: Tango

This three-night journey offers a first approach to Buenos Aires, a capital with a distinctly European sensibility. The experience weaves together the contrasting layers of the city: from the colorful façades and working-class spirit of La Boca to the bustling streets and leafy parks of Palermo, a neighborhood...

Walking with penguins

Available from October up to March, departs daily.
Duration: 4 days.
Destinations: Puerto Madryn.
Highlights: Penguins and Whales, Valdes Peninsula

A brief yet immersive journey through one of Patagonia’s most emblematic natural sanctuaries. On the Valdés Peninsula—UNESCO World Heritage Site—wildlife thrives across stark, wind-swept plains. Further south, Punta Tombo welcomes nearly a million Magellanic penguins each season. Along narrow paths etched into the steppe, one walks among them—an...

Iguazu Falls, water magic

Available all year round, departs daily.
Duration: 4 days.
Destinations: Puerto Iguazú.
Highlights: Iguazu National Park

Staggeringly beautiful and a sensory jolt like no other, Iguazú Falls in northeastern Argentina offer a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Set amid lush subtropical rainforest, these thundering cascades defy description—raw, cinematic, and unforgettable.

W Circuit – Hiking Torres del Paine

Available from September up to April, departs daily.
Duration: 5 days.
Destinations: Torres del Paine.
Highlights: Adventure, Hiking / Trekking

An in-depth exploration of Torres del Paine National Park awaits, through one of Patagonia’s most iconic hiking experiences. The journey follows the famed W Circuit, named for the shape it traces across the map. Designed for those drawn to remote landscapes and long treks, this 43.5-mile (70 km)...

”The spirit of the Glaciers” Cruise

Available from November up to March, departs mondays, wednesdays and fridays.
Duration: 2 days.
Destinations: El Calafate.
Highlights: Cruises & Navigation, Perito Moreno Glacier, Lake Argentino, The Glaciers National Park

Towering walls more than 50 meters high, deep blue ancient ice, majestic icebergs, and long Patagonian sunsets that set the sky ablaze—followed by nights so clear the Milky Way reflects on the lake. “Spirit of the Glaciers” is a luxury cruise aboard the exclusive Santa Cruz, offering two...

Australis Cruise: Ushuaia – Punta Arenas

Available from September up to March, departs from september.
Duration: 5 days.
Destinations: Punta Arenas, Ushuaia.
Highlights: Cape Horn, Beagle Channel, Cruises & Navigation

Cruising the fjords aboard the Mare Australis offers a rare exploration of Patagonia’s far south, through the wild archipelagos of Tierra del Fuego, following routes navigable only by Australis Cruises. The journey retraces the history of Cape Horn and Wulaia Bay—sites shaped by early exploration, indigenous presence, and...

Deep El Calafate and El Chaltén

Available from September up to April, departs daily.
Duration: 6 days.
Destinations: El Calafate, El Chaltén.
Highlights: Adventure, Mt. Fitz Roy, Perito Moreno Glacier, Lake Argentino, The Glaciers National Park, Hiking / Trekking

Six days in southern Patagonia, shaped by two distinct experiences. In El Calafate, the journey includes a guided trek on the ancient ice of the Perito Moreno Glacier — a physical encounter with one of Nature’s most iconic landmarks. In contrast, El Chaltén offers two full days of...

El Calafate and El Chaltén

Available from October up to April, departs daily.
Duration: 5 days.
Destinations: El Calafate, El Chaltén.
Highlights: Adventure, Mt. Fitz Roy, Perito Moreno Glacier, The Glaciers National Park, Hiking / Trekking

A four-day journey that moves between silence and motion in the southern reaches of Patagonia. At Los Glaciares National Park, the Perito Moreno Glacier stands in full view from the walkways, vast and shifting. Aboard the Gourmet Glaciers Experience, the landscape opens further—revealing distant walls of ice, fractured...

Deep El Calafate & Torres del Paine National Park

Available from October up to April, departs diarias.
Duration: 5 days.
Destinations: El Calafate, Torres del Paine.
Highlights: Perito Moreno Glacier, Lake Argentino, The Glaciers National Park, Hiking / Trekking

A remarkable journey that brings together the highlights of Argentine and Chilean Patagonia. It begins with a visit to Los Glaciares National Park, home to the striking Perito Moreno Glacier. The experience culminates deep within Torres del Paine National Park, with two nights at an exclusive all-inclusive lodge—an...

El Calafate and Torres del Paine

a man standing on top of a mountain next to a lake

Available all year round, departs daily.
Duration: 5 days.
Destinations: El Calafate, Torres del Paine.
Highlights: Perito Moreno Glacier, Lake Argentino, The Glaciers National Park

This cross-border itinerary links two extraordinary landscapes in southern Patagonia: the compact, crevassed surface of the Perito Moreno Glacier in Argentina’s Los Glaciares National Park, and the weathered granite towers of Chile’s Torres del Paine National Park, rising above a mosaic of lakes and plains. From the glacier’s...

The Glaciers: Heavenly Ices

Available all year round, departs daily.
Duration: 4 days.
Destinations: El Calafate.
Highlights: Cruises & Navigation, Perito Moreno Glacier, Lake Argentino, The Glaciers National Park

This itinerary includes a journey into Los Glaciares National Park to reach the renowned Perito Moreno Glacier, with time to explore the walkways and viewpoints that offer sweeping perspectives of the ice. A direct encounter with vastness, where the sheer size of the glacier speaks for itself. The...

Iguazu Falls & Patagonia: Glaciers and Waterfalls

Available all year round, departs daily.
Duration: 6 days.
Destinations: El Calafate, Puerto Iguazú.
Highlights: Perito Moreno Glacier, Lake Argentino, The Glaciers National Park

Argentina’s two most iconic natural landmarks—both UNESCO World Heritage Sites—unfold across six unforgettable days. The colossal glaciers of Patagonia and the thundering Iguazú Falls in the country’s northeast overwhelm the senses with scale, power, and untamed beauty.

Valdes Peninsula, whales paradise

Navegación de avistaje de ballenas - Puerto Madryn

Available from June up to December, departs daily.
Duration: 4 days.
Destinations: Puerto Madryn.
Highlights: Gaiman, Valdes Peninsula

An exceptional stretch of Atlantic Patagonia, where raw nature and cultural legacy converge. At Valdés Peninsula—a UNESCO World Heritage Site—native wildlife thrives in its purest form. The journey peaks with a navigation offering a close encounter with Southern Right Whales, as they surface and glide beside the boat....

Deep Patagonia

Available from October up to March, departs daily.
Duration: 10 days.
Destinations: El Calafate, Puerto Madryn, Ushuaia.
Highlights: Penguins and Whales, Perito Moreno Glacier, Lake Escondido, Lake Fagnano, The Glaciers National Park, Tierra del Fuego National Park, Valdes Peninsula, Train of the End of the World

An itinerary that weaves together three essential Patagonian landscapes. It begins on the Atlantic coast, between Puerto Madryn and the Valdés Peninsula—home to sea lions, elephant seals, and a vast colony of Magellanic penguins spread along the rugged shoreline. The journey then continues inland to Los Glaciares National...

Puerto Madryn, penguins and whales paradise

Available from September up to December, departs daily.
Duration: 4 days.
Destinations: Puerto Madryn.
Highlights: Penguins and Whales, Valdes Peninsula

A compact journey into one of Patagonia’s most remarkable natural regions. At Valdés Peninsula—UNESCO World Heritage Site—native wildlife flourishes in raw, untamed landscapes. A boat navigation brings close encounters with Southern Right Whales—gentle giants that glide silently through the open sea. The following day unfolds at Punta Tombo,...

Wine Roads in Mendoza

Available all year round, departs daily.
Duration: 4 days.
Destinations: Mendoza.
Highlights: Wineries, Andes Mountains

Mendoza stretches out beneath the Andes, where vineyards meet desert light and the rhythm of mountain life prevails. This tour explores both sides of the region: the calm elegance of the city—shaded squares, ordered groves, and a deep connection to water—and the vastness beyond, where the mountain roads...

Land of Glaciers and Seven Lakes

Available from September up to March, departs daily.
Duration: 7 days.
Destinations: Bariloche, El Calafate, San Martín de los Andes, Villa La Angostura.
Highlights: Andes Mountains, Cruises & Navigation, Perito Moreno Glacier, Lake Argentino, Lake Nahuel Huapi, The Glaciers National Park, Seven Lakes Road

An itinerary that connects two of Patagonia’s most iconic regions. It begins in the south, at Los Glaciares National Park, where Perito Moreno's vast walls of shifting blue ice—recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site—define the landscape. The journey then turns north to Bariloche, where the Andean Lakes...

Perito Moreno Glacier Trekking

Available from August up to April, departs daily.
Duration: 4 days.
Destinations: El Calafate.
Highlights: Adventure, Cruises & Navigation, Perito Moreno Glacier, Lake Argentino, The Glaciers National Park, Hiking / Trekking

An unforgettable experience in El Calafate: two days that lead deep into the glacial landscape. It begins atop the ice of Perito Moreno, with a minitrekking across crevasses and deep blues, followed by the famous walkways, where the glacier reveals its full scale. The next day, a navigation...

A week at the End of the World

Available all year round, departs daily.
Duration: 7 days.
Destinations: El Calafate, Ushuaia.
Highlights: Beagle Channel, Cruises & Navigation, Perito Moreno Glacier, Lake Argentino, Lake Escondido, The Glaciers National Park, Tierra del Fuego National Park, Train of the End of the World

A journey linking the glacial vastness of the Andes with the southern edge of Tierra del Fuego. It begins in El Calafate, with time to explore the Perito Moreno Glacier, sail among drifting icebergs, and take in the stillness of the steppe. Then comes Ushuaia: crossing the Andes...

Tierra del Fuego: the End of the World

Available all year round, departs daily.
Duration: 4 days.
Destinations: Ushuaia.
Highlights: Beagle Channel, Cruises & Navigation, Lake Escondido, Lake Fagnano, Tierra del Fuego National Park, Train of the End of the World

Surrounded by mountains and the waters of the Beagle Channel, Ushuaia is the gateway to Tierra del Fuego and the closest city to Antarctica. Over the course of a three day tour led by expert guides, it’s possible to explore and navigate its striking geography, learn about its...