Dominated by the imposing mounts Torre and Fitz Roy, and surrounded by beautiful rivers, valleys, lakes and glaciers, El Chalten is the ideal place for sporting or recreational purposes, such as trekking and sightseeing.

LOS CONDORES AND LAS AGUILAS LOOKOUT

This is one of the shortest trekkings in El Chalten.
The trail leads to a natural lookout located over the town, overlooking the mounts Adela, Torre and Fitz Roy, and the Río de las Vueltas valley. You can also continue until a second lookout, Las Aguilas, where you can see the Viedma lake.

 

Time: 1 hour (one way)
Difficulty: easy
Height: 100 metres

CHORRILLO DEL SALTO

Another easy trail you can walk along in El Chalten.
This flat path bordering the Río de las Vueltas River, traverses the valley that shares its name, and goes through a small ñire forest, until you reach this beautiful 20 meter high waterfall, Chorrillo del Salto.

 

Time: 1 hour and a half
Difficulty: easy
At the same level

CAPRI LAGOON

Beautiful hike from El Chalten to a viewpoint overlooking a blue water lagoon, surrounded by a native forest that is reached in less than 2 hours. From there you can enjoy a fantastic view of the Fitz Roy mount.

 

Time: 3 hours (round trip)
Difficulty: Moderate
Height: 380 metres
Distance: 8km

LAGUNA DE LOS TRES

One of the most famous and recommended hikes in El Chalten. This trail leads to a natural lookout and has the most amazing views of the Fitz Roy. This is the nearest point to see the granite peaks, and surely, the most popular trek.

A lot of people arrive al dawn in order to witness the spectacular moment when the mounts turn red by the sun’s first rays.

 

Time: 8 to 10 hours (round trip)
Difficulty: Average
Height: 800 metres
Distance: 22km

PIEDRAS BLANCAS

Option 1:
From the bridge over the Blanco River* (along provincial route 41) you have to follow the trail that walks up the Blanco River, and after a 2 hours trek, you will reach Piedras Blancas lookout (it is not possible to cross the river at this point). You can walk along the trail that leads to Poincenot base camp, and come back to town.

* To reach the bridge over the Blanco River you can hire a taxi or one of the transport operators in town.

 

Time: 2 hours (one way)
Difficulty: easy
Height: 200 metres

 

Option 2:
Another option, which you need at least 5 hours, is taking the trail from El Chalten to Poincenot base camp, until you cross the Blanco River. After crossing the bridge, take the right turn towards the river. Go along this trail until the Piedras Blancas stream, and you will find the glacier less than an hour trek from Poincenot base camp.

 

Time: 5 hours (one way)
Difficulty: Average
Height: 360 metres

TORRE LAGOON

This is another classic trek in El Chalten that leads to Adela and Torre mounts. The trail gets to Torre Lagoon and its lookout, where the De Agostini base camp is located. This lookout offers one of the most capricious mountain landscapes, and the Torre mount, one of the most mythic mountains in Patagonia.

 

Time: 6 hours (round trip)
Difficulty: Average
Height: 250 metres from El Chalten
Distance: 19km

LOMA DEL PLIEGUE TUMBADO

This is one of the most imposing lookouts of Torre mount, and its glacier, Solo mount, Adela mountain chain, Fitz Roy, Capri Lagoon and its valley, Madre, Hija and Nieta Lagoon, and the giant Viedma Lake. It’s a long trek through the Patagonian steppe, the Andean forest and a last high mountain stretch.

 

Time: 8 hours (round trip)
Difficulty: Average
Height: 850 metres from El Chalten
Distance: 21 km

COMMENTS FROM OUR GUESTS

  • review rating 5  The staff was kind and the rooms were nice. The bathroom needed a little better cleaning and the breakfast is simple, but it had everything we needed.

    thumb Mateus Bartczak Camargo
    1/09/2020

    review rating 5  Great hostel - very helpful staff, good common areas, and excellent rooms. Would recommend!

    thumb Robyn Stevens
    12/29/2019

    review rating 4  Friendly staff/owners, with communal tables for eating. We had a private room and it was quiet, however the bathroom was extremely tiny (we are not big people) and any shower would completely flood the bathroom. The bedroom had high ceilings and the mattress was comfortable. The breakfast is basic (bread, jam, juice and tea/coffee) but included.

    thumb Sophie Lagedamond
    12/09/2019
  • review rating 5  Great place with clean rooms. Really close to the El Chalten bus station. Staff is really friendly and helpful with any hiking related questions you may have. I definitely recommend staying here.

    thumb Siddharth Joshi
    10/27/2019

    review rating 4  It is close to the bus station and people is really nice. The facilities are all new and they made a real effort to keep it very clean for everyone. On the down side there is no computer to use, internet is really slow and not constant, and breakfast could be served from 7 - 7:30 hrs.

    thumb Naayeli Ramirez
    9/17/2019

POSTCARDS OF EL CHALTÉN

See our photo gallery here.