After spending an incredible week in Bariloche, we took a very long bus ride to El Chalten, mostly taking Highway 40. Ruta 40 is one of the most legendary highways in the world stretching 5000 kilometres. Remote in areas, it meanders through mountains and plains providing the most scenic views that will not be forgotten. With mostly loose gravel from Bariloche to El Chalten, the bus creeped along allowing us plenty of time to look at the landscape. We are so glad we didn’t rent a car to drive across Argentina. For sure, we would have returned it with many stone chips and cracks mostly from this part of the journey.

Arriving in El Chalten, we walked from the bus terminal to Infinito Sur, our home for the next two days. The hotel was so cozy and comfortable, and it was a treat to eat a homemade breakfast each day in the presence of Mount Fitz Roy. 

El Chalten is a small village in the North end of Los Glaciares National Park. It is home to around 2000 residents but that number swells during the tourist season. Known as Argentina’s Trekking Capital, there are a variety of hikes ranging from easy to difficulty.

We chose to hike the Cerro Torro, a 12 km hike that takes about 6 hours on average to complete. The hike starts with a steep climb eventually flattening out. I use that term loosely as it is Patagonia! Nothing is “flat”. The trail meanders through meadows, rock bed, mud and the forest that sits at the base of Fitz Roy. Throughout, there are different viewpoints of Cerro Torro and Fitz Roy, weather permitting. After 3 hours, we came to Laguna Torro, our destination for lunch and a well deserved rest before heading back to the trailhead.

The trail was mind blowing with jaw dropping, glorious views at every turn. I was really looking forward to this challenge as we’ve never hiked this far in our lives. We actually clocked 20 km if you count the walk to and from the hotel. Yes! We count those! I am so proud of this accomplishment and am grateful for our health. 

El Chalten is famous for its outdoor activities but according to one of the locals it’s also becoming known for its gastronomy as there are plenty of restaurants serving up some pretty good fare. We gave it a go at Bourbon Smokehouse for some incredible smoked meat (Brent) and veggie tacos (Kelly) and Vouna Pasteleria El Chalten, where we tried our first empanadas. I still can’t believe it took us approximately 5 weeks to try this traditional dish! Delicious by the way.

After spending two nights in El Chalten we took a three hour bus ride to El Calafate located in the southern part of the Glacier Park. El Calafate is much bigger than El Chalten and it’s a good place to pick up supplies and money at the Western Union.

We stayed at Hosteria La Estepa located at the end of the town overlooking the serene surrounding areas. It was absolutely breathtaking and peaceful.

The day after arriving, we took a 2 hour bus ride to Los Glaciers National Park to tour the Perito Moreno Glacier. There is no easy way to get to the Glacier and most people book a tour, but these can be super costly.

Perito Moreno is 70 m at its highest point and 5 km across. In 2010, the thickness of the ice measured 510 ft. Although many glaciers have been retreating, Perito Moreno has been pretty stable in its movement for centuries.

As mentioned, there are many ways to see the glacier including boat rides and trekking, but Brent and opted to walk the platforms. There are a variety of platforms that allow for different viewpoints of the Glacier and the whole thing takes about 3 hours. There are plenty of lookouts to stand on, binoculars in hand, waiting for a little “calving” action. Miraculously it calved twice while we were there and my heart missed a beat each time.

This was a spectacular excursion. We’ve been privileged to see glaciers in British Columbia and Alaska but nothing compared to this experience. 

With only a short stay in El Chalten, we continued our Patagonia journey to Ushuaia, affectionately referred to as the End of the World or Fin de Mondo. 

Although you can fly from El Calafate to Ushuaia, we chose to take the longest bus ride yet- 30 hours. We left at 3:00 a.m. and rode across the country to Rio Gallejos, where after a short stop, we continued to the Chilean border. After crossing the border, we rode to San Gregorio, Chile to catch a very short ferry ride across the Strait of Magellan. With the end in sight, and a couple hours driving through Chile, we crossed back into Argentina on the Isla Grande de Tierra Del Fuego, arriving in Ushuaia a mere 5 hours later. After meeting the property manager of our rental and a quick grocery shop, we hit the pillows for a well deserved sleep!

The next day, we took a Remis (local Uber) ride to the Port to book a boating excursion. In addition to the tour companies, here you will also see the cruise ships departing for and arriving from Antarctica - a separate trip for us at a later date!

The following day, we took a taxi to ride the Southern Fuegian Railway or the End of the World Train; a pretty popular Steam Train that meanders through the Tierra Del Fuego Park offering views of the various landscapes, wild horses, birds and other wildlife if your lucky. Audioguides were provided to learn about the building of the train and railway.

We also booked a trip with Tres Marias that included a boat ride through the Beagle Channel with stops to see the sea lions and comorants, and the Les Eclairerus Lighthouse. In addition, it’s the only boat to offer a hike on H Island; a natural reserve of the Yamana Indians. We highly recommend this tour if you are in Ushuaia.

In the wee hours of the morning, our pre-booked taxi took us to the Omnibus Terminal for our 3:00 a.m. departure to Puerto Madryn in the Province of Chubut. Many tourists stay here when visiting the Peninsula Valdes and the coast. Although there is so much wildlife to see in the area, we came to the area for one purpose - to visit Punta Tombo National Reserve and to walk the trails and boardwalks among the largest colony of Magellanic penguins in Argentina. We timed this trip to see the one month old chicks as eggs are usually laid in late October and need 40 days of incubation. This was probably the highlight of the trip for me and I would definitely come back to the area for more exploration.

We left our new friends and made one final bus trip back to Buenos Aires where we spent the next few days exploring the obligatory tourist spots. If you want more on this amazing trip of Argentina, visit our Youtube Channel and look for the Argentina Playlist.

You can catch the Penguins here:

Ushuaia and Penguins

We do hope we’ve inspired you to make Argentina a travel destination. It was an incredible experience. Cheers!