Holidays

Patagonia - El Chalten Extension

Available Departures: Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, Oct, Nov, Dec

4 days from

US$1,230

without flights
Trip Code: CHAL
Holiday Grades
          

Our Holiday Grades Explained

To show the relative difficulty of our holidays, each trip is graded on a scale of 1 to 12, with 12 being the most challenging. Although we have tried to make our grading system as clear as possible, it cannot take into account your personal interests, abilities or experience. If you have any questions about the nature of a particular trip or its suitability for you, please read the 'Is this holiday for you?' section or contact us.

 1 - 3 LEISURELY
1 - 3 LEISURELY

Suitable for most people in good health, holidays at this grade include only limited amounts of activity.

View leisurely holidays
4 - 6 MODERATE
4 - 6 MODERATE

Suitable for reasonably fit individuals, such as weekend walkers and cyclists. There can be the occasional more difficult day.

View moderate holidays
7 - 9 CHALLENGING
7 - 9 CHALLENGING

Physically challenging holidays, where you need to be prepared before you go.

View challenging holidays
10 - 12 TOUGH
10 - 12 TOUGH

Our toughest holidays, involving many long days, often in isolated areas. A high level of fitness and previous wilderness and mountain experience is essential.

View Tough holidays

Patagonia - El Chalten Extension

Highlights

El Chaltén is the top rated hiking destination in Argentina. This charming little village sits at the foot of Mt. Fitz Roy, it’s surrounded by glaciers, lakes, rivers and forests. With endless options for exploration, we have hand-picked two of the best day walks from this hiker's paradise. We first hike to Laguna de los Tres with magnificent views of the formidable Mt. Fitz Roy - one of the most impressive vistas in all of Patagonia. Our second day walk takes us through forests and canyons on our way to Laguna Torre, again providing incredible views of the rocky high peaks of Patagonia's Southern Ice Field. From Laguna Torre we have views of the stunning Cerro Torre, once thought to be the hardest mountain to climb in the world. After 3 nights to explore the food and delights of El Chaltén we transfer back to El Calafate.

This extension fits in perfectly, post-tour, with KE’s Patagonia Paine Circuit and is a wonderful way to see the very best of this magnificent area.


Accommodation & Meals
  • 3 Breakfasts
  • 2 Lunches

Itinerary

Bus transfer from El Calafate to El Chalten.

You’ll travel along the famous Route 40, surrounded by the Patagonian steppe, pass through La Leona River, which connects Lake Argentino and Lake Viedma and La Leona Road house, where famous thieves Butch Cassidy and Sundance Kid hid out for a month.

The journey will take around 3 hours. Enjoy the afternoon at leisure by relaxing in the local brewery or exploring the quiant town of Chalten.

After a short transfer to the trail head, we hike through the Lenga forest, following the Río Blanco (White River) towards the Poincenot campsite. Along the way, we will stop to learn about the flora and fauna that is characteristic of the Patagonian Andean Forest and also visit the beautiful Piedras Blancas (White Rocks) viewpoint. Here we will see the Piedras Blancas Glacier, including the erratic boulders and lateral moraines left behind as the glacier retreated over the last few decades. We will have many different views of the Fitz Roy mountain chain as we make our way towards our final objective for the day - the magnificent Laguna de Los Tres. This unforgettable location has the best view of Cerro Fitz Roy - and one of the most impressive vistas in all of Patagonia. When we arrive at the viewpoint, we will find a spot out of the wind to enjoy our lunch, then begin our descent towards El Chaltén. Hiking time: 8-9 hours.

Meals

B L

Today's walk starts straight from the village, following the Rio Fitz Roy. We continue up Fitz Roy Canyon, passing beautiful waterfalls on our way to our first viewpoint, with our first views of Cerro Torre. We walk another hour through a charming valley, first reaching Base Camp de Agostini before continuing on to Laguna Torre, where we are rewarded with beautiful views of the stunning peak of Cerro Torre (3127m). This incredible peak dominates its neighbours of Torre Egger, Punta Herron, and Cerro Standhart and is often described as un-climbable because of a mushroom rim of ice around the summit. The mountain is truly elegant with its long finger shape and the lake offers the best viewpoint for Cerro Torre. After soaking all this in we return to El Chalten by the same path..

Meals

B L

Transfer from El Chalten hotel to El Calafate airport. The 3 hour long drive will be a good opportunity to rest, relax and enjoy the passing landscapes at your window.

Meals

B
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Essential Information

We've compiled some of our Frequently Asked Questions to help you learn more about this amazing trip.

  • Local guide

  • All transfers required in the itinerary

  • 3 nights bed and breakfast at hotel in El Chalten

  • Packed lunch on the hiking days

  • National Park fees

  • Travel insurance
  • Tips for trek staff and drivers
  • Airport transfers if joining pre-tour
  • Meals other than breakfasts and 2 packed lunches
  • Miscellaneous personal expenses - drinks and souvenirs etc.

For each holiday there is a minimum number of participants required to enable it to go ahead. Once the minimum number is reached, the trip status will change from 'Available' to 'Guaranteed to run'. You can check the trip status for each departure in the ‘Dates and Prices’ table. Other than in exceptional circumstances, we will not cancel a trip once it has achieved this guaranteed to run status so you are free to proceed with your international flight booking and other travel arrangements.

The information that we provide is for UK passport holders.

A passport with 6 months remaining validity at the end of your stay is generally required, and you should have at least 2 blank pages for each country that you visit.

For other nationalities, please refer to your own Government website for the latest information.

It is your responsibility to ensure that you have the correct travel documents and visas for your holiday. Please ensure that you check for the latest advice before travel.

If you have a severe allergy please inform the KE office before you travel. We will do all we can to help, but we cannot guarantee an allergy free environment on KE trips. You will need to carry your own treatment for the allergy with you, as 'adrenaline auto-injectors' are not carried as standard by KE leaders and staff. You should inform your leader on arrival of your allergy, and let them know where you keep your adrenaline pen.

As a reputable tour operator, KE supports the British Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office's ‘Travel Aware campaign to enable British citizens to prepare for their journeys overseas. The 'Travel Aware' website provides a single, authoritative source of advice for all kinds of travellers and we recommend that before travel, all KE clients visit the official UK Government website at travelaware.campaign.gov.uk and read the FCDO Travel Advice for their chosen destination. North Americans can also check out the U.S. Department of State website: www.travel.state.gov for essential travel advice and tips.

KE treat the safety and security of all clients as the most important aspect of any trip we organise. We would not run any trip that we did not consider reasonably safe.  Should the FCDO advise against travel for any reason, we will contact everyone booked to travel to discuss the situation.  We receive regular updates directly from the FCDO and are in constant touch with our contacts on the ground.  If you have any questions about government travel advice, please call our office.

KE do not encourage the use of single use plastic items. We are ensuring that our agents all over the world are working together to reduce the problem and educate those around them. We are leading by example in our KE office by reducing our plastic use.

It is an essential condition of joining a holiday with KE Adventure Travel that you have a valid travel insurance policy to cover the cost of medical treatment and to protect the value of your holiday in the event of cancellation.  When taking out insurance please ensure the policy you choose covers you for the activities and altitude included in your itinerary.

For appropriate insurance cover we recommend Campbell Irvine Direct.  Please go to our Travel Insurance page for further information and to get a quote.

Many of the equipment items listed above are available from Cotswold Outdoor - our 'Official Recommended Outdoor Retailer'. When you book a holiday with KE you will receive a 12.5% discount with Cotswold Outdoor, Snow+Rock and Runners Need. The discount code can be downloaded from your MyKE account and you can use this code at the checkout, either in store or online.

DATES & PRICES
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