Self Hike and Drive Patagonia | Kallpa I Tour Operator

Everything starts in El Calafate. As soon as we arrive at its modern airport a bilingual Tour Guide will be waiting for us to take us to our hotel where we’ll leave our luggage and then go along with us to the Car-rental Company to pick up the car we’ll be driving during our Hike and Drive Patagonia trip.

We thought it would be a wonderful idea to combine the rented car plus a GPS for the roads and a Trekking GPS for the walks we’ll be taking.

We will be visiting the Perito Moreno Glacier and consider the possibility of taking the Minitrekking. The Minitrekking walk is moderate and the surface of the Glacier is irregular but solid and safe. It starts with a 20 minutes walk along the Lake banks until we reach the Glacier. The walk on the Glacier lasts about 2 hours to appreciate different ice forms.

It not only draws thousands of local and foreign tourists to its wonderful show every time a breaking in the ice takes place, but the Perito Moreno Glacier is also becoming a mystery to the scientists that can´t understand its behaviour.

On the third day we went to El Chalten, also known as the National Capital of Trekking. On the way to El Chalten we suggest to stop at La Leona Petrified forest where you will be able to do a trek to the Petrified Forest, where large petrified tree trunks from 0,5 to 1,2 meters in diameter and fragments of dinosaur bones can be admired. This excursion is not included in the price of the program but you can ask for it to your Kallpa Account Executive. A fair physical condition is required due to the fact that the site is abundant of steep hillsides, broken terrain and loose soil. Wind and water erosion is significant here and allows encountering new surprises every visit.

Upon arrival to El Chalten we will have the introductory talk given by The National Park guard. In El Chalten we will spend four days visiting beautiful mountain trails´ landscapes, watching cascades, waterfalls, glaciers and taking different walks, for instance, on the second day we walked to the Laguna Torre where we caught sight of Mount Torre and its steaming peaks caused by the clouds that usually cover them. Another choice is trekking to Laguna de los Tres that offers an excellent view of Mount Fitz Roy. On the third day we suggest walking on the ice of Viedma Glacier, the biggest one in the Glaciers National Park.

On the sixth day we visited Lago del Desierto, located 32 km north of El Chalten. It’s A lake that links Argentina with Chile and is surrounded by beautiful forests and glaciers. We’ll be ending our trip in El Calafate where we´will spend the last night before our return.

The diversity of landscapes, the different activities and the possibility of coming and going in our rented cars and with different possibilities of trekkings available in El Chalten pre-loaded in the GPS provides travellers a total sense of freedom and made this trip unique in its type. For those who like to travel without being subjected to timetables this is the best option ever. That´s why we recommend the Hike and Drive programme offered by Kallpa Tour.

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