If you travel to Patagonia, don’t miss a chance to visit one, riding horses and admiring the vast Patagonian skies.
Patagonia is where maybe the next Bond villain lives. The name Patagonia derives from Patagones, a race of mythological giants that were believed to inhabit the region around the time of explorer Ferdinand Magellan, in the 16th century.
Patagonia is home to some of the world’s most stunning landscapes. Patagonia travelers will find everything from soaring granite peaks and pristine turquoise lakes to forests, grasslands and dramatic coastlines (where it’s possible to spot whales, dolphins, penguins, forests, fjords, glaciers and more).
Southern Patagonia, which stretches across Chile and Argentina, has long lured travelers to what is very nearly the end of the world with its storied peaks carved by age-old glaciers and spellbinding landscapes. Here, in the countries’ national parks, are snow-capped mountains, cobalt fjords, and old-growth forests. At the southernmost tip of the Americas, icebergs rupture with a dramatic sound from ancient, massive glaciers.
Torres del Paine National Park in Chile and Argentina’s Los Glaciares National Park are the region’s top highlights, attracting hundreds of thousands of visitors per year.
The most populated and developed area of Andean Patagonia is the lake district of Río Negro and Neuquén provinces. The latter is more popular with Argentinians than foreign visitors, but the quaint towns of Junín de los Andes, San Martín de los Andes and Villa La Angostura are good bases for camping, hiking, trout fishing, horse riding and quad biking.
Perito Moreno
The mighty glacier of Perito Moreno is easily the most popular tourist attraction in Patagonia. Standing in front of its three-mile width and listening to the roar of ice as chunks fall into the lake below, you’ll definitely gasp at the greatness of nature.
Hike Other Glaciers
If you enjoy your visit to Perito Moreno, there are also plenty other glaciers you can hike in Patagonia.Two popular options are Glacier Viedma (located about 150 km north of El Calafate on the way to El Chalten) and Glacier Grey (near the Torres del Paine on the Chilean side of Patagonia).
Hiking Around El Chalten
The small Andean town of El Chalten doesn’t look like much at first glance, but it happens to be the departure point for many great Patagonian hikes and climbing expeditions. One of the best hikes from El Chalten is to Laguna de Los Tres, an eight-hour trail to a pristine lake located at the base of Cerro Fitzroy (one of Patagonia’s iconic peaks).
Visit Torres del Paine National Park
Most of Patagonia’s best attractions are located in Argentina, with one notable exception–the spectacular Torres del Paine National Park. Torres del Paine is definitely the prime hiking location in Chile, offering hundreds of kilometers of trails. The park offers glaciers, lakes, moraines and valleys filled with wandering guanaco herds and granite peaks overlooking from above.
Most luxury hotels in Southern Patagonia include transfers to and from the airport, as well as transportation for daily excursions. Traveling between Chile and Argentina can be done easily by land or sea. Unfortunately, there are no flights between Puerto Natales or Punta Arenas to El Calafate or Ushuaia. For an overland trip, you’ll need to organize a private transfer or catch a bus. The drive takes approximately five hours cross the border between Argentinian Cancha Carrera and Chilean Cerro Castillo pass, all while traveling along the Patagonian steppe. It’s the same route either direction you’re traveling.
