- 1. Why Choose an Active Way to See the Park
- 2. El Chaltén or El Calafate? How to Decide
- 3. Adventure from El Chaltén
- 4. Adventure from El Calafate
- 5. The Big Challenge: Vuelta al Cerro Huemul
- 6. How to Choose Your Level of Adventure
- 7. FAQs About Los Glaciares National Park Adventures: Glacier Treks, Trails and Multi-Day Routes
Perito Moreno is only the beginning: in Los Glaciares, getting to the ice can be the best part of the trip.
Most visitors to Los Glaciares National Park meet Perito Moreno Glacier from the walkways. The view is unforgettable, yet it shows only a small part of what this corner of Patagonia has to offer.
Travelers who want something more active will find plenty of it around El Calafate and El Chaltén: glacier treks, river crossings, remote routes and multi-day walks through the wilderness.
María Luján Morelli, a Travel Specialist at Say Hueque, draws a clear line between the two ways of visiting:
“I would focus more on excursions where travelers are not simply entering a national park with walkways and viewpoints, but instead need to navigate and hike in order to reach the glaciers. That is where the real adventure lies.”
Below you will find the park’s main adventure experiences, from a short walk on the ice to a four-day trek, plus some advice on picking the right one.
1. Why Choose an Active Way to See the Park
The journey comes first. On the park’s wilder routes, the river crossings, trails and shifting terrain are as memorable as the glacier at the end of them. As María says of one excursion, “Just getting there is already an adventure.”
Then there is the sense of scale. A glacier looks enormous from a viewpoint, but it feels very different once you are standing on it with ice on every side.
You also get to set your own level of involvement. Outdoor travelers come to Los Glaciares for the variety of ways to experience one landscape, whether that means a day hike, a Zodiac crossing or a few days of camping.
Together, these options let you shape the trip around how much of the wilderness you want to see.
2. El Chaltén or El Calafate? How to Decide
Both give you access to adventure, but they work differently, and many travelers will want to see both.
El Chaltén suits hikers. Argentina’s trekking capital lies inside the park, and many trails leave straight from town, so you can explore on foot with no fixed circuit to follow.
El Calafate is the gateway to Perito Moreno. It suits travelers who want to walk on the glacier itself or combine hiking and Zodiac crossings to reach more remote ice. Our guide to choosing the best El Calafate tour is a good place to compare the options.
Two iconic Patagonia landscapes: Perito Moreno Glacier and El Chaltén.
Now you can choose your type of trip:
Type of trip
3. Adventure from El Chaltén
In El Chaltén, the trail starts in town and leads straight into forests, valleys and mountains.
Part of what sets Los Glaciares apart is that you can walk out of town and straight onto the trail. From El Chaltén, paths run into forests, valleys, rivers and mountain scenery, giving hikers almost endless routes to explore.
For something less conventional, try the Ice Trek on Glacier Cagliero, in the Lago del Desierto Provincial Reserve. The route includes a river crossing, about two and a half hours of hiking and a via ferrata section before you step onto the ice.
At the glacier, a safety briefing comes first, then crampons and around an hour on the ice. The reward here is the whole route, not only the glacier at the end of it.
4. Adventure from El Calafate
From El Calafate, you can reach hidden glaciers or put on crampons and walk across Perito Moreno.
Perito Moreno is the name everyone associates with El Calafate, yet the area also has glaciers far from any viewing platform.
One way to reach them is the Adventure excursion, a full-day outing that pairs Zodiac crossings with several hours of walking through changing scenery. María especially likes that mix:
“You are not visiting glaciers viewed from walkways; you are reaching hidden glaciers that require hiking and navigation to access.”
Its duration, rather than any technical challenge, is what makes the day tough. Travelers over 65 can join after a physical assessment.
Perito Moreno itself also has a more active side. On Big Ice, a boat takes you across to the glacier, where you strap on crampons and trek across the ice for several hours.
“If you want to feel the immensity of the glacier, that is where you need to go.”
If you prefer something gentler, Minitrekking is a shorter walk on the glacier, open to a wider age range.
5. The Big Challenge: Vuelta al Cerro Huemul
Four days, camping and the Southern Patagonian Ice Field: this is the park at its wildest.
The Vuelta al Cerro Huemul is the toughest option in this guide: a four-day trek to the Southern Patagonian Ice Field, camping along the way and covering around 9.3 miles a day.
The scenery keeps shifting as you walk, from meadows and rivers to mountains, craters and valleys. María’s verdict:
“For me, that is a true adventure experience.”
6. How to Choose Your Level of Adventure
The right excursion depends on your fitness, your time and how much wilderness you want.
As a rule of thumb, start with how much time and effort you want to invest. Minitrekking is the gentlest way onto the ice, Big Ice and the Adventure excursion ask for more stamina, and the Vuelta al Cerro Huemul is for travelers ready to spend four days on the trail.
The thing to check is what each excursion actually asks of you. Some are demanding because they are long rather than technical, and some have age or fitness conditions, so it pays to confirm the details before you book.
This is also where planning with a specialist earns its keep. Matching the right excursions to your fitness, interests and time is exactly what we do. Our Patagonia tours build these experiences into a complete trip, and our guide to how many days you need in Patagonia helps you size it. If you would like a hand, our specialists are happy to shape it with you; just get in touch.
Los Glaciares Adventures at a Glance
| Experience | Where | What it involves | Duration |
| Minitrekking | Perito Moreno Glacier | A shorter walk on the glacier, open to a wider age range | Shorter than Big Ice |
| Glacier Cagliero Ice Trek | Lago del Desierto Provincial Reserve | River crossing, hiking, via ferrata and glacier trekking | About 2.5 hours of hiking and 1 hour on the ice |
| Big Ice | Perito Moreno Glacier | Boat crossing and crampon trekking across the ice | Several hours on the ice |
| Adventure excursion | Near El Calafate | Hiking and Zodiac crossings to remote glaciers | Full day |
| Vuelta al Cerro Huemul | Southern Patagonian Ice Field | Multi-day trek with camping, around 9.3 miles per day | 4 days |
7. FAQs About Los Glaciares National Park Adventures: Glacier Treks, Trails and Multi-Day Routes
Plenty. Around El Calafate and El Chaltén, the options range from glacier treks and river crossings to day hikes and multi-day routes.
The main options include Big Ice and Minitrekking on Perito Moreno, the Adventure excursion to remote glaciers, the Ice Trek on Glacier Cagliero and the four-day Vuelta al Cerro Huemul.
It depends on the excursion. Minitrekking is the softer option, while the Adventure excursion is physically demanding because of its duration rather than technical difficulty.
The Vuelta al Cerro Huemul is the most demanding experience here, with four days of trekking, camping and around 9.3 miles of hiking per day.
Yes. The town sits within the park, a big part of what makes Los Glaciares special for hikers.
Because so many trails start from town, you can head out on foot into forests, valleys and mountains with no set circuit to follow.
Yes. Big Ice is the fuller option: a boat crossing to the glacier, followed by several hours of trekking in crampons.
If you would prefer a gentler outing, Minitrekking is shorter and open to a wider age range.
On some of them, yes. Travelers over 65 may join the Adventure excursion subject to a physical assessment.
Minitrekking is available to a wider age range than Big Ice, so it can be a good alternative. It is worth confirming the conditions for your excursion before you book.
The Vuelta al Cerro Huemul is a four-day camping trek to the Southern Patagonian Ice Field, averaging around 9.3 miles a day.
Along the way you pass through meadows, rivers, mountains, craters and valleys. It suits travelers who want a more demanding challenge.
