Perito Moreno Glacier
Argentina Holidays & Tailor-made Tour Itineraries

El Calafate is a small town in Patagonia; the name comes from a little bush with yellow flowers very common in Patagonia, with dark blue berries: the "calafate". It is located on the banks of Lake Argentina, with majestic mountains, glaciers and icebergs rising in the horizon. The area is dry and barren with bushes and no trees other than the ones planted by the settlers for protection from the wind. Lake Argentino has a number of glaciers that are still growing; the most impressive and accessible is the Perito Moreno Glacier. It extends between two mountains to cross a long arm of Lake Argentino, so that the opposite bank is the ideal vantage point on land to view the front of the glacier. There are platforms to enable to spend a considerable amount of time admiring the magnificent size and rugged surface of a living, moving glacier. Other glaciers such as Upsalla and Onelli are reached on a boat trip on the lake.

Depart Calafate to Punta Bandera and board a catamaran to Lago Argentino until we get the first magnificent view of Upsala Glacier. The largest glacier in the region, some nine kilometres wide and 50 kilometres long, is fed by numerous tributaries from the continental icefield. Eventually we reach Onelli Glacier, standing on a tranquil lake, with beech trees to one side and ice-covered mountains to the other. A vast array of wildlife can be seen here: foxes, rheas, armadillos, condor, guanacos and pumas.