Introduction:

El Calafate, recognized as World Heritage by UNESCO in 1981, is a little and cozy city located over the edge of Lake Argentino, in the province of Santa Cruz, 305 kilometres awat from Río Gallegos (the capital city of the province), and 3.000 kilometres away from Buenos Aires.

El Calafate is well-known by hosting one of the most important touristic attractives in Argentina: the Perito Moreno Glacier. However, it offers a lot of other options to enjoy.

¿What to visit?

Perito Moreno Glacier: Located within the National Park Los Glaciares – You can walk along its walkways and enjoy every viewpoint, or even take the minitrekking tour.

This is a tour that allows you to walk over the glacier observing the sumps, cracks and other characteristics that make this glacier unique, since the Perito Moreno Glacier is one of the few glaciers that aren’t shrinking.

Express Ice-Rivers: Lacustrine tour that takes you to the Spegazzini Glacier among others, navigating the Floes Channel towards the Upsala Glacier – Because of security reasons, it’s not possible to come totally near.

El Chaltén: Full day tour that takes you to El Chaltén, the village that hosts the Fitz Roy Hill; from El Chaltén you can also approach the Torre Hill, see the Lake of the Desert or visit the Viedma Glacier, the biggest glacier in Argentina. Another tours and visits you can enjoy from El Chaltén are: Torres del Paine, Patagonian ranchs, Calafate’s balconies, Frías Hill, Patagonian Museum of Ice, and Ice-Bar.

Weather and when to travel:

The best time to travel to Calafate is from October to April; although it is a destination you can enjoy at any time of the year, during summer the days are longer and every tour is operating. Besides, summer temperatures are pleasant.

¿How to get there?

By plane: In a flight from Buenos Aires, flying for 3 hours approximately. Aerolíneas Argentinas covers this route the whole year; LATAM only operates from October to April. When you get to Calafate’s Airport there are many receptive companies that can provide you a transfer to the hotel or offer you different tours and visits.

¿Where to sleep?

There are two different areas where you can find accommodation. The first one is the city center, where you can enjoy variety of accommodation options, shops and gastronomic proposal. The second area is on the way towards the National Park Los Glaciares – Here you can find the hotels with best views, since most of them are located in front of the Lake Argentino; although this hotels are away from the city center, many of them count with free transfer service for their guests.

Gastronomy and nightlife:

The gastronomic proposal at El Calafate grows day by bay. It includes international food restaurants, pizza restaurants, take-away restaurants and bars with views to the lake.

Patagonian lamb is the gastronomic specialty – We recommend the roasted lamb, although you can taste it in a lot of other dishes. Another typical products are ostrich and guanaco meat, and pastries, liquors and jams made of red berries that grow in the area.

El Calafate hosts a lot of restaurants, bars and discos. One of the most popular restaurants is Don Diego – At night you can have dinner or take a drink while you listen to nice music with your friends, family or couple. Don Diego is open during the high season and also during Easter holidays. Another option is Tango Sur, a bar which is also a museum dedicated to tango – This place is away from the city center, but it offers a beautiful view of the Lake Argentino. El Calafate also counts with a casino.

¿How to move?

There’s no public transport at El Calafate. You can move by car, by taxi or book a transfer. If your accommodation is located at the city center, you can move by feet.

Personal review:

El Calafate is an astonishing destination, surrounded by the Lake Argentino and the Huyliche Hill. The warmth of the inhabitants, the gastronomy, the amazing landscapes… These are the things that make El Calafate so special. When you visit the National Park and you enjoy the view of the glaciers you feel nothing but peace. It gives you goose bumps.