El Chalten

El Chalten

From El Calafate we took the bus to El Chalten, which is on the edge of the other end of the Los Glacieres National Park.

 

El Chalten



Before arriving at the bus terminal, we stopped at the the national park information lodge for our first view of the Fitz Roy, and where we were briefed about the park and the rules for keeping it safe.



phone box in El Chalten



Needless to say, after the recent fire that had caused such damage at Torres del Paine, there was a strong emphasis on not starting fires.

El Chalten



We were impressed that there was no entrance charge in this section of the park and and that, whilst we were not planning to make use of it,  camping in the park is free too.   This is clearly a place where they could be charging, so it is refreshing that they are not.



our shipping container hostel room



We made our way to the hostel eventually after walking past it once and having to come back when we ran out of buildings that it could be, and when we arrived we almost wished we hadn't found it at all.  Initially they  couldn't find our booking and seemed somewhat uninterested in looking for it.  Then our room turned out to be half a shipping container.



our shipping container hostel room



There was just enough room for the double bed in the corner with about a foot and a half at the end of the bed and the side where the door was. There was a heater, but it looked so dubious that we decided not to bother with it.  The bed wasn't changed when we got there, so the room obviously hadn't been cleaned either, but at least they did give us clean sheets.  The dividing wall to the other 'room' was so thin that you could hear everything through it - and yes sadly I do mean everything!  Needless to say we didn't spend much of our time in the room.





Walk to Fitz Roy

Rio de las Vueltas, El Chalten

 El Chalten itself was tiny but quite nice.  Many of the places were a bit lacking in character or quality, but we found a few bars and restaurants that were pleasant and had good food.  We made the waffleria opposite our hostel our second home for our stay, and when we left they gave us posters of El Chalten, presumably for having been such good customers.




Fitz Roy



Fitz Roy range

But the point of coming to El Chalten was the Fitz Roy Mountain.  From the town itself there was a great view of the top of the mountain, but the plan was to trek through the park to one of the viewing points.  We decided against the walk to the base itself, and settled on the trip to Lake Capri instead.

Magellanic Woodpecker

Magellanic Woodpecker

That was a good decision because while the walk was still tiring, it was not as tough as the others and for a change I didn't feel like I was dying!  Unlike the walk in Huerquehue, the route opened out of the woods more often so you could see the views as you walked.  And when we reached the viewpoint, there really was a fabulous view of Fitz Roy and the other peaks next to it.

Largo Capri and Fitz Roy

We were also lucky enough to spot a couple of Magellanic Woodpeckers, which are local to this area and have fabulously scarlet heads.

Largo Capri and Fitz Roy

From the viewpoint we made our way a little further to the lake, where the was another great view of the mountains.  We rested here a while before gong back down to the town and finding an excellent place for dinner with big steaks and a huge wedge of potato cake to go with it.