Although the town itself doesn't have much to offer (a part from the peaceful and lovely bahia de la Laguna Nimez where in one place we can see a mixture of horses, flamencos, ducks, birds and swans), El calafate is a worldwide famous destination for the majestic national parc ‘Los Glaciares’, which covers an area of 539 300 hectares and holds many Glaciers. El calafate, and everywhere in Patagonia, is renowned for its Patagonian culinary tradition (and for chocolate!) the Cordero asado, which is a grilled lamb and worth a try! |
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Perito Moreno
The most famous one in this destination is El Perito Moreno, a glacier as big as Buenos Aires (260km2) and with an average height of 70m. The specifics of this glacier is that we can easily see junks of ice breaking off and falling into the water, which gives an unprecedented show, and a sound one cannot forget!
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Rio de Hielos
We also decided to go for a catamaran ride to visit the two other famous glaciers. Although the activity is too expensive for what it is, the view is really worth it. The Rio de Hielos tour bring you as close as possible to the Upsala glacier, the biggest one of the NP (1000km2) which you can only see from 8-10km away as it melts down at a rapid pace making it dangerous to come too close. Yet the pieces of ice that derive from it offer a majestic spectacle of icebergs! The other glacier, the Spegazzini, is the highest on of the NP. It measures about 100m high and is nested within a green and flourished mountain. The most surprising thing about the cruise is not only the contrast of glaciers and wild but also flourished mountains, but mostly the turquoise colour of the water and its purity.
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Transport: a short drive from El Chalten (3h30) got us to El calafate. We had previously bought a combined ticket which gave us a discount on the ride (as explained on the El Chalten page) otherwise the cost is of 450 ARS (27€)
Accommodation: we were hosted by a lovely Argentinian through Couchsurfing. But if you need a cheap hostel there's one at the end of the Main Street (called hostel Carretas) right after the bridge for 200ARS (14€) per night in a dormitory with kitchen, wifi and hot shower. The owner is not very friendly but it's one of the cheapest hostels in town.
F&B: everything is expensive in El calafate! We were lucky to find a cheaper option called Don Mecha (calle Tomás Esposa) where we paid 150 ARS for a big pizza instead of 250 ARS at least and where I ate the biggest sandwich of my life so far (it could almost be for two people) for 90 ARS instead of at least 120-150 ARS elsewhere. One restaurant that is to be tried is the Don Pichon situation a bit outside of town (they have a free shuffle service when you reserve that pick you up and drop you back at your hotel) but with a nice view over the town and valley. This place is famous for its Parilla which is meat cooked at a barbecue style and where we tried the so famous Cordero a la Parilla. We also tried a mix of meat at la Parilla and everything was delicious including the side dishes and the Patagonian wines!! Eating there was a treat we allow ourselves only once in a while as it is locally costly. We paid a total of 100€ for four people including the great quality meat, side dishes, wine and desserts for two.
Activities: the Perito Moreno (opened from 8 am until 9 pm) can be visited alone without contracting a tour agency, and it is cheaper! Just take a bus from town (about 420 ARS return) which lasts about two hours I guess) and then over there you will just have to pay the park entrance (330 ARS, valid only one day). Because half of our group did the Rios de Hielos tour (2000 ARS - 120€ per person including transport and the ride, 1650 ARS without transport) and that we were 5 we rented a car which is cheaper than the bus for 5. The cheapest rental price was 1400 ARS (or 1260 ARS when paying cash) at the Servi car rental.
Accommodation: we were hosted by a lovely Argentinian through Couchsurfing. But if you need a cheap hostel there's one at the end of the Main Street (called hostel Carretas) right after the bridge for 200ARS (14€) per night in a dormitory with kitchen, wifi and hot shower. The owner is not very friendly but it's one of the cheapest hostels in town.
F&B: everything is expensive in El calafate! We were lucky to find a cheaper option called Don Mecha (calle Tomás Esposa) where we paid 150 ARS for a big pizza instead of 250 ARS at least and where I ate the biggest sandwich of my life so far (it could almost be for two people) for 90 ARS instead of at least 120-150 ARS elsewhere. One restaurant that is to be tried is the Don Pichon situation a bit outside of town (they have a free shuffle service when you reserve that pick you up and drop you back at your hotel) but with a nice view over the town and valley. This place is famous for its Parilla which is meat cooked at a barbecue style and where we tried the so famous Cordero a la Parilla. We also tried a mix of meat at la Parilla and everything was delicious including the side dishes and the Patagonian wines!! Eating there was a treat we allow ourselves only once in a while as it is locally costly. We paid a total of 100€ for four people including the great quality meat, side dishes, wine and desserts for two.
Activities: the Perito Moreno (opened from 8 am until 9 pm) can be visited alone without contracting a tour agency, and it is cheaper! Just take a bus from town (about 420 ARS return) which lasts about two hours I guess) and then over there you will just have to pay the park entrance (330 ARS, valid only one day). Because half of our group did the Rios de Hielos tour (2000 ARS - 120€ per person including transport and the ride, 1650 ARS without transport) and that we were 5 we rented a car which is cheaper than the bus for 5. The cheapest rental price was 1400 ARS (or 1260 ARS when paying cash) at the Servi car rental.