El Chaltén, El Calafate, Torres del Paine & Ushuaia: Patagonia Complete Trekking Tour

A private transfer from El Calafate Airport (FTE) across the Patagonian steppe to El Chaltén, with the Fitz Roy and Cerro Torre massifs rising above the De las Vueltas River valley on approach. An evening guide briefing covers weather patterns, wind forecasts, and departure timing for the five trekking days ahead.

22 km round trip | 960m elevation gain | 8–9 hours | Challenging

A private transfer from El Chaltén to the Río Eléctrico trailhead, 18 km north of the village, cuts the standard approach in half and adds roughly 90 minutes of actual trail time to the day. From the trailhead, a full day ascending through lenga and ñire forest past the Piedras Blancas hanging glacier to the glacial lagoon at 3,054 meters below Fitz Roy's north face.

~14 km round trip | ~700m elevation gain | 6–7 hours | Moderate–Challenging

A private transfer 17 km north of El Chaltén to Reserva Los Huemules, a private conservation reserve in the Diablo River Valley outside the standard Los Glaciares National Park trail network. The trail climbs through native forest and open alpine terrain to Laguna del Diablo and continues to Laguna Azul — two glacial lakes set against the reserve's hanging glaciers and ridge lines. The reserve's small visitor numbers make for a fundamentally different experience from the park trails.

20–22 km round trip | 1,100m elevation gain | 7–8 hours | Moderate–Challenging

A sustained ascent from El Chaltén to Loma del Pliegue Tumbado — one of the few viewpoints in Patagonia where Fitz Roy, Cerro Torre, Lake Viedma, and the Southern Patagonian Ice Field are simultaneously visible. The summit ridge is fully exposed to wind; a windproof layer is essential. Your guide sets departure time against the morning forecast.

~18 km round trip | ~450m elevation gain | ~6 hours | Moderate

A morning hike west through the Fitz Roy River canyon to Laguna Torre, where Cerro Torre's 3,128-meter granite spire and the floating icebergs of Glaciar Grande fill the view. An early return to El Chaltén in the afternoon, then a private transfer across the Patagonian steppe to El Calafate for check-in and a free evening.

A boat crossing of Lake Argentino's Rico Arm to the glacier's southern shore, followed by a forest hike to the ice edge where crampons go on. Approximately 90 minutes of guided travel on Perito Moreno Glacier's surface past blue meltwater lagoons, seracs, and crevasses. After returning to the shore, the elevated walkways deliver the 70-meter ice face and calving events from above — two completely different physical relationships with the same glacier in one day.

~10–12 km | ~600m elevation gain | 4–5 hours | Moderate

A 2.5-hour navigation across Lago Argentino's northern arm to Estancia Cristina, a remote working ranch accessible only by boat. From the estancia, a guided trek up the Cañadón de los Fósiles canyon — marine fossil beds embedded in sedimentary rock at 1,200 meters, with panoramic views over the Upsala Glacier arm of the lake and the surrounding steppe. The only full trekking day in the El Calafate area that doesn't involve Perito Moreno.

A private transfer from El Calafate crossing the Argentine–Chilean border at Cancha Carrera/Cerro Castillo. Multiple stops along the steppe for guanacos, condors, and lesser rheas before the Paine Massif appears on the horizon. A short introductory walk from the Laguna Amarga entrance with first views of the Towers, then check-in at your lodge inside the park.

18 km round trip | 880m elevation gain | 7–8 hours | Challenging

A private guide leads the ascent from the bridge over the Ascencio River through lenga beech forest and over the final steep moraine to the glacial lagoon below the three granite Paine Towers. Your guide sets departure time against the wind forecast — the upper moraine is fully exposed.

~16 km round trip | ~500m elevation gain | 6–7 hours | Moderate–Challenging

A transfer to Puerto Pudeto for the catamaran crossing of Lago Pehoé, then a hike into the French Valley — a glacial amphitheater flanked by hanging glaciers on both sides and vertical granite walls above. The upper mirador delivers views of peaks on both sides of the valley simultaneously.

~11 km | ~200m elevation gain | 3–4 hours | Easy–Moderate

A walk north along the Grey Lake shoreline, where massive icebergs calved from Grey Glacier sit anchored by wind along the volcanic sand beach — a different physical scale from any other viewpoint on the circuit. The glacier face and the edge of the Southern Patagonian Ice Field are visible throughout the walk.

A private transfer back across the Argentine–Chilean border to El Calafate for an overnight before the morning flight south.

A morning domestic flight from El Calafate (FTE) to Ushuaia (USH), the southernmost city in the world, with the Andes narrowing visibly into the Beagle Channel as the plane descends. A local guide meets you at the airport for the hotel transfer. In the afternoon, a private navigation of the Beagle Channel — the route Darwin charted in the 1830s — past sea lion and bird colonies, the Les Éclaireurs Lighthouse, and the open channel toward Cape Horn.

A coastal trek through Tierra del Fuego National Park past Yamana shellfish midden sites — the accumulated remains of thousands of years of settlement along the coast — to Lake Roca, followed by a canoe descent of the Lapataia River through subantarctic forest to Lapataia Bay, where Pan-American Route 3 ends at the water's edge.

~14 km round trip | ~900m elevation gain | 6–7 hours | Challenging

A trail that climbs from the edge of the city through dense subantarctic lenga forest and peat bogs to Laguna de los Témpanos — a glacial lake fed by ice from Vinciguerra — and continues to the Glaciar Vinciguerra viewpoint. The terrain above the tree line shifts to exposed rock and moraine, with panoramic views over Ushuaia, the Beagle Channel, and the Chilean mountains on the far shore. The most technically demanding trail above Ushuaia and the least included in standard itineraries despite the quality of the terrain.

21 km round trip | ~9 hours | Challenging

One of the most technically demanding trails above Ushuaia — and the least included in standard itineraries. A private transfer from the hotel along Route 3 to the Valle Tierra Mayor trailhead. The trail climbs through native lenga beech forest, peat bogs, and beaver-dammed streams before reaching Laguna Esmeralda, used here as a mid-route staging point rather than a destination. Beyond the lagoon, the terrain shifts abruptly — old-growth fallen timber, unstable rock blocks, and steep continuous slopes lead to a natural terrace with views over Laguna Esmeralda and the Cordón Sorondo ridge, with Monte Olivia and Cerro Cinco Hermanos visible in the distance. The final section requires rope and carabiner assistance from your mountain guide to cross the most exposed terrain before reaching the Glaciar Ojo del Albino, framed by the Torres de Rhino. A warm soup and packed lunch at the glacier, then the return on the same trail. Crampons, poles, and helmet provided.

~9 km round trip | ~200m elevation gain | ~4 hours | Moderate

A hike through subantarctic lenga forest and peat bog — active beaver dams reshape the stream terrain throughout the route — to Laguna Esmeralda, a turquoise glacial lake fed by a hanging glacier visible from the shoreline.

A private transfer to Ushuaia Airport (USH) for your flight back to Buenos Aires and onward international connections.