See The Perito Moreno Glacier
Ticked off in January 2016
A wall of blue ice taller than a 20-storey building cracks like gunfire, then a tower collapses into the lake.
The adventure
The first glimpse of Perito Moreno stops you in your tracks. A river of ice five kilometres wide pours down from the Andes and ends abruptly at the shore of Lago Argentino in a jagged wall of white and electric blue, rising around 70 metres above the water.
Find a spot on the walkways that face the glacier and wait. The ice creaks, groans and cracks like rifle fire, and every so often a slab the size of a house breaks off and crashes into the lake, sending a wave rolling across the water. For an even closer view, take a boat right up to the face, or strap on crampons and walk on the glacier itself, past deep blue crevasses and meltwater pools, finishing with a glass of whisky over glacier ice.
Why it’s epic
- About 30 kilometres long, with an ice front around 5 kilometres wide and 70 metres high.
- Part of the Southern Patagonian Ice Field, one of the largest reserves of fresh water in the world.
- Every few years the glacier dams part of the lake, and the ice bridge eventually ruptures in a spectacular collapse.
- Inside Los Glaciares National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1981.
What it is
Perito Moreno is a 30-kilometre-long glacier whose wall rises about 70 metres above Lake Argentino.
How to do it
Base yourself in El Calafate and take a bus to the walkways facing the glacier. Boat trips and ice-trekking tours are also available.
Top tip
Wait for chunks of ice to calve into the lake, which happens regularly.
Need to know
- El Calafate is about 80 kilometres away, with buses and tours to the glacier every day.
- There's a national park entry fee, and ice trekking tours have age and fitness limits, so book these ahead in summer.
- Patagonian weather changes fast, with strong winds, so bring warm, windproof layers even in summer.
Plan this trip
- Rough cost
- £750 to £2,000 per person, including flights from the UK
- Time needed
- 1 day
- Best time to go
- October to April
- Fly into
- FTE airport
The glacier itself is a modest day out, but flights to El Calafate and Patagonian hotels are expensive.
Do it yourself
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My experience
Ticked off, but the full story is still to be written up.
Over to you
Is “See The Perito Moreno Glacier” on your bucket list, or have you already done it? Tell me in the comments, and if you've got a question about it, ask away and I'll answer.