Billing itself as “Capital Nacional del Trekking,” Argentina’s national trekking capital, El Chaltén has become popular for easy access to Fitz Roy–range trailheads in Parque Nacional Los Glaciares. While many trails are suitable for overnight backpacks, access is so good that day hikers can cover nearly as much ground.

Exposed to fierce westerly winds and to potential floods from the Río de las Vueltas, El Chaltén has still managed to achieve a sense of permanence in what, just a few years ago, seemed a bleak assortment of government offices aimed to uphold Argentina’s presence in a then disputed border zone (the last of many Chilean-Argentine territorial quarrels, over Lago del Desierto to the north, was finalized a few years ago).

With the highway from the RN 40 junction recently paved, it’s growing so rapidly that some fear it will become the next El Calafate, where real estate development (and speculation) are rampant. When the last 30 kilometers of the RN 40 link are paved, travel time from El Calafate will fall from four hours to three or so. Meanwhile, the town is enjoying improvements as the streets are paved to keep down the dust, and a new bus terminal is due to begin construction.

El Chaltén (pop. about 500) is 220 kilometers northwest of El Calafate via eastbound RP 11 to the Río Bote junction, northbound RN 40, and westbound RP 23 along Lago Viedma’s north shore.

Getting There

Several companies connect El Chaltén with El Calafate (US$14, 4.5 hours): Cal Tur (San Martín s/n, tel. 02962/493062), Chaltén Travel (San Martín s/n, tel. 02962/493005), and Taqsa (Antonio Rojo and Cabo García, tel. 02962/493211). Departures are usually in late afternoon, around 5–6 p.m. There are several buses daily in summer, but this falls to about one daily in winter.

With Chaltén Travel, it’s possible to travel north on gravel RN 40 to the towns of Perito Moreno and Los Antiguos in Chubut Province (US$60, 13 hours). Chaltén Travel leaves Chaltén on alternate days in summer; passengers from El Calafate can board the bus at the RN 40 junction. The rest of the year, there may be only one bus weekly.

Transporte Las Lengas (Viedma 95, tel. 02962/493023) goes to Comandante Luis Piedra Buena (US$26, six hours) at 7 a.m. daily in summer.