Where RN 40 meets the smoothly paved international highway from Comodoro Rivadavia to Chile Chico, nondescript Perito Moreno marks the return to civilization for northbound travelers and the start of the adventure for the Calafate-bound. Often confused with its namesake national park, as well as the eponymous glacier in Parque Nacional Los Glaciares, it has pretty good services, but many visitors prefer the lakeside town of Los Antiguos to the west.

Perito Moreno (pop. 3,598) is 398 kilometers southwest of Comodoro Rivadavia via Caleta Olivia, and 58 kilometers east of Los Antiguos via paved RP 43. It is 124 kilometers south of Río Mayo, Chubut Province, via one of RN 40’s rougher stretches, which continues toward Esquel and the Andean lakes district.

Early February’s Festival Folklórico Cueva de las Manos is a musical event that capitalizes on the proximity of the world heritage site.

Family to Estancia Telken, bilingual Guanacondor Tours & Expeditions (Perito Moreno 1087, tel. 02963/432303, jarinauta [at] yahoo [dot] com [dot] ar or jarinauta [at] santacruz [dot] com [dot] ar) arranges excursions including Cueva de las Manos and Cañadón del Arroyo Feo.

Accommodations

Opposite Laguna de los Cisnes, the city park at Perito’s south end, the sheltered Camping Municipal (Roca and Moreno, US$1.30 pp plus US$1.30 per vehicle or tent) is small but has flawless bathrooms with hot showers (US$1 extra).

Otherwise, the pickings are slim. Hotel Santa Cruz (Belgrano 1565, tel. 02963/432133, US$17 s or d with shared bath) is a no-frills shoestring option, while Hotel Americano (San Martín 1327, tel. 02963/432074, hotelamericano_consultas [at] yahoo [dot] com [dot] ar, US$20/30 s/d) is a shade better. The respectable Hotel Belgrano (Avenida San Martín 1001, tel. 02963/432019, US$22/33 s/d) also has a restaurant, but the best option is the homey three-room bed-and-breakfast Posada del Caminante (Rivadavia 937, tel. 02963/432204, posadadelcaminante [at] yahoo [dot] com [dot] ar, US$27/33 s/d); phone first, as it’s often booked far ahead.

Getting There

LADE (Avenida San Martín 1065, tel. 02963/432055) flies Sundays northbound to Comodoro Rivadavia and southbound to Gobernador Gregores and El Calafate.

The sharp new Terminal de Ómnibus is at the north end of town, where RN 40 (Avenida San Martín) meets RP 43. La Unión (tel. 02963/432638) and Sportman (tel. 02963/432177) have westbound service to Los Antiguos (US$3.50, one hour) and eastbound service to Comodoro Rivadavia (US$15, five hours). Sportman and Taqsa (tel. 02963/432675) both have daily service to Río Gallegos (US$33, 15 hours).