Visiting El Chalten Argentina? You have come to the right place. Here is the only El Chalten hiking guide you’ll need for the most amazing 4 days.
El Chalten Argentina, the national capital of trekking offers some of the best day hikes in the world. We could not believe how absolutely stunning each hike was, from start to finish.
Make sure to bring an extra camera battery, you’ll be taking so many pictures along the way.
This El Chalten hiking itinerary and guide will cover the best time to visit El Chalten, how to get to El Chalten, what to do in El Chalten and more.
Once you are done reading this post you will know exactly what to expect.
This post The Ultimate 4 Day El Chalten Hiking Guide will help you plan an unforgettable Patagonian experience.
Disclaimer: This post may contain affiliate links, which means I’ll receive a small commission if you purchase through my links, at no extra cost to you. Please read full disclosure for more information.
Best Time To Visit El Chalten
The weather in Patagonia is very unpredictable but for your highest chance of good weather try and visit during the summer season December-February.
During this time you can expect a higher chance of sunny days and fewer rain showers. This is also peak season, so if you want to avoid the crowds maybe think of visiting during shoulder season.
Shoulder season falls between late Spring October to November or Early Fall March and Early April. You will have less crowds, lower prices and pleasant weather.
How to Get to El Chalten
The easiest way to get to El Chalten is to fly to El Calafate Airport. Here you can rent a car or take a 3 hour bus ride, like we did to the town of El Chalten. You can book a bus ticket with TAQSA HERE.
Once in town most hotels, restaurants and trail starts are within walking distance.
El Chalten Patagonia Itinerary
DAY 1
Arrive in El Chalten & Mirador de Los Condores Hike
After settling into your hotel enjoy your first El Chalten hike up to Mirador De Los Condores & Aguilas. This easy hike offers an awesome view of the town and Mt Fitz Roy on a clear day.
Hike: Mirador de Los Condores
Trail Start: Visitor’s Center just before the entrance to town
Distance: 3.7 miles (6KM)
Duration: 1.5 Hour
Difficulty: Easy
Enjoy the rest of your evening and prepare for tomorrow’s hike.
DAY 2
Laguna Torre Hike
Today you will spend the majority of the day hiking to Laguna Torre. This is a very popular hike so try and get an early start.
Make sure to pack a lunch.
Tip: Many restaurants and hotels offer lunch boxes. These are perfect to take on your hike and are very reasonably priced.
Hike: Laguna Torre
Trail Start: There are two starting points for the trail to Laguna Torre, both of them right at the back entrance of El Chalten.
Distance: 11 miles (18 KM) out and back trail.
Duration: 6-7 Hours
Difficulty: Moderate
After today’s beautiful hike, make sure to get some rest and prepare for tomorrows hike, if you can believe it, it’s even more stunning than today’s hike to Laguna Torre.
I know, how is that even possible right? Just wait.
DAY 3
Laguna de Los Tres Hike
Today you’ll get to experience up close, the incredible views of Mt Fitz Roy. This trail is considered to be the best El Chalten hike, and for good reason it’s breathtaking.
Make sure to pack a lunch again today, today’s adventure will be a couple hours longer than yesterday.
Hike: Laguna de Los Tres
Trail Start: If you are staying in the main town of El Chalten the trail head begins at the end of Avenida San Martín, where the urban area of El Chaltén ends and the car park is located.
If you are staying at Patagonia Eco Domes like we did, the trail begins about 100 feet from your room.
Distance: 12.5 miles (20 KM) out and back trail from Patagonia Eco Domes and 15 miles (24 KM) from the town of El Chalten.
Duration: 8-9 Hours
Elevation gain: 2,300 feet (770M)
Difficulty: Moderate-Hard
Tip: Both of these hikes are very weather dependent. Make sure to check the weather forecast first, we highly recommended doing Laguna de Los Tres on the day with the best expected weather.
Tomorrow will be much more relaxing, with a visit to a waterfall and some epic horseback riding.
DAY 4
Horseback Riding in Patagonia & Chorillo del Salto Hike
You’ll be pretty tired today, so sleep in and have an easy morning.
In the afternoon enjoy a horseback riding tour with Bonanza Estancia and after lunch head to Chorillo del Salto for a nice leisure hike.
We really recommend booking lunch with the Horseback Tour. They cook the most delicious Patagonian Lamb a la cruz, which was such a cool experience to see plus the hospitality was top notch.
2 Hour Horseback Riding Tour cost $85 USD per person.
Horseback Riding Tour with Lunch cost $125 USD per person.
If you have the energy and need to walk off lunch I recommend a nice easy stroll to Chorillo del Salto.
Hike: Chorillo del Salto
Trail Start: This trail begins at the head of the “Senda al Fitz Roy”, but you must immediately take the detour to the right to follow the trail parallel to the RP41 to the north.
Alternatively, you can leave the car parked closer to Chorillo del Salto and do only the last stretch on foot, instead of walking the entire route from El Chaltén.
Distance: 4 miles (6.5 KM) out and back trail.
Duration: 1.5-2 Hours
Difficulty: Easy
Spend the rest of your evening relaxing and enjoying the beautiful views of El Chalten.
Hotels in El Chalten Argentina
We stayed at Patagonia Eco Domes and it was a truly amazing experience! If budget allows I would 100% stay with them.
BUDGET| Rancho Grande Hostel
MID RANGE| Hosteria Senderos
LUXURY| Patagonia Eco Domes
Where to Eat in El Chalten
If you happen to stay at Patagonia Eco Domes you will be having all your meals there because it’s included with the room rate, and trust me the food is extremely good.
If you are staying somewhere else that doesn’t include meals here are some restaurants that scored high reviews on google.
- PAISA High Mountain Coffe
- Panaderia Y Cafeteria “Lo De Haydee”
- Pizzeria Ruca Mahuida
- La Lomiteria El Chalten
- El Parador Comida Para Llevar
- Maffia
That wraps up this post The Ultimate 4 day El Chalten Hiking Guide, hope this helps better prepare your upcoming trip to El Chalten Argentina.
But wait there’s more:
- Must-See Places to Visit in Patagonia: Your Ultimate Itinerary
- The Ultimate Argentina Itinerary
- Buenos Aires Itinerary: 5 Days of Food, Culture & Tango
Travel Resources
Here you can find all the travel site links that we personally use and recommend.
CAMPSITES/CAMPGROUNDS We like to use a couple apps for last minute campsite bookings. Our favorites are HipCamp, The Dyrt and Campendium.
ACCOMMODATION: We find the best deals with BOOKING.COM. The more you book the better the perks like free breakfast with your stay, room upgrades and even higher discounted room rates.
CAR RENTALS: We have always used RentalCars.com and find them to have the best deals, customer service and selection of locations.
FLIGHTS: Our go to for looking up flights is SKYSCANNER, but we try to always book directly with the airline.
TOURS/EXCURSIONS: GET YOUR GUIDE and VIATOR are two very reputable sites with easy and hassle free bookings.
TRAVEL INSURANCE: It’s so important to travel with insurance and for this we use SafetyWing. We are currently using them for our 1 year trip.
TRANSPORTATION: For all our bus, ferry and train transfer needs in Asia we use 12go.asia.
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