El Chaltén – Condors Viewpoint and Chorrillo del Salto Waterfall

The best combination of activities to visit El Chaltén in a single day from El Calafate. You don’t need to be an advanced hiker to enjoy the hike to a beautiful panoramic point with our guide. In addition to lunch at a classic restaurant in El Chaltén, you’ll visit a beautiful waterfall that freezes completely during winter and explore the rugged town of El Chaltén, the trekking capital of Argentina.

This is an exclusive expedition that starts early in the morning, picking up adventurers from their accommodations or nearby. We will take the famous “Ruta 40” along the shores of Lake Argentino, cross the Santa Cruz River, and then enter Ruta 23, continuing to the La Leona River, where we’ll travel through its breathtaking canyon! We’ll make a stop at the old hotel of Paso La Leona (almost a museum on Ruta 40), where you can have coffee with homemade cakes and hear various stories spanning over a century. From there, we’ll skirt Lake Viedma, where we can also see the incredible Viedma Glacier, always with the Andes Mountains in the background (including Fitz Roy and Torre), especially as we approach El Chaltén. Along the way, we’ll encounter hundreds of guanacos, many of them very close to the road, and other animals such as rheas or ostriches, hares, foxes, armadillos, birds like caracaras, and of course, the beloved condor, whose chances of sighting increase significantly as we approach El Chaltén. Before reaching the town, we’ll stop at the Viedma Glacier viewpoint where you can enjoy a beautiful panoramic view of the glacier, the mountains, and the iconic Cerro Fitz Roy and Cerro Torre. We’ll arrive at the mountainous village of El Chaltén after approximately 3 hours of travel, covering 220 km.

From the National Parks Interpretation Center, we will start the hike with a guide to the Mirador de los Cóndores, a low-difficulty climb that, after about an hour, leads us to this magnificent viewpoint of the entire mountain range surrounding the mountains such as the spectacular Fitz Roy at 3405 meters above sea level and Cerro Torre at 3133 meters, including Agujas Mermoz, Saint Exupéry, Poincenot, among others. From there, you can even see the Piedras Blancas Glacier, with the town of El Chaltén below us, the Rio de las Vueltas Valley in the background, a truly magnificent panoramic point. As the name of the peak suggests, de los condores, the chances of seeing condors are high.

After returning to the vehicle, we will head to a beautiful waterfall called “Chorrillo del Salto.” It is a glacier melt waterfall with crystal-clear waters, over 20 meters high, in a Patagonian forest, with a setting of lengas and ñires trees, and in winter, it freezes completely. To reach the waterfall, there is a short, low-difficulty hike.

Next, we will head to a restaurant located right in the center of El Chaltén for lunch while discussing the impressive landscapes seen earlier. It’s certainly a good time to review photos and start sharing on social media!

After lunch, adventurers will have approximately an hour to explore the town, enjoy the craft brewery, a classic of El Chaltén, or perhaps stop at the waffle shop or a tea house, buy souvenirs as “recuerdo,” and take photos at the main sign of El Chaltén.

After this incredible day, we will begin the return journey to the city of El Calafate, with the certainty that we had a wonderful day, perhaps with the most beautiful landscapes we have ever seen.

Observations:
Wear appropriate clothing for outdoor activities and trekking (waterproof and quick-drying): comfortable shoes, wide pants (nylon/polyester), jacket or fleece, additional sweater, visor hat, medium backpack, sunglasses, hat, sunscreen, gloves, snacks, and water. We recommend bringing trekking poles, especially in winter.