Valdez Peninsula and Patagonia Hiking Tour Itinerary

Day 1 Welcome to Argentina

After your arrival in Buenos Aires, a driver will greet you and transfer you to your hotel. After settling in, take time to see some of the city’s vibrant sights, like the tourist centre of La Boca, the bohemian quarter of San Telmo, and the tango dancers in Dorrego Square.
Overnight Location: Hotel in Buenos Aires
Distance: None
Meals: None

Day 2 Penguin Watching in Punta Tumbo

Today you’ll be transferred from your hotel back to the airport for a quick domestic flight to Trelew. You’ll be greeted at the airport and taken to the Punta Tumbo Peninsula, where you’ll join an English-speaking guide to watch the planet’s largest colony of Magellanic penguins in their natural habitat.

Later in the day, transfer to Puerto Madryn to spend the night in your hotel.
Overnight Location: Hotel in Puerto Madryn
Distance: 400km (driving)
Meals: Breakfast

Day 3 Wildlife Excursion to the Valdez Peninsula

This morning, head to the protected Valdez Peninsula Reserve, a UNESCO World Heritage Site recognised for its important role in the conservation of marine mammals, including whales, orcas, and sea lions. From the cliffs of Punta Pelgada, you can watch the largest elephant seals in the world.

This area is also rich in local wildlife, like ñandu, guanacos, foxes and armadillos.
Overnight Location: Hotel in Puerto Madryn
Distance: 400km (driving)
Meals: Breakfast

Day 4 Flight to El Calafate

A shared transfer will take you back to Trelew Airport for your flight south to El Calafate, the gateway to the Los Glaciares National Park. Located on the shores of Lake Argentino and home to the Perito Moreno Glacier, El Calafate offers beautiful scenery in a rural mountain town setting. There are opportunities to visit Glaciarium Museum, go wildlife watching, or just wander around the quaint town.
Overnight Location: Hotel in El Calafate
Distance: None
Meals: Breakfast

Day 5 Catamaran Cruise and Ranch Tour

Get ready for a great day trip of boat and land tours, plus a visit to an authentic local estancia, or ranch.

Your day begins with a transfer to a pier on Lake Argentino for a 1.5-hour catamaran cruise to Brazo Upsala, a lake that ends at the foot of the Upsala Glacier. Then, you’ll visit a traditional local ranch (estancia). In the estancia, you’ll visit a small museum, where a guide will tell you the story about the first immigrants who settled here. From the estancia, you’ll take a spectacular 4×4 drive to a beautiful overlook of Upsala Glacier. You’ll return to El Calafate via the same catamaran.
Overnight Location: Hotel in El Calafate
Distance: None
Meals: Breakfast

Day 6 Visit to Perito Moreno Glacier and transfer to El Chalten

You can’t help but admire the amazing view along Lake Argentino as you travel to the Los Glaciares Park. At the park, an English-speaking guide will take you on an excursion to see the mammoth Perito Moreno Glacier, with sheer blue cliffs of the continental ice field. Be sure to ask your guide about the additional option to navigate the southern part of the glacier on foot!

In the afternoon, you’ll be heading towards El Chalten, a popular base for trekkers in Argentina. Follow Ruta 40 across the Rio Santa Cruz, enjoying splendid views of Lake Viedma and the peaks of Cerro Torre, Saint Exupéry, Fitz Roy, and Guillaumet.
Overnight Location: Hotel in El Chalten
Distance: 374 km (driving)
Meals: Breakfast

Day 7 Hike to the foot of Mount Fitz Roy

Get ready for a day of climbing in Los Glaciares National Park! Your trek begins by hiking above the Rio las Vueltas and looking down on the enormous tongue of the Piedras Blancas Glacier.

From the Poincenot campsite, a one-hour climb to the foot of the Fitz Roy peak reveals a stunning view of snow-capped stone giants reflected in the Laguna dos Tres. The Mirador los Tres is the most famous viewpoint in the park, revealing an endless landscape you’ll never forget.
Overnight Location: Hotel in El Chalten
Distance: 8 to 9 hours, 24km, 800m of ascent
Meals: Breakfast

Day 8 Hike to Cerro Torre

A five hour hike in a valley along with the Rio Fitz Roy and across several roll sills takes you to Lago Torre, capped with an impressive snow mushroom. After hiking back, you return to El Chalten the same way.

Later in the evening, at 18:00 the bus will take you to El Calafate.
Overnight Location: Hotel in El Calafate.
Distance: 5 to 6 hours, 20km, 200m of ascent
Meals: Breakfast

Day 9 Cross the Pampas into Chile

Today you’ll cross the border into Chile. The trip takes you along the turquoise waters of the Rio Santa Cruz, across the ‘pampas’ (plains), and to the border post of Cerro Castillo. You’ll reach Puerto Natales by afternoon and head to your hotel for a well deserved rest.
Overnight Location: Hotel in Puerto Natales
Distance: 340km of driving
Meals: Breakfast

Day 10 Explore Torres del Paine National Park

From your hotel, you’ll be transferred via private transfer to the Biosphere Reserve of Torres del Paine National Park. Well worn footpaths snake their way through 227,000 hectares of mountain, glacier, lakes and river.

You’ll see the most fantastic sites, such as Gray Beach (a black sandy beach where you can see the icebergs coming from Gray Glacier), as well as Laguna Amarga, the jagged peaks of the Cuernos, and tumbling waterfalls. Tonight you’ll sleep in a mountain hut with nature’s beauty all around you.
Overnight Location: Mountain hut in Torres del Paine National Park
Distance: 200km of driving
Meals: Breakfast

Day 11 Trek to Mirador Las Torres and return to Puerto Natales

Without a doubt, the viewpoint at Mirador las Torres is the most famous in the Torres del Paine National Park, with jagged peaks lining small alpine lakes.

The hike there begins along the Ascencio River and through ancient lenga forests to arrive at the foot of the moraine. From there it’s a steady vertical climb to Mirador las Torres, where you’ll be rewarded with views of vertical granite walls towering towards the sky 1000 metres above a glacier. Bring a camera!

During afternoon (at 19:00) a regular bus will take you from Torres del Paine to Puerto Natales.
Overnight Location: Hotel in Puerto Natales
Distance: 8 hours, 22 km, 900m ascent
Meals: Breakfast

Day 12 Departure

It’s time to pack your bags and begin the trip back home. A transfer will pick you up from your hotel and take you to Puerto Natales Airport for your outbound journey.
Overnight Location: None
Distance: None
Meals: Breakfast