Mount Fitz Roy and El Chalten

Northern Sector Of Los Glaciares National Park, UNESCO World Heritage Site (1981); El Chalten Was Founded In 1985 And Styles Itself The National Trekking Capital · El Chalten, Santa Cruz

Fitz Roy is the granite tower that everybody pictures when they think of Patagonia: a 3,405-metre fang of rock surrounded by lesser spires, rising sheer above glaciers and turquoise lakes, often wrapped in its own cloud, which is where its Tehuelche name Chalten - smoking mountain - comes from. At its foot sits El Chalten, a town founded in 1985 largely to plant a flag in a disputed border zone, which has become the base for some of the best day hiking in the world. The trails leave straight from the end of the streets: to Laguna de los Tres beneath the Fitz Roy face, to Laguna Torre beneath Cerro Torre, and to a dozen shorter viewpoints. The summits themselves are among the hardest technical climbs on earth and are strictly for expert alpinists; the hiking needs only fitness and good boots. The catch is the weather: wind and cloud can hide the mountains for days, and the people who see Fitz Roy clear at sunrise are the ones who stayed long enough to wait.

Ruta Provincial 23, El Chalten, Santa Cruz, El Chalten, Santa Cruz, Z9301, Argentina

The trails are open at all hours, and hikers routinely start before dawn for sunrise at Laguna de los Tres. The town is seasonal: most lodging, restaurants and transport run from about October to April, and much of El Chalten closes between May and September. Stop at the park visitor centre as you enter town for the trail briefing and current conditions.

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