This glacier had been the main reason I visited Argentina. That, and Argentine side of Patagonia. I visited the glacier on my third day in Argentina, after spending two days in Buenos Aires. What a wild ride it had been up to that moment. Here’s at glance of my five-days itinerary in Argentina.
There are just so many activities you can do in this glacier, and I spent two days in it. On the first day, I spent exploring the national park and walk from side to side admiring it’s magnificent view, and on the second day, I spent kayaking on the glacier. But those are not the only thing we can do. You can also hike the glacier, be it half day or full day, or even take a cruise along the glacier (in Lago Argentino). In this blog, I will share all the details for you if this is the dream trip you have been wanting to do.
Table of Contents
What and Where is Perito Moreno Glacier
Perito Moreno Glacier is located in Parque Nacional Los Glaciares, Santa Cruz (Not in Perito Moreno city which is 600 kilometers away from this glacier). In fact, those two are different things. Perito Moreno name comes after Argentine explorer Francisco Moreno, where Perito was his nickname and it means ‘Explorer’ in Spanish. The nearest City where you can access this glacier is El Calafate. The ride from El Calafate to this Glacier takes about 40-50 minutes by car.
Los Glaciares National Park was declared UNESCO “World Heritage” in 1981 and Perito Merino Glacier is still growing. The fresh water glacier spans 19 miles long, and 240 feet above the water and covers 121 square miles, in which its location shared between Argentina and Chile. The height of the18,000 years-old glacier (from the water to the top of the glaciar) is 73 meters. Visitor of Perito Moreno Glacier can enjoy the glacier up close and personal from different vantage points along the wooden walking path.
How to get to Perito Moreno Glacier
As the nearest city to the National Park is El Calafate, your trip starts from that City. If you rent a car, you can drive to the national Park from El Calafate and back in one day. It takes about 40-50 minute’s drive from El Calafate to the National Park. The other options are to book transfers, excursions, or tours.
So many agencies offer transfer only from Hotel to the Glaciar and back. For private transfer, the price around 20-25 USD per pax for round trip (from El Calafate to the glacier and back). If you want to do activities, you can also book excursions and package Tours.
We left the airport of El Calafate with VES Choike Tour (its website is www.vespatagonia.com.ar ) – as of now I checked the website and it’s already expired, you may want to re-check as well. We booked the round transfer for 4000 ARS (2 person) on a private car. Other notable company/bus are:
| Number | Travel Company Name | Information |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | CAL TUR | departure times are at 9:00 am with Return from the park at 4:00 pm. 2nd departure time: 1:00 pm, the return bus is taken at 7:30 pm on the walkways. Approximate time of stay is 5 hours. The company also sells guided tour, minitrekking, as well as cruise around the glacier. |
| 2 | Patagonia Dreams | This company offers roundtrip transfer to glacier at 1462 ARS (19 USD/180,000 IDR) with group (not a private) |
| 3 | Always Glacier | The bus departure 01.00 pm from El Calafate bus Station and return at 08.00 pm – for transfer only option and entrance fee to the national park is not included at 24 USD |
| 4 | Taqsa | no information available |
| 5 | Chalten Travel | no information available |
Note: some of this service offer transfer only, so you have to purchase the ticket by yourself at the entrance. At that time (November 2018), I bought the ticket for 600ARS (115,000 IDR/ 8 USD). As of 2019, the cost is 800 ARS.
When is the best time to visit the Glacier
Summer in Argentina (southern hemisphere) is from November to March, which happens to be the peak season due to coincide with holiday season. However, the weather is more friendly during that time. If you want the place less packed, visiting in off-season such as in September/October or April/May may be an option.
Walking around the Glaciar Perito Moreno
So, my itinerary was flying from Buenos Aires to El Calafate (yes, there’s airport in El Calafate). I took the earliest possible flight from BA in order to experience the glacier for a longer time, before riding a bus to El Chalten. Me and my cousin took the 4:40 AM Flight from BA to FTE (El Calafate Airport) using Aerolinas Argentinas. The red-eye flight took around 3 hours and we arrived at 07:55 am to a Surprise.
My plan was using the transfer booked in advance going to El Calafate Bus Station (store my luggage there), and then from El Calafate Bus Station going to Perito Moreno Glacier, spent hours on the glacier, and then going back to the Bus Station to catch a bus to El Chalten, all in one day. However, reality says otherwise. On the day we arrived El Calafate, there was labor strike by the ground crew at the airport. This caused all the passenger’s luggage left unloaded inside the plane. Sweet ! the airport official apologized and promised that our luggage will be delivered to our hotel/destination and directed us to the person in charge to write down passenger’s address one by one.
However, no one could tell for sure when the luggage will be delivered. Meanwhile, on the same day, we planned to move to another city, namely El Chalten. So, we wrote down our Hotel address in El Chalten instead, and our advance booking at VES Choike Tour had to be modified. We no longer needed to store our luggage in the Bus Station and went straight to the National Park instead. At that time, we already wasted two hours in the airport.
During the drive from El Calafate Airport to the National Park, our driver kindly made stoppages to some beautiful viewing points and they were all beyond remarkable.
The walk inside the national park
There are 5 circuits/route within the national Park. It was informed clearly at the beginning of the trek, and each intersections clearly marked. Each route also has its own travelling time informed on the information board. So depending on how much time you have on the park, you should carefully select the track. The total time to explore all the circuit is 5 hours. However, it can easily led to 7 and 8 hours.
We arrived at almost 12 pm noon, and had to leave at 4, so we got only four hours to explore the glacier. At that time, we chose the central and de la costa.
Tips when visiting Perito Moreno Glacier
All the viewing points were remarkable and therefore if time permits, you should try checking all of them. The closest view, that give the sheer of its magnitude is the central point and also the most crowded spot. Trying to take pictures in this spot requires patience.
If you visit during the summer (November – March), bring two layers jacket for you can take off the outer layer when the weather gets warm in daytime. However, if you visit during the winter, bring more layers to comfort your body. Bring visor/hat and use sunscreen for your skin protection. The reflection from the glacier can be very bright, so it’s good to bring sunglasses. However, to me it’s nonsense, i mean why would you see nature’s finest through black sunglasses 😁😁😁
Last but not least, take your time to breath the glacier air under the sun and be thankful to mother nature for its beautiful landmark. For me, I added another thing on my thank you list, and it’s another dream come true.
