On Boxing Day we headed to El Chalten just 230kms from El Calafate.
The spectacular, sharp peaks of Mount Fitz Roy tower over the little hiking village of El Chalten and on a clear day visitors are graced with a view of its striking towers, usually shrouded in cloud – but not on the day we drove into town.El Chalten is nestled in a flat valley floor alongside a pristine river flowing straight from the glaciers. We enjoyed the condor lookout climb, just an hour in total with views of the township and surrounding mountains – although on this day, Mount Fitz Roy was not in full view.
We also enjoyed an 8km hike to a viewpoint for Piedras Blancas. A stunning walk through temperate rainforest to see this hanging glacier, its lake and huge piles of morain. Sometimes it seems as though we’re walking through our Year 12 Geography text books.
Hi Ailsa, just looking at some of these for the first time. Spectacular! Wonderful photography. Is Mt Fitz Roy named after the captain of the Beagle? Was that his name? Looks so odd stuck on a Spanish speaking mountain…
Notes from somewhere else... 
Spectacular scenery can imagine the air to be crisp and cold. Beautiful Ailsa .great photography. Xxx
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Fantastic, during the 3 days we were at El Chaltén, we didn’t see the peaks! Safe travels.
Filiep
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Yes we realised that we were lucky to see the peaks, so we took a lot of photos on the day we arrived.
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Beautiful. Keep the notes coming!
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Thank you! It’s amazing. Put Ruta 41 on your list. It’s only about 160km – but it’s a long slow drive with many photo stops.
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Hi Ailsa, just looking at some of these for the first time. Spectacular! Wonderful photography. Is Mt Fitz Roy named after the captain of the Beagle? Was that his name? Looks so odd stuck on a Spanish speaking mountain…
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