A new town in Argentina, El Chaltén is the focus of trekkers and climbers, mountaineers and mountain lovers who come to the Andes to marvel at the towering peaks of Cerro Ftiz Roy and Cerro Torre. Indeed, El Chaltén is known as the Argentine capital of hiking.
El Chaltén is in Santa Cruz province, at the northern end of Parque Nacional Los Glaciares. Orient yourself with this interactive map from Expedia.
By air:
Check flights from your area to Buenos Aires or other locations in Argentina. From there, by domestic airline regular flights and charters to El Calafate International Airport. Then, there are connections with transportation companies directly to El Chaltén.
National transportation companies do not provide a direct service to El Chaltén. You may make connections:
Although El Chaltén is small, it is amply supplied with places to sleep ranging from camping sites to three star hotels, and restaurants. There are also tourist services for guides, tours, and equipment rental.
The streets are named for early settlers who migrated via Punta Arenas, Chile from various European countries. They faced harsh conditions but persisted, mostly earning a living by sheep.
As mentioned, El Chaltén is the gateway to many adventures in the Parque Nacional Los Glaciares, and these involve the mountains, lakes, streams and the Glaciaers of Argentina. See these maps showing the location of some of the 47 major glaciers in the park.
The following links from Welcome Argentina include descriptions and photos of the tour:
If you have questions or comments about El Chaltén, post them on the South America for Visitors Forum. You might want to add your comments to Roberto Ingledew's post with great photos at Mis fotos de El Chalten. If you're not already a registered user, you'll need to register, but it is easy and free.
Buen viaje!
