Travel to Patagonia, the Argentina side - a dream come true!

On my first day, I strolled through Laguna Nimez. It's an ecological reserve and is only 15min walk from the city. They have a path that loops around the reserve and takes between 1-2 hours to complete (depending on how quick you walk and how many stops you make to enjoy the landscape). I found it to be a beautiful and relaxing walk. 

Afterward, I went to see the Glaciarium (the glacier museum). There is a free bus which runs every hour from the city to the museum. It was fascinating to learn about all things ice, glaciers, and the Patagonian ice field. But you are also confronted with the sad reality that glaciers all around the world are shrinking as temperatures are increasing. 

The next day I went to visit the most famous Perito Moreno Glacier. I decided to start off with a boat ride to get close to the impressive glacier. Afterward, we went to the walkways and viewpoints  to see the glacier from different positions and angles. We brought some food with us and enjoyed our lunch while enjoying a magical view. 

Perito Moreno Glacier is a must-visit! Especially as the glacier is shrinking, I would recommend you make time to be in awe of its scale and natural beauty. 

I arrived in El Chalten early afternoon and decided to go on a short and easy hike right outside the city. It was a 30 min hike to the Mirador Los Cóndores. Once arrived at the top, I had a beautiful view of El Chalten, watched condors fly through the skies, and got a glimpse of Fitz Roy peeking over the mountains. From there I walked another 20 min to get to the second viewpoint, Mirador Las Águilas and had a lovely view over the lake Viedma. It was a nice and easy hike with rewarding views and the perfect way to start my stay in El Chalten.

On my second day, I decided to hike to Laguna Torre. A 22 km round trip which I started at 9am in the morning and finished at 5pm in the evening. The hike itself wasn't too difficult, with lots of flat stretches and beautiful scenery along the way, and a wonderful view of the Laguna Torre. From there I continued for a few more kilometers, climbing over rocks to get to the furthest viewpoint to see the glacier nested in the mountain. Once I returned to the hostel, we made some food, had some laughs and turned in for an early night as the big hike (Fitz Roy) was to come next. 

Hiking Fitz Roy was a big ambition! As I'm not much of a hiker and having heard some horror stories about hiking Fitz Roy, I was equally worried as excited but decided to give it a try (worse case, I won't make it but at least I tried!). We got picked up at 7am in the morning and got dropped off at the start of the trail. It's good to know that there are 2 starting points for Fitz Roy - one in El Chalten itself and the other is a 20-min drive away. We decided to get dropped by a collective at the second starting point, so we don't have to walk the same way twice. Instead, we get to enjoy different scenery on our way to Fitz Roy and back. We started our hike and felt like stopping any other minute to take in the stunning landscape, and after 1.5h stopped for breakfast with the most amazing view. Another 1.5h later, we got to the famously difficult part: 1.5h uphill and on top of that, it's uneven and rocky terrain. It was extremely hard and at times it felt endless, but when you get to the top, you forget about all the pain and hustle and simply be amazed by the most beautiful nature. Traveling to epic Patagonia, this was a hike never to be forgotten!