My top 10 favorite activities in El Calafate.

Welcome to El Calafate, a small village in Patagonia and closest to the famous glaciers. Besides visiting the glaciers, which is definitely one of my top favorite activities, I would love to share also other things to do with you. So in this video I share my top 10 favorite activities for when visiting El Calafate.

We start this top 10 at a great height with ziplining which we had booked with the company SouthRoad. From the starting point we went along in a kind of truck that took us all the way to the top of the mountain. Meanwhile, the host will tell you a lot of information about the place. And then it was time for action, after a good explanation and putting on the material we were allowed to start the descent. In total there are 4 different lines that you follow. It is indescribably cool to make the descent in this way. Afterwards we were invited for a delicious Argentinian 3-course menu. This activity and the SouthRoad company are highly recommended!

The next activity is an activity that was high on my list. Horse riding across the steppe. Patagonia is known for its Gauchos, so it's extra cool to be able to experience that yourself. We had reserved through La Pulpería Del Chabón and we ride the horses for almost 1,5 hours. Super friendly people who really take care of their animals. This experience was a dream come true.

Perito Moreno, the world famous glacier located in the park Los Glaciares. I have visited the glacier a number of times and each time I am enchanted. There are several activities to discover the glacier. You can book a boat trip, a trekking on the glacier or a canoe on good days. My personal favorite is walking off the balconies, then you can keep a calm tempo and enjoy something to eat and drink in the meantime.

As a Dutchie I love riding the bike and I prefer to do this along the Costanera while enjoying the view of the Lago Argentino. You can cycle from the beginning to the end in about an hour. During the route you have several beautiful stops where you can enjoy a lunch or spent some time reading a book. Also where they have the El Calafate letters is a nice place for a stop and watch the birds in the lake. There are severals companies that rent out bikes.

The next favorite activity on this list is visiting the famous Laguna Nimez natural reserve. Inside this reserve you can walk several routes and the longest route will take around 1,5 hours. But this will probably take longer as you can enjoy all the beauty it has to offer. Here you can see flamingos up close and many other different birds. The park is easy to reach and is not far from the city center.

Hiking is also an absolute favorite activity inside this city. There are several places and I have already made a video about my top favorite hiking places before. But my all time favorite hiking trail is the Cañadon del Arroyo Calafate. There is a beautiful, not too easy, route that takes you to a waterfall. I advise you to spend an afternoon here and let yourself be surrounded by the beautiful nature of Patagonia.

For the following activity you need good physical health and strong arms. We're talking about canoeing on the Lago Argentino. This activity is not always possible because of the Patagonian wind or because the water is too low in some moments of the year. But if it is possible I really advice you to do it! We had canoes ourselves, but there are several companies where you can rent them or do a group excursion.

Here too they have completely discovered the famous sport kitesurfing! The ideal thing about kitesurfing in Lago Argentino is that you can stand in most places. Especially if you want to learn this sport, that is really comfortable. There is a rental company for equipment and also a teacher available in El Calafate. From January the 12th up to the 14th of 2023 there is a big Kitesurf event organized. How cool is it to kite on this famous lake with the unique color of blue.

Also an absolute favorite activity is visiting the Glaciarium Patagonian Ice museum. I recommend that you go to this museum before you visit the glaciers. Because this museum will tell you everything you need to know about the world famous glaciers. And believe me that is quite a history! The museum is located outside the village on the route to the glaciers.

The last but definitely not least activity on this list is visiting an estancia. We visited the Hostería El Galpon del Glaciar for the afternoon excursion we had booked. This is the ideal program to get to know the real Patagonia. It is a mix of local food and watching the gauchos herding sheep on horses. You will also see a sheep shearing demonstration and finish this activity with a traditional dinner. It is also possible to book a room here and enjoy more days in the field.

We really loved making this video of the top 10 activities in El Calafate. Please let us know in the comments if you have any questions left and we hope you can like & subscribe so we can continue doing what we love!

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