My top 5 hiking places in El Calafate.

El Calafate is located in Argentina, Patagonia to be precise. Patagonia is known for its stunning nature, and every route, or place that we explore, I have so many moments that it takes my breath away. Can you imagine driving around for hours and only see a landscape that alternates between mountains with snow, steppe and a lake with a unique color of water? El Chaltén is actually my favorite place in Patagonia to go hiking, it is a true hikers paradise. But are you visiting El Calafate and like to go for a good hike, then this information is perfect for you. Because in this blog I share my top 5 favorite hiking places in El Calafate with you.

We start our hiking tour with a place called La Bajada del Petiso. You can find this place when you follow the route towards the glacier Perito Moreno just before leaving the city centre. There is an off road path that you can follow and from there you can walk for hours. Because it is not an official hiking place I don't have the exact information but I can tell you it is beautiful, quiet and has an easy level. If you continue walking for around an hour at some point you can go down towards the beach. I recommend you to do that and enjoy a picknick there.

The next place we go to will be found outside El Calafate halfway the route 11. It is located close to the estancia Alice. There is a river called rio Centinela and you can make a hike following this river. It is possible to walk on both sides and you can hike for as long as you want to. Also this route has an easy level because it is mostly flat but it is good to know that it is not an official hiking place. On a warm summer day you will find a lot of locals here enjoying the river and a barbecue.

Cañadon del Arroyo Calafate, an official hiking places and a populair one. There are several routes that you can hike here but my favorite one is the route towards the waterfall. It is about 1,5 hour to get there and the level is medium too hard because at some point you have to cross the water by climbing some rocks. But I promise you that it is worth it. There is also a trail up the mountain if you like to be more challenged. If you don't feel like hiking you can also enjoy a picknick down the water. You will find this beautiful place all the way up towards the Cerro Calafate.

For the next hiking place we go to the end of the costanera. The roundabout is your starting point and also in this place you can walk for hours. I don't have a name because it is not an official hiking place but I'm sure you will enjoy it. If you follow the sand route it is quite an easy level but sometimes I also walk from the beach part and that is much harder because of all the rocks. In the end of this route there is a private area for the famous Walichu caves.

Last but definitely not least is the costanera itself. You can walk the whole costanera and that is around 17 kilometers in total. During this hike you enjoy the view over the beautiful and famous Lago Argentino and the birds that life in it. Lago Argentino is famous because it is the biggest sweet water lake of Argentina and is approximately 20 kilometers wide. It contains melted ice from the glaciers. The area I'm showing in my video is not only a beautiful place to hike but also a populair spot for kitesurfers.

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