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El Chaltén travel guide

What we tell a friend coming to town: how to get here, how many days, which hikes, where to sleep and who to go into the mountains with. Written from El Chaltén.

Before you go

How to get here, when to come and how many days to book.

  1. How to get to El Chaltén (and get around without a car)There is no airport and no train: you get there by road from El Calafate. How to plan the trip from wherever you are, and what changes if you have no car.
  2. Bus from El Calafate to El Chaltén: companies, how long it takes and buying ticketsIt is the only road between the two towns and almost everyone takes the bus. The practical part: companies, schedules, the airport and the way back.
  3. Best time to visit El Chaltén: weather, wind and daylight by monthThere is no perfect month: there is one for each trip. Temperatures, daylight, wind and crowds, month by month, so you can pick yours.
  4. El Chaltén hiking forecast: which day to see Fitz RoyThe town forecast is not enough: what matters is whether there is cloud at Fitz Roy's height and how hard the wind blows at the lake. We read it for you, day by day.
  5. How many days to spend in El Calafate and in El ChalténThe question everyone has when planning a trip down south. The short answer: fewer days than you think in El Calafate and more than you think in El Chaltén.

The hikes

The best-known trails, what each one is like and what to do if you are not walking much.

  1. Laguna de los Tres: the Fitz Roy hike and what to packIt is the most famous hike in El Chaltén and the one people underestimate most. How long it is, where it gets hard and what goes in your pack.
  2. Laguna Torre: what the trail is like and how it differs from Laguna de los TresThe other big hike in El Chaltén: longer than it looks on the map, but without the tough climb at the end. What it is like and which to do first.
  3. Laguna Capri: the short hike with Fitz Roy in front of youHalf a day, little climbing and Fitz Roy reflected in the water if the day allows. The hike for your first day, or for anyone who does not want the ten-hour one.
  4. Things to do in El Chaltén without the long hikesYou do not need to walk 20 km to see Fitz Roy. What you can do in El Chaltén in an hour or two, or with hardly any walking at all.

Where to stay

Which part of town suits what you plan to do, and how to spend less.

  1. El Chaltén or El Calafate: where it makes sense to stayThey are 215 km apart: you cannot do it all from one base. What is close to each town and how to split your nights.
  2. Cheap places to stay in El Chaltén: hostels, campsites and paying lessEl Chaltén is not cheap in January, but there are ways to spend less. Hostels, campsites, the time of year and booking direct, with the data we have.
  3. Where to stay in El Chaltén, by areaThe town is small, but it is not all the same: what is close to each trail and to the bus station.
  4. Booking in El Chaltén: book directThe same places, without a platform commission in between.

Places to stay in El Chaltén

34 places you book on their own website: you deal with the people who host you and nobody takes a commission.

See all 34 on the map →

Guided trips

Day hikes and multi-day treks with Fitz Roy Expediciones, guides from El Chaltén. You book direct on their website, no commission.

All 18 trips →