South American Adventure - Argentina

VAT Patagonia Wild Trails
20 days – 19 nights (Intense trek)

Departures: Saturdays, each 14 days

Season: October to April

Starts at: El Calafate Airport

Ends at: El Calafate Airport

Group Departures

Minimum Group Size: 3 passengers

The VAT – Patagonia Wild Trails is the most popular program for those active passengers who enjoy intense trek, but are not interesting in climbing or risky activities and do not need technical skills.
We travel across the two National Parks which are the Patagonia jewels. In Torres del Paine in Chile we trek its famous W Circuit. In Los Glaciares we trek the Fitz Roy area near El Chalten, and as an impressive plus, we trek one day over the Torre Glacier and visit the Perito Moreno Glacier.
We use campsites to stay inside the National Parks, where we transport all the necessary equipment and personal passengers’ luggage.
You should be in good physical condition to trek seven daily hours on average at gentle pace and enjoy camps.

01	El Calafate Airport – El Calafate

02	El Calafate - El Chalten

03	Piedra del Fraile

04	Rio Blanco, De los Tres Lagoon

05	Madre e Hija Lagoon, Torre Mount

06	Glacier Trek on the Torre Glacier

07	Pliegue Tumbado, Toro Lagoon

08	Paso del Viento

09	Tunel River, El Chalten

10	El Chalten – El Calafate

11	El Calafate – Perito Moreno Glacier

12	El Calafate – Torres del Paine

13	Las Torres –Ascensio River Valley

14	Las Torres – Los Cuernos Refuge

15	Frances Valley–Pehoe Refuge

16	Grey Glacier Valley – Pehoe Refuge

17	Pehoe Lake Navigation - Salto Grande - Camping Pehoe

18	Grey Lake - Camping Pehoe

19	Torres del Paine – Puerto Natales - El Calafate

20	El Calafate - El Calafate Airport

ITINERARY

Day 1 El Calafate Airport – El Calafate
We receive you at El Calafate Airport, and transfer to El Calafate town, where at 7 pm the group will have a meeting at Hostel del Glaciar Pionero salon. You will meet our Guide, converse about the details of our trip and enjoy our first dinner together.
Lodge at Hostel Room with private bathroom
Meals Included: dinner

Day 2 El Calafate - El Chalten
After breakfast we will transfer to El Chalten, a little and colorful town next to Mount Fitz Roy. We cross 190 km of gravel road through the patagonia steppe and we stop at La Leona, a picturesque inn to enjoy his homemade cakes. From here, the views on the Viedma Lake are superb. El Chalten is located on the edge of Los Glaciares National Park in the surroundings of the Fitz Roy Mount.
Lodge at Hostel Room with shared bathroom
Meals Included: breakfast

Day 3 Piedra del Fraile
Today we start our trek in the Los Glaciares National Park. A short transfer takes us to the Rio Electrico, where we start our trek through forest to Piedra del Fraile. Leaving our packs here we continue trekking the Rio Electrico Valley for 2 hours and then ascending 1 hour to see the Fitz Roy Mount (3441 metres/11.289 ft) north face and a view of the impressive Marconi Glacier. From there we return to Piedra del Fraile Full Camp.
Lodging in Full Camp at Piedra del Fraile double base (rural area)
Meals Included: breakfast, lunch box and dinner

Day 4 Rio Blanco, De los Tres Lagoon
Today we follow the Rio Blanco valley to the lake of Piedras Blancas where we have an impressive view of the hanging Piedras Blancas Glacier. In the afternoon, having left our packs at camp, we ascend the frontal moraine to De Los Tres Lagoon for a stunning view of Fitz Roy Mount.
Lodging in Full Camp at Capri Lagoon double base (rural area)
Meals Included: breakfast, lunch box and dinner

Day 5 Madre e Hija Lagoon, Torre Mount
This morning we start trekking along the shore of Laguna Madre and Lagoon Hija until reach Bridwell base camp at Torre Mount area. Torre Mount (3128 metres/10.262 ft) with its needle shaped peak is a major challenge for best climbers. We trek along the northern side of Laguna Torre, feeded by the Fitzroy river. From here we get astonishing views of Torre Mount.
Lodging in Full Camp at Bridwell double base (rural area)
Meals Included: breakfast, lunch box and dinner

Day 6 Glacier Trek on the Torre Glacier
Today, weather permitting, we perform an impressive, exceptional activity. You will walk and climb on the legendary Torre Mount Glacier, with its granite walls just behind you. All necessary equipment (rope, harness, crampons, ice-axe) and expert guidance are provided. In order to access the glacier we have to make a Tyrolean crossing of the river. This is done by clipping a little seat onto a fixed rope over the river and pulling yourself, or being pulled, across.
Lodging in Full Camp at Bridwell double base (rural area)
Meals Included: breakfast, lunch box and dinner

Day 7 Pliegue Tumbado, Toro Lagoon
Today we cross the Fitz Roy river using once again the Tyrolean traverse. We trek through the forest, then we climb 700 meters (2300 ft) to the ridge which connects the summits of the Pliegue Tumbado. The landscape of the Fitzroy group and the Rio Tunel Valley is breathtaking.
Lodging in Full Camp at Laguna Toro double base (rural area)
Meals Included: breakfast, lunch box and dinner

Day 8 Paso del Viento
Today we trek toward the Paso del Viento (Pass of the Wind, 1550 meters/5085 ft) with the fabulous Continental Ice Field view and the Mariano Moreno ridge inside it. We depart from the Toro Lagoon, and getting views of the Tunel Glacier and the river with the same name. It’s a demanding, but hugely rewarding trekking day. We trek 6-7 hours approx until return to the forest where we camp.
Lodging in Full Camp at Laguna Toro double base (rural area)
Meals Included: breakfast, lunch box and dinner

Day 9 Tunel River, El Chalten
We return trekking down to El Chalten, hiking on the Tunel River east shore. We descend through forest, enjoying the panorama. We arrive to El Chalten at evening.
Lodge at Hostel Room with shared bathroom
Meals Included: breakfast and lunch box

Day 10 El Chalten – El Calafate
We stay freely this day at El Chalten, resting and enjoying the small town, until travel by bus from El Calafate around 5 pm. It’s a 4 hour bus transfer and we arrive to have our dinner and to lodge at our hostel.
Lodge at Hostel Room with private bathroom
Meals Included: breakfast

Day 11 El Calafate – Perito Moreno Glacier
After breakfast we depart by bus to the Magallanes peninsula, where is located the entrance of The Glaciers National Park. Its centerpiece is the Perito Moreno Glacier, which, because of unusually favorable local conditions, is one of the world’s few advancing glaciers. Huge icebergs from the glacier wall collapse into the De los Tempanos Channel. The roar of the gigantic ice rocks falling and crashing into the waters of the channel is a unique experience.
Our bus will lead us just in front of the Glacier, allowing us to walk the gangplanks to view the Glacier from different viewpoints.
Then we go down to the lakeside to board a ship that carries us very near the Glacier ice walls. We return to El Calafate using a different route that we used to arrive.
Lodge at Hostel Room with private bathroom
Meals Included: breakfast

Day 12 El Calafate – Torres del Paine
We depart afternoon from El Calafate, until reach with legendary 40 Route, where we turn toward the south for 70 kilometers of rubble way. About 3 hours later we arrive to the border between Argentina and Chile (Cancha Carrera- Cerro Castillo Pass). Before complete the custom procedure, we continue for 2 hours more driving on a well maintained rubble way, now with the Torres Massif in our landscape.
We stop a couple of times to take panoramic pictures and to observe bunches of “guanacos”. Finally we arrive to the Torres del Paine National Park by Amarga Lagoon. It’s a total of 6 hours transfer, until our Full Camp at Camping Las Torres.
Lodging in Full Camp at Camping Las Torres double base (area with sanitarium services)
Meals Included: dinner

Day 13 Torres –Ascensio River Valley
This day is dedicated to one of the most classical and amazing treks of the Park: the trail toward the Paine’s Towers. After breakfast we cross a hanging bridge and remount the Almirante Nieto Mount path, going on the border of Ascencio River. After one hour we go into the valley, until arrive to Chileno Refuge.
The trail slopes down into an impressive forest where you get unforgettable landscapes. We reach Las Torres Base Camp where the mountaineers wait, sometimes for months, the appropriate weather conditions to climb the Torres Viewpoint, an amazing natural amphitheater at the bottom of the vertical granite towers that reach 2800 meters height. We return by the same way. It’s a total 7-hour trek.
Lodging in Full Camp at Camping Las Torres double base (area with sanitarium services)
Included meals: breakfast, lunch box and dinner.

Day 14 Las Torres –Los Cuernos Refuge
Today we start the two days Nordenskjold crossing, that lead us to the Full Camp at Refugio Pehoe, with one night spent at Los Cuernos Refuge.
Before breakfast we prepare our backpack with only the needed for the next two days traverse: some clothes, the box lunch and the camera. We pack the rest of the luggage that will be transfer by our bus to the Refugio Pehoe Full Camp, where we’ll find it again.
We walk by the Nordenskjold lake north shore. Three hours later we will be arriving to Los Cuernos Refuge.
Lodging in a Full Camp at Los Cuernos Refuge (area with sanitarium services)
Included meals: breakfast, lunch box and dinner.

Day 15 Valle Frances –Pehoe Refuge
We start our trek early in the morning, arriving two hours later at the start of the Frances Valley. It’s a beautiful valley descending from the massif to the Nordenskjold Lake, outflanked by the imposing Paine Grande Mount, (3050 meters height) on the west side. We remount the valley until the upper viewpoints, surrounded by the most impressive peaks of the massif: Cuernos, Espada, Mascara, Hoja, Aleta de Tiburon, Catedral, and Paine Grande. The forest and the suspended Glaciers producing continuous ice and snow fallings give a spectacular frame to this walk.
We return descending the valley until reach the Skottberg Lake, and arriving at our Full Camp at Refugio Pehoe at the end of the day, where our luggage will be waiting for us. We trek 9 hours this demanding day.
Lodging in Full Camp at Refugio Pehoe double base (area with sanitarium services)
Included meals: breakfast, lunch box and dinner.

Day 16 Grey Glacier Valley – Pehoe Refuge
Another unforgettable day dedicated to the Grey Glacier, impressive Glacier 300 square kilometers of surface (115 square miles), 25 kilometers long (16 miles). It overflows from the Continental Ice Field falling into Grey Lake. The Glacier produce enormous amount of blue icebergs that sail over the lake pushed by the wind toward the south, given the characteristic feature to this lake.
The trail leads us to a wonderful viewpoint where we can appreciate the whole lake, the glacier and the mountains that emerge from the west of the Ice Field.
Two more hours walking and we arrive to another viewpoint just in front of the Glacier.
All the trek is develop between Andean bush and lengas forest, at the shadow of the ice blocks that drape the Paine Grande Mount. We walk this day about 8 hours with ups and downs. This day is exigent as the last one.
Lodging in Full Camp at Refugio Pehoe double base (area with sanitarium services)
Included meals: breakfast, lunch box and dinner.

Day 17 Pehoe Lake Navigation - Salto Grande - Camping Pehoe
We have breakfast later than usual to recover from the last two-day efforts. In the afternoon, with our luggage packed, we cross Pehoe Lake on a catamaran towards Pudeto, where we continue by land transportation to our Full Camp located at Camping Pehoe.
After lunch at Campsite we visit Salto Grande and walk a 45 minutes trails to get the Nordenskjold Lake beaches, where we have a wonderful view of the entire path we have walked the days before.
Lodging in Full Camp at Camping Pehoe double base (area with sanitarium services)
Included meals: breakfast, lunch box and dinner.

Day 18 Grey Lake - Camping Pehoe
We use this day to visit the west side of the Park. We pass an easy trail by the Grey Lake south shore, plenty of icebergs, and ascending to the Ferrier viewpoint with wide landscapes over the entire Park.
Lodging in Full Camp at Camping Pehoe double base (area with sanitarium services)
Included meals: breakfast, lunch box and dinner.

Day 19 Torres del Paine – Puerto Natales - El Calafate
In the morning we start our land transfer from Torres del Paine to Puerto Natales, where we visit and enjoy the city.
Then we continue being transfered by regular bus crossing the border to reenter Argentina. Our guide will say us goodbye when we board the Bus at Puerto Natales. We arrive to El Calafate at the end of this day where another person will be waiting for us and transfer us to the Hostel.
Lodge at Hostel Room with private bathroom
Meals Included: breakfast

SERVICE DETAILS

Included Services

Bilingual Spanish-English guides during all the program’s activities.
Mountain Guides during the trekking activities.
Perito Moreno Glacier Excursion including Navigation.
Transfer El Calafate Airport – El Chalten – Puerto Natales– Torres del Paine – Puerto Natales - El Calafate – El Calafate Airport.
19 breakfasts, 14 lunch boxes and 14 dinners, as detailed in the chart below.

DAYS	01	02	03	04	05	06	07	08	09	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19
Hostel Room with private bathroom
Hostel Room with shared bathroom
Full Camp

In towns we lodge using hostel rooms, between double and quadruple base, sharing the room with same sex passengers, all of them belonging to our groups.
At El Chalten we use similar hostels but with shared bathrooms.
When camping we sleep in double base big tents.
In the Chalten area, when camping there aren’t showers. We warm and use the lagoon and river water to clean ourselves. We use a bathroom tent.
In Torres del Paine camps there are public bathrooms with warm water showers.

Full Camp is a camp previously mounted with wide igloo type tents we use in double or single base. Inside it each passenger has high mountain sleeping bags, individual sheets and insulating mattresses. The Full Camp counts with dining room tents, table, benches and complete kitchen with a cook in charge.

Cartage Service. Carrying equipment and luggage.
We provide the Cartage Service carrying the passengers personal luggage and sleeping bags, with the exception of the trek before and after Los Cuernos refuge, were each passenger will carry their own sleeping bag, or decide to rent one at the refuge.
The passengers carry a daily light pack (raincoat, box lunch, water, sunglasses, camera). We carry 15 kg of luggage for each passenger, in the same way as the equipment is transported.

DAYS	01	02	03	04	05	06	07	08	09	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20
Breakfast
Lunch Box
Dinner

Is this tour for me?
To get the most out of this tour you should be in good physical condition.
We have classified this trek as intense. Previous technical skills on trekking are not necessary, because this program is not technically difficult. We trek approximately six to nine hours on same days, at gentle pace, with intermediate stops. The treks involve several ascents and descents (some long and steep). Previous experience of walking and camping in remote areas would be beneficial, because we use extensively camp sites.

Altitude
We do not go above 1500 meters/4920 ft. In fact it’s one of the strong points of this trip, you can trek wonderful mountains trails without have to reach high altitude. Nevertheless, the strong winds which periodically affect Patagonia during the summer months can make walking much more strenuous.

Services Not Included

Entrance ticket to Los Glaciares National Park
Entrance ticket to Torres del Paine National Park
Medical and Life Insurance
Tips
Air flight tickets and Airport fees and taxes
Services not detailed in the program

South American Adventure - Argentina

VAT Patagonia Wild Trails 20 days – 19 nights (Intense trek)

VAT Patagonia Wild Trails
20 days – 19 nights (Intense trek)