The two great walks of El Chaltén, to Cerro Torre and to Fitz Roy, are usually done as day hikes from town, coming back each evening. Joined with a night at the foot of the mountains, they become something else: the second lake reached in the morning light, before the crowds, and the descent leading not back to town but into a private reserve on the other side of the valley, with a cottage facing a glacier. Three days, a guide all the way, the classics and a little more.
Day 1 · Laguna Torre and across to Poincenot
Highlight · Laguna Torre, its glacier and Cerro Torre at the end of the lenga forest.
Walk · Laguna Torre to Poincenot · 19 km · 8 h
An early start from town with the guide. The first 9 km climb some 400 m, most of it at the beginning, to the viewpoint over the glacial valley, then run through lenga forest to Laguna Torre, its glacier and Cerro Torre. After lunch, back along the trail to the Madre e Hija path, which crosses to the Poincenot camp, below Fitz Roy. The evening is for resting and planning the next morning with the guide.
Night · El Chaltén
Day 2 · Laguna de los Tres and the Los Huemules reserve
Highlight · Laguna de los Tres, the closest point to Fitz Roy without technical climbing.
Walk · Laguna de los Tres
The steep climb to Laguna de los Tres, the closest point to Fitz Roy without technical climbing. Back at camp, the descent passes the Piedras Blancas glacier viewpoint to El Pilar, where a vehicle crosses to Los Huemules, a private conservation reserve with trails of every level, far from the crowds. After the visitor centre, a walk to a mountain cottage in the reserve: a hot shower, a glass of wine and dinner facing the Cagliero glacier.
Night · El Chaltén
Day 3 · Los Huemules
Highlight · The forest trails of a private reserve, far from the crowds, before the return to town.
A last day on the reserve's trails, with forest and views of its own, before the drive back to El Chaltén in the afternoon.
