Four names carry most of the weight of southern Patagonia, and this journey gives each of them room. It starts at the end of the world, on the Beagle Channel, crosses Tierra del Fuego and the Strait of Magellan into Chile, settles inside Torres del Paine and then returns to Argentina for the ice of Los Glaciares and the granite of the Fitz Roy. Mostly overland, by the same buses and roads the region runs on, it lets the scale of the south sink in between one icon and the next.
Day 1 · Ushuaia
Highlight · The town between the mountains and the Beagle Channel.
Arrival at the southernmost city in the world, with the afternoon for the town and its museums, between the mountains and the Beagle Channel.
Night · Ushuaia
Day 2 · Tierra del Fuego national park and the Beagle Channel
Highlight · Southern beech forest where the Andes meet the sea, then the channel by boat.
The morning in the Tierra del Fuego national park, where the Andes meet the sea in forests of southern beech. The afternoon on the water, sailing the Beagle Channel to see the marine wildlife of the sub-Antarctic.
Night · Ushuaia
Day 3 · The lakes of Tierra del Fuego
Highlight · Lago Escondido and Lago Fagnano in the valleys of the interior.
Inland across the island's valleys to Lago Escondido and Lago Fagnano, with the flora and fauna of the interior along the way.
Night · Ushuaia
Day 4 · Across Tierra del Fuego to Punta Arenas
Highlight · Over the Strait of Magellan and into Chile.
A long day overland: north across Tierra del Fuego, over the Strait of Magellan and into Chile, arriving in the evening at Punta Arenas, the old port of the strait.
Night · Punta Arenas
Day 5 · Punta Arenas to Puerto Natales
Highlight · The fishing port of Puerto Natales on the Última Esperanza sound.
A free morning in Punta Arenas, then north across the steppe to Puerto Natales, a fishing port on the Última Esperanza sound.
Night · Puerto Natales
Day 6 · Into Torres del Paine
Highlight · Guanacos, rheas and condors in a landscape of mountains and lakes.
Into the national park, a landscape of mountains and lakes with guanacos, rheas, condors, flamingos, foxes and, for the lucky, pumas. The next two nights are inside the park.
Night · Torres del Paine
Day 7 · Torres del Paine
Highlight · A free day in front of the massif.
A free day in the park, from a base well placed for walking, birdwatching or simply sitting in front of the massif.
Night · Torres del Paine
Day 8 · Back to Argentina, to El Calafate
Highlight · Back over the border to the gateway of Los Glaciares.
Across the border in the afternoon to El Calafate, the gateway to Los Glaciares.
Night · El Calafate
Day 9 · The Perito Moreno
Highlight · The most famous ice in Patagonia, a World Heritage site.
The day belongs to the Perito Moreno glacier, a World Heritage site and the most famous ice in Patagonia.
Night · El Calafate
Day 10 · El Calafate
Highlight · The Upsala glacier by boat, the fossils of La Leona, or the lookouts above town.
A free day with plenty to choose from: a navigation to the Upsala glacier, the fossils of La Leona or a 4x4 climb to the lookouts above town.
Night · El Calafate
Day 11 · El Calafate to El Chaltén
Highlight · A small mountain village at the foot of the Fitz Roy range.
North to El Chaltén, a small mountain village at the foot of the Fitz Roy range.
Night · El Chaltén
Day 12 · El Chaltén
Highlight · The classic trails to Cerro Torre or the Laguna de los Tres.
Walk · Cerro Torre or Laguna de los Tres · 6–9 h
A day for the classic trails, to Cerro Torre or to the Laguna de los Tres. The alternative is the Viedma glacier, with a boat trip and an ice trek.
Night · El Chaltén
Day 13 · El Chaltén to El Calafate
Highlight · Walks and birdwatching around the village before the late-afternoon road south.
A last free day for walking or birdwatching before the road back to El Calafate in the late afternoon.
Night · El Calafate
Day 14 · El Calafate
Highlight · Departure from El Calafate, the gateway to Los Glaciares.
The journey ends at El Calafate airport.
