3. The Lago del Desierto Border Crossing
The Carretera Austral is the only artery through Northern Patagonia on the Chilean side of the Andes, but this infamous highway (popular with road-trippers and cyclists alike) peters out in the remote gaucho town of Villa O’Higgins. Not far away as the condor flies is the popular Argentinean resort town of El Chaltén.
So how do you get between the two? First, you’ll need to catch a four-hour ferry across the turquoise Lago O’Higgins, stopping to see the impressive O’Higgins Glacier before continuing to the remote Chilean outpost of Candelario Mansilla (home to a police station, campground, and little else). Get your passport stamped out of Chile and continue onward by foot 20 kilometers to the next border post at Lago del Desierto, where you can get an entry stamp for Argentina and camp for the evening. Continue along the edge of Lago del Desierto the following day for 15 kilometers until you reach the southern shores of the lake, where regular buses shuttle tourists to El Chaltén 37 kilometers away.
4. The Laguna Torre Trek
The wind-whipped village of El Chaltén is Argentina’s premier trekking capital, with some of the most scenic hikes in South America. The most popular day hike from town, which can be extended into a multi-day hike for more adventurous travelers, is Laguna Torre also known as the Fitz Roy Trek. This 20-kilometer, in-and-out route takes you to several miradores (lookouts) with views of the icy spires of Cerro Torre (3,128 meters).
Much of the path follows the edge of Rio Fitz Roy until you reach the glacial lake of Laguna Torre, where you’ll find a small campground. You’ll then traverse the edge of the lake to the most stunning lookout of them all, Mirador Maestri, where the icy folds of Glacier Torre fade into the horizon.
