Sendero al Fitz Roy — Attraction in El Chaltén

We had only one day in El Chalten and we were extremely happy we chose to do this particular hike. The hike itself was super beautiful - rivers, variou views to Fitz Roy, changing scenery all the time. There are two nice campsites to spend a night ($15), one is on 8km, close to the Tres Lagos, another one close to the first lagoon, which is on 4-5km. When we arrived to Chalten, we went to offices of National Park and tourism of the town and they gave us nice maps with all the trails. Even though it was high season (january of 2025), we expected the hike would be way more crowded. Hovewer, we started before 8 (there was nobody at the check point, so many people entered without a ticket even) and we came back around 19 pm (nobody at the counter again). We spend around 2 hours at laguna and walkkng around, there are 2 of them, so it is important to go up the other hill as well and see the little cascadas. On our way back we decided to do a little detour markes on the map and the trail and hike additional 4 km (both ways) to see the other glacier. Totally worth it, stunnimg view as well. We spend around 7 hours walking (around 27 km in total). Without the detour and walking around the main spot, it should be around 20 km. We spend 3:50min to climb. The last km was not easy, even though we are occasional hikers. It was hot, sunny and a lot of going up. Going down was a bit more frustrating bc the last 1 km there was way more people so we were glad we started earlier in the morning. At around 8 km (right after the campsite), there is a river with drinkable water. Even though the meteo was showing clouds, ot was sunny and warm. I would recommend to have different layers since at some points it was really warm, shorts and sports bra were really helpful. At the top it was not to called, so good jacket and something for the wind would be enough (not too windy though). Recommend to bring your swimming suite, bc the laguna on the way back (doing another little detour - same distance - was really beautiful and had...

An amazing hike. You get views of Fitz Roy fairly early into the walk, with several viewpoints (miradors) along the way. The first few kilometres you are ascending, but it isn’t very steep. Then it becomes virtually flat for a long time, until the final ascent to the summit. Would recommend bringing hiking poles as the last 1km is quite steep with lots of uneven rocks, and the very last portion before the summit is loose gravel and can get quite slippery. For this reason, I’d rate it as moderate - difficult. The top is the perfect place to enjoy some food and observe the views. You can fill up your bottles with water from the stream in the second half, so you don’t need to carry heaps with you. We started walking from our accommodation in the centre of El Chalten around 5.30am and reached the summit around 9.45am with a few short breaks on the way. We went via Laguna Capri on the way back. We had some cloudy weather but still had good views of Fitz Roy the whole time. The lake also looked quite blue despite the grey sky! We didn’t encounter any rangers on the way and didn’t have to pay the newly introduced fees (30,000 ARS for one day)

Would recommend trying to leave for this hike early in the morning, as when we started to descend after eating at the Laguna de Los Tres there was a long line of people making the ascent and the trail was quite busy and more difficult to navigate (around...

The Sendero Fitz Roy Trail in El Chalten offers an unforgettable hiking experience. Starting from the parking lot, it's an out-and-back hike, taking you to Laguna de Los Tres and back to the trailhead.

At one point on the trail, there is a split where you can choose between a famous Fitz Roy viewpoint or the path leading to the Laguna Capri campground. Both trails eventually converge, allowing you to take one route on the ascent and the other on the descent. The map provides a visual representation of this.

While much of the trail is relatively flat, the elevation gain becomes significant at the beginning and during the final push to the lake. The toughest part is the last 2.4 km / 1.5 miles from the Poincenot campground, where you'll ascend approximately 450 meters / 1,475 feet.

The challenging final section adds an element of excitement to the hike, pushing you to test your limits and overcome the ascent. However, the rewarding views at Laguna de Los Tres make every step worthwhile.

Overall, the Sendero Fitz Roy Trail is a memorable adventure, offering varied terrain and stunning natural beauty. It's an experience that combines physical exertion with breathtaking scenery, leaving you with lasting memories of El Chalten's...