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I clearly have a different definition of “easy” than other people, because as someone who is out of shape, I found this hike to be challenging. It starts off innocently enough—in a beautiful forest—but soon becomes a consistently uphill slog. At one point it is steep enough to warrant rope being strung between the trees to serve as a railing. The payoff, however, makes it completely worth it.
Cons:
It’s likely to be a bit tough for anybody who is not in great shape.
To get there, you must drive ~36km/22 miles one way on a gravel road. It’s not a fine gravel, either; there are some large rocks and the road is badly pitted in places, too. So, driving slowly to avoid car damage is a necessity. There are some bridges you must drive over that are planks of wood running across some iffy-looking older wooden slats, and that was a bit nerve-wracking for me.
It costs 1000 pesos to get in, because it’s on private property. Not a bad deal, but given that the other treks in the area are free, this might be a sticking point for some folks.
The trail has a lot of roots running across it and some rocks, too. But, on the upside, the roots sometimes form natural stairs, which is nice. Still, be mindful of these, as they can be a tripping hazard.
Pros:
You will pass a nice waterfall, Salto del Anillo, on the drive there. It’s literally right on the road so it makes for quick photo ops.
The entire drive to the campground where the trailhead is located is gorgeous and there are several pull-over areas where you can get out to admire the beauty and take photos.
The campground has bathrooms and a snack bar.
Once you get to the top of the trail, the view is astounding. The mountains, Fitz Roy, the glacial lake, the glacier, everything. Even better, you can go right down to the dreamy blue glacial lake—you’re not just viewing it from above. I suppose you could even wade or swim in it, if you wanted!
Since the whole trek to the top is up, up, up, you can rest easy at the top, knowing that you won’t have to deal with any additional uphill climbs. Many treks are a mixture of up and down, so even your return trip involves some uphill agony. That’s not the case here.
There are three little waterfalls on the path that are lovely and make a nice break when either heading to the top or coming back down.
It is often billed as a half-day trek, but if you are out of shape/slow, I would consider it a full-day event once the slow (by necessity) drive is factored in, not to mention periodic stops to take photos of the scenery. I left my B&B in El Chaltén around 9:30am and didn’t get back to town around 5:30pm. Count on a full day and if you end up getting back to your lodging way sooner, enjoy the...
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Un lugar mágico!
¿Dónde comienza?
En primer lugar hay que acercarse a la base Camping Lago del Desierto, que se encuentra a 36km de El Chalten. Para llegar recomiendo contratar alguno de los servicios de transfer que salen desde el chalten (el valor es de $1600 por persona). Ellos te buscan, te llevan a la base y te indican un horario de vuelta (te dan aproximadamente 4hs, tiempo más que suficiente para hacer Glaciar Huemul y Lago del Desierto).
Sugiero comenzar con el Glaciar Huemul y luego recorrer el Lago del Desierto.
En la base se abona una entrada para acceder al sendero que te lleva al glaciar. El precio (Marzo-2022) es de aproximadamente $600. Una vez abonado se ingresa al sendero: son 2 km con bastante pendiente, pero el camino está muy bien marcado e incluso tiene sogas en algunas partes que sirven como apoyo. En el camino hay algunas paradas intermedias donde se pueden observar cascaditas y arroyos provenientes del deshielo. Al llegar al final del camino se encontrarán con una laguna hermosa y un imponente Glaciar de fondo, el cual alimenta a la laguna. La vista es realmente hermosa y hay mucho espacio para sentarse sobre piedras a disfrutar del sitio. Nosotros tardamos 50 minutos subiendo, pero depende de cada uno.
Una vez que se desciende, se puede ir a la Laguna del Desierto, la cual se ve desde la base. Ahí se puede disfrutar de una navegación, la cual no hicimos, por lo que no podría describirla. ‐‐----‐-------------------‐------------‐‐----‐-------------------‐- A magical place!
Where does it start?
First of all, you have to go to the Camping "Lago del Desierto", which is located 36km from El Chalten. To get there, I recommend hiring one of the transfer services that depart from El Chalten (the value is $1,600 per person). They pick you up, take you to the base and indicate a return time (they give you approximately 4 hours, more than enough time to do Huemul Glacier and Lago del Desierto).
I suggest starting with Huemul Glacier and then Lago del Desierto.
At the base you pay an entrance to start the trail to the glacier. The price (March-2022) is approximately ARS $600. The trail is 2 Km uphill. Along the way there are some intermediate points where you can see waterfalls and streams coming from the melting ice. Upon reaching the end of the road, you will find a beautiful lagoon and an imposing glacier in the background. The view is really beautiful.
It take us 50 minutes going up, but it depends on each one.
Once you descend, you can go to "Laguna del Desierto", which can be seen from the base. There you can enjoy a navigation, which we did not do, so I could not...
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This is a MUST from us. Relatively easy hike (compared to Mt Fitz Roy) and without the crowds. My partner almost liked this better than Fitz Roy, because the lake was not frozen (11/2023) and there was no crowds. We almost had the whole place to ourselves, and we saw some woodpeckers on the return back.
Drive from El Chalten is 1.5h one-way. Gravelly road-best to have a 4x4 but don't think it's needed (double-check me on this). Hike is ~1.5h up/down. Wear good hiking shoes. Poles arent really needed, but may help for those with knee problems. We spent 1-2h at the top just to relax.
There's an entry to pay into this to do the hike; I forget how much it is, but maybe a few bucks per person.
Try to climb up to the top to take some shots of the lake below. You can see Fitz Roy from afar.
Worth the day's travel, then go to...
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