The Desi Nomads

Argentina: Day 12: Perito Merino Glacier in El Calafate!





We visited the Perito Merino Glacier from El Calafate, one of the largest glaciers in the world that you can see up close.  The drive from El Calafate was around 1.5 hours, and scenery was amazing all the way.

We had a pay around $15 per person to enter the national park, and once inside, we stopped at a lookout and spotted this bird.

The lookout also offered our first view of the huge glacier.  We were still far away, but we could see how big the ice was.






Continuing closer…

We parked our car at the parking lot, and had lunch at the restaurant near the lot.  They had some veggie options including a soup and sandwiches.  We then took a free shuttle to the start of the walking trails.  Upto the first platform, it was stroller friendly, so we took Baby V in her .






After the first platform, you could descend a series of stairs to get closer to the glacier.  So we left our stroller on the platform and took Baby V in our hands.






We got pretty close to the glacier face, and could see all sorts of ice caves and crevices. Thankfully, we weren’t so close that we would be affecting by the falling ice off the glacier wall.

At the bottom platform, Baby V had some space to run around.

Taking a break from running around…






The glacier is definitely a sight to see!  It goes on and on.  You can even take a boat ride that goes closer to the face, but we stuck to the walkways.

After spending time on the trails, we headed back to the shuttle stop.  There was another walking trail behind the cafe that gave us a different view of the glacier.






The view towards the glacial melt lake was pretty awesome, as well.

After spending a whole day at the glacier, we drove back to El Calafate.

We took a rental car from El Calafate to see the glacier.  If you don’t want to drive, there are tours that can take you to the park, and some deals include a boat ride, or a hike on the glacier itself.

While the rest of El Calafate was pleasant, it was obviously cold near the glacier. So, having some winter clothing on hand (especially for Baby V) was a must. We carried along this all-weather jacket with hood, and dressed her in layers, that she shed as the day went on and got warmer.

Leave a Reply

%d bloggers like this: