Los Glaciares National Park information
1. Where
is Patagonia?
2. Why
is it called Patagonia?
3. What
is Los Glaciares National Park?
4. How
do I get there?
5. Where
can I stay?
6. What
is the weather like?
7. Planning
a trip
8. Buying
maps
1. Where is Patagonia?
Patagonia is the generic name for 800,000km square of land at the tip of South America. Bounded by the Pacific Ocean to the west and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, it is owned by both Argentina and Chile. Although its bad weather and harsh surroundings make it one of the least densely populated places on earth, many people visit for the spectacular scenery and the glaciers forming Los Glaciares National Park.
2. Why is it called Patagonia?
In 1520, Ferdinand Magellan became the first European to navigate around the southern tip of mainland South America. Whilst Magellan’s fleet had wintered at Puerto San Julian, a giant, partly-clothed native was spotted on the shore, dancing around on the sand. Antonio Pigafetta, Magellan’s chronicler —one of only 18 men who returned to Spain, having circumnavigated the globe— describes his appearance as “so tall that the tallest of us only came up to his waist” and that his feet were covered with the skin of a guanaco “in the manner of shoes”.
Legend has it that Magellan, on perusing this member of the Tehuelche tribe, either declared to his men “Ha! Patagon!”, from the Spanish ‘paton’ meaning ‘big feet’, or, as Laurence Bergreen describes in his book ‘Magellan’s Terrifying Circumnavigation of the Globe’, called them Pathagoni, from the Spanish ‘Patacones’, meaning ‘dog with great paws’.
Yet another theory is offered by Bruce Chatwin in his book, ‘In Patagonia’, suggesting that Magellan had on board a copy of ‘Primaleon of Greece’, a book published in 1512 that talked of the Knight Primaelon travelling to a far off island and meeting a ‘cruel and ill favoured people who eat raw flesh and wear skins’. In their midst was a monster called the Grand Patagon, which Primaelon felled with a ‘single sword thrust’ before allowing it to recover and shipping it home to meet his queen. Chatwin, who queries the literal Spanish translation of the word ‘patagon’, mentions how Magellan captured a native Indian in his time at Puerto San Julian and took him on board, possibly with the intention of taking him home for the king...
2. What is Los Glaciares National Park?
Los Glaciares National Park is a UNESCO world heritage site named after a multitude of glaciers that flow east from the Southern Patagonian Ice Cap - the largest expanse of ice in the southern hemisphere outside of Antarctica.
The park was created by the National Parks Department of Argentina in 1937 to protect and preserve a vast wilderness area which remains heavily affected by the geological process of glaciation. It is located in the south-west region of Argentina’s Santa Cruz province, in Patagonia, at the tip of South America.
Los Glaciares National Park's boundaries encompass the eastern edge of the Southern Patagonian Ice Cap and, generally, all the glaciers exiting east from the ice between 49º 15’ S and 50º 40’ S. This area, roughly about 6,000km square, includes the mountains and forests of the Patagonian Andes and the western edges of Lago Argentino and Lago Viedma; two huge glacial lakes that deposit the ice into the Atlantic Ocean via the Rio Santa Cruz.
Major visitor attractions in Los Glaciares National Park include the Perito Moreno Glacier and the mountains of the Fitz Roy region...
3. How do I get to Los Glaciares National Park?
The access town to Los Glaciares National Park is El Calafate, 80km east of the Perito Moreno Glacier. 220km north-west of El Calafate, the smaller town of El Chalten gives access to the mountains of the Fitz Roy region.
The easiest, but most expensive, way to get to El Calafate is to fly direct from Buenos Aires (Aerolineas Argentinas: www.aerolineas.com.ar and others) . The flight takes around 3.5 hours, an hour or so longer if the pilot detours via the scenic mountain town of Bariloche and the ice-clad Cerro Catedral.
Buenos Aires has two airports. Aeropuerto Ministro Pistarini, or Ezeiza, (www.aa2000.com.ar / 011-5480-6111) is the main airport, found 47 km outside the city centre. It serves the major international carriers, including Lufthansa, Air France, Air Canada and American Airlines, as well as the main national carrier, Aerolineas Argentinas. To continue south by air to El Calafate, you must transfer to the domestic airport, Aeroparque Jorge Newbery (www.aa2000.com.ar /011-5480-6111). The easiest way to do this is by remis (taxi) or minibus. There are booths in the arrivals hall.
From El Calafate you can get a bus or coach tour or drive to El Chalten, across the Patagonian steppes...
4. Where can I stay?
The towns of El Calafate and El Chalten both have an extensive selection of campsites, bunkhouses, hostels and hotels.
There are also estancias (from the verb estacionar in Spanish, meaning to stop) dotted across the Patagonian steppes which have been turned into tourist accommodation. These are the settlement houses of Patagonian sheep and cattle farmers. Many of them have been around since the days of the Indian raids in the 19th Century.
There is a 5-star hotel next to the Perito Moreno Glacier...
5. What is the weather like?
The prevailing weather in El Calafate, over 200km east of the Andes, is generally dry and windy. The village of El Chalten, which lies immediately below the Andes and directly east of the Southern Patagonian Ice Cap, receives much more inclement weather.
Up in the mountains, the average rainfall can be more than 2000mm per annum. In Summer, the prevailing weather is generally frigid and unsettled with strong winds but not unlike a country like Scotland, where blustery, damp squalls are interspersed with bright, sunny spells and it doesn’t feel that cold as long as you are attired for it...
6. Plannng a trip
In the book, you'll find all the information you need for a trip to Los Glaciares National Park, including local information on the following topics, a reading list and a complete list of resources available to you for trip planning.
- Travelling independently
- Using a tour operator
- Booking flights
- City accommodation
- Passports and visas
- Money
- Insurance
- Language
- Telephoning home and abroad
- Electricity
- Health and safety
- First aid
- Fitness
- Photographs
- Vaccinations
- Returning home
- Onward travel to Chile (Torres del Paine national park)
Some useful websites listed in the book;
Airports and transfers -
www.aa2000.com.ar
www.tiendaleon.com.ar
Park website -
www.losglaciares.com
Town websites -
www.calafate.com
www.elchalten.com
Weather -
www.accuweather.com
www.weather.com
8. Buying maps
Local publisher, Zagier & Urruty (www.patagoniashop.net) publish the following maps.
- LGNP Ecomapa
- LGNP Minimap
- Fitz Roy and Cerro Torre - Trekking and Mountaineering
- Patagonia Southern Icefield
You can purchase the maps in El Calafate or El Chalten, or on the internet at;
- www.stanfords.co.uk
- www.longtitudebooks.com
- www.patagoniashop.net
