Deriving its name from a flowering bush with dark blue berries and yellow flowers that once eaten, apparently guarantees your return to Patagonia, El Calafate is a quaint town nestled at the base of the cliff on the shore of the vast Lago Argentino. It is surrounded by small farms, which grow vegetables and fruit trees that form a belt around the small urban centre, which is crossed by the El Calafate Creek which divides the town into two.
El Calafate serves as a great location for a hikers resting stop on the way to Los Glaciares National Park in Southern Patagonia. Los Glaciares is one of Patagonia’s finest hiking regions and it lures adventure seekers and glacier enthusiasts with its varied hiking trails, ice trekking routes, fantastic scenery and copious wildlife. Los Glaciares serves as a gateway to the majestic world of glaciers. It protects an area of about 365 glaciers coming down from Campo de Hielo (Southern Patagonia Ice Cap), which remains one of the last glaciations in the quaternary period. The ice field adopts a longitudinal shape running from north to south with an extension of 220miles. There are about 47 major glaciers that descend from this ice field such as, Viedma, Moyano, Upsala, Bolados, Onelli, Agassiz, Spegazzini, Ameghino, Heims, Frias and the most popular and highly visited Perito Moreno Glacier and two lesser known but equally spectacular – Cerro Chalten and Cerro Torre. The glaciers all spill over lakes Argentino and Viedma, and determine the particular turquoise hue of their waters, due to the sediments and minerals dragged from the rocky beds of these ice rivers on the mountain slopes.
When you first arrive in El Calafate you will note the incredible diversity of birdlife found almost exclusively in southern Patagonia. The town rests on the banks of the Lago Argentino, an extensive lake that stretches to the Perito Moreno Glacier. Nearby is also Lake Viedma, and both of these lakes are the congregating grounds for colourful flamingoes.
The town of El Calafate itself is situated in a unique and strategic location for adventurers. Poised between Ushuaia at the ‘end of the earth’, the world’s southernmost town, and El Chalten, Argentina’s trekking capital, El Calafate is an inevitable stop for any traveller.
Although El Calafate is a relatively small town, it has a wide variety of welcoming and cosy restaurants (including steak houses, pizza parlours and places specialising in regional cuisine) as well as shops for the fatigued, but due to being surrounded by some of the most gorgeous massifs, looming snow-capped peaks, gigantic glaciers and shimmering blue lakes; you will soon be lured back into the wilderness.
Here is a list of a few restaurants for you to pick from:
- At 25 de Mayo 90, ask for the stuffed beef, or “Bife de Lomo relleno”.
- At La Chancha y los 20, Libertador 1250, ask for brochettes. One brochette is enough for 2 normal persons.
- At La Vaca Atada (The tied cow), ask the “milanesa completa”.
- At Pizzeria La Lechuza (A Patagonian Owl) on Ave. Libertador try the great empanadas, pizza and different kinds of milanesas. If possible, avoid the English-language menu as it makes no sense! (Ave. Libertador is also dotted with cutesy knotted-pine souvenir shops and chocolate shops)
- La Tablita is the first restaurant that locals mention when you ask where to eat. Order the grilled Patagonian lamb, which is cooked in a traditional ‘asado‘ way.
- At La Toldería bar, Libertador 1177 try pizza and “empanadas” (stuffed pastry filled with different meats or fish)
- Don Pichón is a very good grill and restaurant and is often very busy. Order a parilla for two, in which you will usually get two-three cuts of steak in addition to pieces of lamb, pork, chicken, chorizo, and blood sausage.
Another excellent way to spend the evening in El Calafate, is to take a bottle of wine and a picnic to the Nimes Lagoon, which runs into Lago Argentino, at sunset. A rustic stone pathway leads to the Nimes Lagoon, otherwise known as the Birds Lagoon (Laguna de los Pajaros), which is home to 80 different species of beautiful and colourful birds that display all their elegance to visitors. You can watch flamingoes, black necked swans. ducks, herons, falcons, geese and black-faced Ibis nesting for the night.
In Los Glaciers National Park you’ll find many other fascinating wildlife, many of them endangered but protected in the national park and UNESCO World Heritage Site. The red dwarfed deer, called punu punu, the river otter, or huillín, and the guanaco are all on the endangered wildlife list, but you may see them on a trek.
At the Perito Moreno glacier, the most popular with travelers in the El Calafate region, you can easily spend a day exploring the glacier along well-marked walkways, taking in the gorgeous vistas, the magnitude of the glacier itself, and you may even spot condors, eagles, armadillos, and gray foxes, all of which are found near the glacier and throughout the park.
Home to only approximately 8 – 10,000 residents, this quaint community of El Calafate features small rustic homes that give visitors the sense of stepping back in time. The historic town centre looks much the same as you would imagine it did back in the 1920s, when El Calafate was founded.
The Santa Teresa Chapel, one of the first structures in town, is a favorite among tourists and appears today much as it always has.
Approximately 8km from El Calafate, visitors can tour one of Argentina’s most historically significant treasures, the Walichu Caves.
Located just off the shore of Lago Argentino, these caverns are filled with Paleolithic cave paintings. Created with materials such as gypsum, egg-whites, plant resin and human saliva these paintings transport visitors back over 4,000 years ago to a time when Argentinean aborigines used the drawings to aid other hunters and gatherers in the region.
Built in November, 2000, the International Airport of El Calafate presents the easiest way to access the city. With incoming flights consistently arriving from San Carlos de Bariloche, Buenos Aires, and Ushuaia, you’ll find traveling here relatively simple. Click for more information on flying to Patagonia, getting to Patagonia and travelling around Patagonia.
El Calafate has a lot to offer and is a great place to unwind after an adventurous few days. It also provides easy access to the Los Glaciares National Park and many other exciting and enjoyable activities.
An example of a few of the trips that Swoop offers:
“Patagonia Adventure” from £1,750
- Boat trip in Balmaceda Glacier
- Sightseeing in El Calafate
- Walking in Perito Moreno Glacier
- Also includes trekking in Torres del Paine
“Patagonia Link” from £1,992
- Boat trip in Lago Grey (Grey Glacier)
- Sightseeing in Cerro Castillo
- Sightseeing in El Chalten
- Sightseeing in El Calafate
- Sightseeing in Puerto Natales
- Walking in Perito Moreno Glacier
- Trekking to Cerro Torre
- Trekking to Fitzroy
- Hike to the viewpoint of Piedras Blancas Glacier
“Patagonia Ice Trek“ from £1,953
- Trek onto the South Patagonian Ice Cap where you will spend at least 2 days and 2 nights on the ice.