{"id":8020,"date":"2024-06-02T11:24:32","date_gmt":"2024-06-02T17:24:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/theworldoffroad.com\/2\/?p=8020"},"modified":"2024-12-13T12:09:29","modified_gmt":"2024-12-13T18:09:29","slug":"monuments-of-ice-and-trekking-paradise","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theworldoffroad.com\/2\/monuments-of-ice-and-trekking-paradise\/","title":{"rendered":"A monument of ice and a trekking paradise"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Just beyond Torres del Paine, Argentina beckons. Northward, the road leads to El Calafate and the colossal Perito Moreno Glacier.<\/strong><\/p>\n

by Akis Temperidis
<\/b>Photography: A.T., Voula Netou<\/b><\/p>\n

\u00a0A 50-kilometer river of white and blue ice, inching forward at two meters a day, this beast refuses to surrender to climate change. Unlike its shrinking cousins, Perito Moreno endures \u2014 a defiant ice leviathan.<\/p>\n

Every few years, the glacier forms a natural dam, trapping water until it bursts in a thunderous collapse. Cameras poised, tourists pray for that money shot of ice crashing into Lago Argentino. But even without the drama, icebergs calve unpredictably, drifting like ancient ghosts. Perito Moreno is just one thread in a 350-kilometer tapestry of glaciers, the third-largest fresh water reservoir on Earth after Antarctica and Greenland.<\/p>\n

The Trekking Capital of the World <\/b><\/p>\n

A sign at the entrance to El Chalt\u00e9n reads “Capital Nacional del Trekking.”<\/i> This Argentinian Arachova owes its existence to Mount Fitz Roy, a jagged god of the Andes. Coming from Perito Moreno, you veer west at Lago Viedma, hugging the Ruta 40 for 90 kilometers until R\u00edo de las Vueltas Valley. El Chalt\u00e9n appears \u2014 a hiker\u2019s paradise, where trails are free, though the town is anything but cheap. Think \u20ac15 for a basic meal and \u20ac50-100 for a double room.<\/p>\n

Back in the ’80s, this place was a ghost town. Just 40 gendarmes settled here in 1985 during a border dispute with Chile. By 2001, a thousand souls called it home. Then Lonely Planet crowned Fitz Roy in 2015, and El Chalt\u00e9n exploded.<\/p>\n

Three days, 50 kilometers of trails \u2014 to Laguna de los Tres, Laguna Cerro, and everywhere between. When we left, my soul felt both full and hollow. The Atlantic called, and so did Ruta 3, South America\u2019s most soul-sucking highway. But even that had a surprise waiting…<\/p>\n

[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_2″ _builder_version=”4.21.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_number_counter title=”kms the glacier’s size” number=”30×5 ” percent_sign=”off” _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_enabled=”0″][\/et_pb_number_counter][et_pb_number_counter title=”sq.kms its total surface” number=”250″ percent_sign=”off” _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_enabled=”0″][\/et_pb_number_counter][et_pb_number_counter title=”meters its avarage thickness” number=”170″ percent_sign=”off” _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_enabled=”0″][\/et_pb_number_counter][et_pb_code _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]