Los Glyaciares

• Address: 9405 El Calafate, Santa Cruz Province
• Area: 7269 sq. M. km
• Foundation date: 1937

In Argentina, many amazing places, breathtaking travelers. One of the most beautiful natural places of the country is rightly considered the National Park Los Glaciares. Its magnificent landscape is formed by lakes, forests, steppes of Patagonia in the east and covered with Andes glaciers in the west. The park of Los Glaciares has glorified the whole world to Lake Argentino , which is the deepest pond in South America, the pointed peak of Mount Fitzroy and the eternal glaciers that occupy about 30% of its entire area. Los Glaciares was opened in 1937, and since 1981 included in the UNESCO World Heritage List as a unique natural area.

Basic information about the national park

Los Glaciares is the second largest national park in Argentina. It is located in the south-western part of the Argentine province of Santa Cruz on the border with Chile. The total area of ​​the park is 7269 square meters. km. More than 2,5 thousand square meters. km. occupy 27 large and about 400 small glaciers. Almost 760 square meters. km to forests and 950 square kilometers. km to the lakes. On the territory of the park there are mountainous formations, covered with ice, giants, mountains, hard-to-reach forests, plains and mountainous rocky areas, where only the moss is a representative of the local flora. Most of Los Glaciares is not accessible to tourists. The exception is Mount Fitzroy and the picturesque glacier Perito Moreno.

Attractions of the park

The main tourist places of this protected area include glaciers, Mount Fitzroy and Lake Argentino:

Such large glaciers as Uppsala, Agassiz, Marconi, Spegazzini, Viedma, Onelli, Moyoko and others are located in the park of Los Glaciares Park in Argentina. However, the park is considered to be one of the most visited glaciers in the world - Perito Moreno , not the largest , but the most affordable for tourism. This glacier was named in honor of the Argentine explorer, Francisco Moreno. The length of this landmark is 30 km and width is 4 km. The area of ​​the ice cover occupies 257 square kilometers. km.

In second place in attendance is Mount Fitzroy , discovered in 1877 by the same Francisco Moreno. The height of the mountain reaches 3375 m. Tourists can climb Fitzroy on several routes. The level of complexity of the adventures of the trail is chosen by each person for himself. The climb is permitted only in good clear weather. Next to the top of the amazing mountain lies another popular peak, Torre, stretching to a height of 3102 m. The difficulty of climbing this mountain lies in its shape, which resembles the contour of the needle.

Not less famous natural object Los Glaciares is the largest in the country - Lake Argentino , located at the eastern foot of the Andes. It is surrounded by snow-covered mountains, sometimes here you can see flamingos. A guided tour of the reservoir is one of the popular tours in the Los Glyacious National Park, at which time many beautiful photos can be taken.

Flora and fauna

To the east of the ice region grows beech forest, the main representative of which is cypress. Further to the east stretches the steppe of Patagonia mainly with shrubs. In the territory of the National Park Los Glyacarées are abundant:

• notofagus birch;
• southern beech;
• Drimis Winter;
• mountain pine Pumilio;
• decorative liana Filesia, etc.

The fauna also impresses with its diversity. In these places there are southern skunks, guanacos, gray and Argentine foxes, Patagonian hares and viscas, South deer and other equally interesting animals. In the world of birds there are more than 100 species. The most common are blackbird, eagle, karakara, blackfin finch and spectacled tyrant. In addition, tourists come here to enjoy sports fishing.

How to get to the national park?

The best way to get to Los Glaciares from the city ​​of El Calafate , where you can fly from the capital of Argentina to the plane for 2 hours. From the city bus station El Calafate, regular buses leave the park daily.

You can use the services of a taxi or rent a car in the city so that the trip is not affected by the bus schedule. A trip to one side takes about one and a half hours. In addition, you can book a guided tour, which includes a transfer from El Calafate to the foot of the Perito Moreno glacier.