El Chaltén is a small mountain village in Santa Cruz Province, Argentina. It is located on the riverside of Rio de las Vueltas, within the

Los Glaciares National Park Los Glaciares National Park ( es, Parque Nacional Los Glaciares) is a federal protected area in Santa Cruz Province, Argentina. The park covers an area of , making it the largest national park in the country. Established on 11 May 1937, it host ...

(section ''Reserva Nacional Zona Viedma'') near the base of

Cerro Torre Cerro Torre is one of the mountains of the Southern Patagonian Ice Field in South America. It is located in Argentina and Chile, west of Fitz Roy (also known as Cerro Chaltén). The peak is the highest of a four mountain chain: the other peaks a ...

and Cerro Fitz Roy spires, both popular for

climbing Climbing is the activity of using one's hands, feet, or any other part of the body to ascend a steep topographical object that can range from the world's tallest mountains (e.g. the eight thousanders), to small boulders. Climbing is done fo ...

. It is 220 km north of

El Calafate El Calafate, also known as ''Calafate'', is a city in Patagonia, Argentina. It is situated on the southern border of Lake Argentino, in the southwest part of the Santa Cruz Province, about northwest of Río Gallegos. The name of the city is deri ...

. It is also a popular base for

hiking Hiking is a long, vigorous walk, usually on trails or footpaths in the countryside. Walking for pleasure developed in Europe during the eighteenth century.AMATO, JOSEPH A. "Mind over Foot: Romantic Walking and Rambling." In ''On Foot: A Histor ...

numerous trails, such as those to the base of surrounding peaks and glacial lakes, such as Laguna Torre and Laguna de los Tres (near the base of

Fitz Roy Monte Fitz Roy (also known as Cerro Chaltén, Cerro Fitz Roy, or simply Mount Fitz Roy) is a mountain in Patagonia, on the border between Argentina and Chile. The town is located at the edge of the

Southern Patagonian Ice Field The Southern Patagonian Ice Field ( es, Hielo Continental or '), located at the Southern Patagonic Andes between Chile and Argentina, is the world's second largest contiguous extrapolar ice field. It is the bigger of two remnant parts of the P ...

and about 350 inhabitants live there throughout all the seasons of the year. Snow and ice mostly fence the town, and the homes are low structured with roads mostly made of rocks and dirt. In October 2014, El Chaltén took second place in a ranking of "Best cities in the world to know" of the travel guide

Lonely Planet Lonely Planet is a travel guide book publisher. Founded in Australia in 1973, the company has printed over 150 million books. History Early years Lonely Planet was founded by married couple Maureen and Tony Wheeler. In 1972, they embarked ...

publishing in 2015, being the first city of Argentina.

Etymology

''"Chaltén"'' is a Tehuelche word meaning ''smoking mountain''. They believed that Mount Chaltén was a volcano, for its peak is frequently covered by clouds. In 1877, Argentine explorer

Francisco Moreno Francisco Pascasio Moreno (May 31, 1852 – November 22, 1919) was a prominent explorer and academic in Argentina, where he is usually referred to as ''Perito'' Moreno (''perito'' means "specialist, expert"). Perito Moreno has been credited as on ...

named mount Chaltén as mount Fitz Roy, in honour of

Robert FitzRoy Vice-Admiral Robert FitzRoy (5 July 1805 – 30 April 1865) was an English officer of the Royal Navy and a scientist. He achieved lasting fame as the captain of during Charles Darwin's famous voyage, FitzRoy's second expedition to Tierra de ...

, captain during the

Second voyage of HMS Beagle The second voyage of HMS ''Beagle'', from 27 December 1831 to 2 October 1836, was the second survey expedition of HMS ''Beagle'', under captain Robert FitzRoy who had taken over command of the ship on its first voyage after the previous capta ...

in the 1830s.

Tourism

The village provides national park information for visitors, as well as commercial camping and a limited number of beds, catering mostly for backpackers. It has a few restaurants, bars, supermarkets and shops, with a large variety of outdoor equipment for sale. On the treks outside of the village free campsites are available. The town is nearly deserted during the off-season (the southern hemisphere winter). Las Vueltas River

Other visited tracks and sights are ''Torre Glacier'', ''Laguna Capri'', ''Piedras Blancas Glacier'', ''Chorrillo del Salto'', and ''Laguna de los Tres.''

Climate

El Chaltén has an unpredictable

subpolar oceanic climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate, is the humid temperate climate sub-type in Köppen classification ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of continents, generally featuring cool summers and mild winters ...

(

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (born 1951), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author and ...

''Cfc'') with subantarctic continental (''Dfc'') influences, with precipitation distributed on a large number of days despite not being nearly as heavy as in Chilean Patagonia; bad weather is exceedingly common. Summers experience long daylight hours, very windy weather, and cool temperatures, mostly below during the day and below during the night. Frost can and does occur in the summer too. Winters bring snow in moderate quantities, and average temperatures around during the day and during the night; however, the coldest nights are much colder than this. Spring and fall are variable, but generally cold as well.

Gallery

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:El Chalten Populated places in Santa Cruz Province, Argentina Cities in Argentina