Gletscher-Sightseeing at Perito Moreno

Back on the Argentine side in Patagonia, we made our way from El Calafate to the main attraction of the region. The Perito Moreno Glacier is located in Las Glaciares National Park and can be reached from the town by a 1.5-hour bus ride.

As we have done so often, we followed a tip from Lonelyplanet and planned the excursion for the late afternoon rather than early in the morning. In good weather, this promises much more action at the front of the glacier, as the sun's rays throughout the day cause more blocks of ice to fall. Since it turned out to be a beautiful and sunny day, thanks to this tip, we were amazed several times.

For glacier climbing, you have to book months in advance here, and a boat trip brings you a little closer to the glacier - nevertheless, we opted for the simple and classic program and "only" walked the various trails across the numerous balconies at the front of the glacier.

At the beginning, still a little further away, towards the end, you get pretty close to the glacier and on the Lower Circuit you are even below the approximately 70-meter-high peak of the ice field. Similar to wildlife observations, all visitors stare at the glacier and wait for something to happen. As mentioned before, we were lucky and were able to witness some larger ice avalanches. The cracking and thundering can only be heard later due to the distance to the glacier, so you have to be attentive to not look too late.

In addition to the great views of the glacier, we also spotted an Andean condor during the flight. The bird with the largest wingspan glides majestically over our heads and despite the strong wind once again, it looks completely effortless.