World’s Best Hikes: Fitz Roy Trek, Patagonia, Argentina
ByMary Anne Potts
July 13, 2011
2 min readBy Peter Potterfield
Today's Featured Hike: El Chaltén to Laguna Torre to Poincenot Camp to Laguna Eléctrico
Round-Trip: 36 miles, 4 to 7 days
When to Go: February to March to avoid the crowds of midsummer and enjoy stable fall weather when the infamous Patagonian winds abate
Hike among Argentina’s fabled Fitz Roy Massif, the iconic ridge where the peaks of Poincenot, St. Exupery, and 11,073-foot Fitz Roy itself rise out of the steppes of Patagonia like a vision. This grand tour gives you three views of Fitz at sunrise, with Cerro Torre and Marconi Pass thrown in for good measure. This ramble through Delaware-size Los Glaciares National Park takes you from gnarled, spooky beech forests and open plains to glaciers, roaring waterfalls, and granite monoliths afire with orange dawn light.
Insider Tip: From Camp Poincenot, hike up in the predawn hours to Laguna de los Tres by headlamp for the full impact of sunrise on the Fitz Roy Massif.
See all our featured World's Best Hikes>>
Photograph by Reiner Harscher, laif/Redux
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