El Calafate Full-Day Glaciers Cruise

Lago Argentino and La Soledad port at Punta Bandera

Lago Argentino is the largest freshwater lake in Argentina, a long glacial lake whose western arms reach deep into the mountains of Los Glaciares National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Most of its glaciers face fjords with no road access, which is why a Lago Argentino boat tour is the only way to see them. The cruise leaves from La Soledad port at Punta Bandera, about fifty kilometres west of El Calafate, where the catamaran waits at the pier with its decks, lounges and large windows.

We transfer you from your hotel reception at 07:15 for the drive to the port, and boarding is at 08:30. The park entrance fee is paid at the port or online beforehand, so bring your passport or ID card. The vessel has heated indoor seating, a snack counter and four outdoor decks, and the guide announces each glacier in Spanish and English as it comes into view. The return to port is in the late afternoon.

Escuadra Bay and the condor nesting wall

The first leg of the cruise crosses the open lake to Escuadra Bay, a sheltered inlet enclosed by steep rock walls at the entrance to the Spegazzini arm. The cliff on one side is a nesting site for Andean condors, the largest flying birds of the Americas with a wingspan of around three metres, and the catamaran slows beneath the cliff so you can watch them launch from the ledges and circle on the updrafts. The guide points out the nests and explains how the condors use the lake winds.

This stretch also shows the colour of the lake at its best: the milky turquoise of glacial sediment against dark rock and, on the slopes, the southern beech forest that turns red and gold in autumn. Bring binoculars if you have them. It is a calm part of the journey, ideal for settling onto the deck with a hot drink before the first glaciers appear.

The Seco, Heim and Spegazzini glaciers

Deep in the Spegazzini arm three glaciers come into view in turn. The Seco Glacier hangs high on the mountainside, a tongue of ice that no longer reaches the water. The Heim Glacier spills down beside it, broken into seracs. Then the catamaran turns to face the Spegazzini Glacier, whose front rises about one hundred and thirty-five metres above the lake, the tallest ice wall in the national park and higher even than Perito Moreno. The boat holds position in front of it for photographs from all four decks.

The scale is hard to grasp until you see a block of ice the size of a building break away and fall silently before the sound reaches you. A Spegazzini Glacier cruise is a very different experience from the boardwalks: there is no land in front of you, only water, icebergs and the ice wall rising out of the lake. Dress warmly, because the wind off the glacier is cold even on sunny summer days.

Puesto Las Vacas and the Upsala Canal

Near the Spegazzini Glacier the catamaran docks at Puesto Las Vacas, a former ranch outpost at the foot of the forest where you step ashore for a short walk of about half an hour along a marked path among lenga trees and lakeside viewpoints. It is the only landing of the day and a welcome chance to stretch your legs and photograph the glaciers from solid ground.

Back on board, the cruise enters the Upsala Canal, the channel that leads towards the Upsala Glacier, among the largest in the park and known for the field of icebergs it releases into the lake. The boat cannot approach the glacier itself because of the ice, but it weaves between icebergs of every shape and shade of blue with views of the Upsala and Bertacchi glaciers in the distance. Lunch is served on board during this leg: a lunch box on the classic deck, a four-course meal on the premium deck.

Canal de los Témpanos and the north face of Perito Moreno

In the afternoon the catamaran sails into the Canal de los Témpanos, the iceberg channel that runs along the north face of the Perito Moreno Glacier. This is the side of the glacier the boardwalks look onto, but from the water the seventy-metre wall fills the whole horizon, and the sounds of cracking ice carry across the channel. The boat holds a safe distance and turns slowly so every deck gets the view; it is the grand finale of the glaciers cruise from El Calafate.

On the default option you then disembark at the Perito Moreno pier and spend about two hours on the park's boardwalks, the network of elevated walkways and balconies that give close-up views of the front from several levels. Your transfer collects you at the boardwalks for the drive back to El Calafate, arriving in the evening about twelve and a half hours after pickup. The options without the boardwalks return to port by boat instead.

The Perito Moreno boardwalks

The boardwalks facing the Perito Moreno Glacier run for about four kilometres in circuits from the upper balconies down to platforms close to the water, all built on wooden walkways with railings, stairs and benches. Two hours is enough to walk the main circuits at an easy pace and stand for a while on the lower balconies, where calving ice is most often seen and heard. After a day watching glaciers from the water, this is the chance to see one from the land, with the forest, the lake and the ice in a single view.

The boardwalks have a restaurant and toilets near the entrance, and the paths are well marked so you can explore independently before meeting the transfer at the agreed time. Comfortable closed shoes are essential; there are many steps. Choosing the option with the boardwalks turns the cruise into a complete Perito Moreno day trip from El Calafate, which is why we make it the default.