at Explora El Calafate
The territory surrounding the lodge is remarkably diverse. To explore its many landscapes, explorations are organized across five zones, each revealing a different facet of the destination.
More than thirty explorations allow you to discover El Calafate on foot, on horseback, by navigation, or overland. Our private stables and horses offer a traditional way to cross the steppe and reach remote areas of the region. Throughout many routes, the presence of the glaciers remains a constant reference in the landscape, guiding the way along trails and viewpoints that connect lakes, rivers, and mountains.
Guided Explorations That Take You Deeper
Our Explorations are designed to reveal what lies just beyond our lodge: classic explorations that visit the destination’s most iconic sites, alongside routes suited to all fitness levels, led by expert guides trained in our own School of Guides. In addition, our Signature Explorations offer exclusive Explora-only routes, designed to take you further off the beaten path. Most Explorations are included, with a select few available at an additional cost.
Zones & Explorations
Valleys & Mountains
Hike
Mirador Cristal
Cerro Cristal
La Roca
High Mountain
La Península
Brazo Sur
Hike
Brazo Sur
The Steppe
Hike
Mirador del Chingue
El Chingue
Cañadón Calafate
Overland
Calafate
Walichu
High Mountain
Cerro Moyano
Kayak
La Leona
Ancient Ice
Hike
Perito Moreno
Ice Hike
Overland
Pasarelas / Boardwalks
Navigation
Cara Sur
Kayak
Kayak Perito Moreno
La Estancia
Hike
Erráticas
La Meseta
Los Toros
La Condorera
La Frontera
El Fraile
Horseback
Pastizales
Chorrillo Malo
La Tranquera
Las Faldas
Río Rico
Veranadas
Level of Difficulty
EASY
Gentle terrain with some elevation changes, suitable for a slow walking pace.
MODERATE
Terrain featuring moderate ascents and descents, characterized by rolling hills.
Signature Explorations
Signature Explorations are exclusive routes that have been designed by our explorations team to show the true essence of each destination. These explorations allow you to connect deeply with the natural environment and the local culture, offering a unique adventure far from the typical tourist paths.
ADVANCED
The terrain consists of steep inclines and descents, requiring a swift walking pace. The explorer may also face challenges along the trail, such as rocky sections, river crossings, or vertigo-inducing areas.
Valleys & Mountains
Zone that harbors the Patagonian forest ecosystem, where its mountains have retained the moisture of the ice field, giving way to valleys through which flow the rivers that give rise to the greatest diversity of local life. Constant views of Perito Moreno Glacier from different perspectives. Covers the areas of Los Glaciares National Park (Cerro Cristal) and the Magallanes Peninsula. Presence of estancias focused on summer grazing lands.
Mirador Cristal
Distance: 7.3 km / 4.5 mi
We climb Cerro Cristal to understand how water structures and shapes this territory. As we gain altitude, the landscape arranges itself before us: Lake Argentino, Lake Roca, and the Perito Moreno Glacier stand out by their colors and their origins, each telling a part of the region’s glacial history.
Half Day | Moderate
La Roca
Distance: 3.5 km / 2.2 mi
The Lake Roca sector is home to part of the territory’s human history, where we encounter traces of its first inhabitants. Its panoramic viewpoints help us understand both the distant and recent human history of these latitudes.
Half Day | Moderate
Brazo Sur
Cerro Cristal
Distance: 9.6 km / 6 mi
We will begin this exploration in a lenga forest, continuing until we pass beyond the tree line. From there, the views allow us to read the landscape in its entirety, like a living map carved by ice.
Full Day | Advanced
The most remote zone of the territory. Here we draw closer to the southern sector of the ice field within a valley surrounded by mountain massifs that provide the climatic conditions necessary for glaciers to thrive. The cold and humidity of the ice field allow for a more lush ecosystem; here we find humid forests.
HIKE
Brazo Sur
Distance: 11.5 km / 7.1 mi
We sail toward one of the most remote sectors of Los Glaciares National Park, venturing into the South Arm of Lake Argentino. After landing, we make our way into the Patagonian forest until we reach the moraines shaped by the Southern Patagonian Ice Field—those long scars of rock and sediment the ice left in its wake. Before us, the Cubo Glacier reveals glacial dynamics in their purest form: a littleexplored territory where silence, water, and ice still set the rhythm of the landscape.
Full Day | Moderate
HIKE
SIGNATURE
The Steppe
Zone where the steppe predominates, an ecosystem resilient to the wind. Despite its harshness, it has been home to livestock farming, the main local industry that has shaped Patagonian history. It extends from the outskirts of the city of El Calafate to the Río La Leona sector. This part of the territory holds the oldest geological formations, many of them unimaginable under today’s climate.
HIKE
Mirador del Chingue
Distance: 2.2 km / 1.4 mi
We walk along the slopes of the Hoya del Chingue, a serene route that opens onto sweeping views of the pampa and Lake Argentino. As we advance, the town of El Calafate and its surroundings unfold in the distance, allowing us to understand the close relationship between human beings and the nature around them. An exploration that combines open horizons, the stillness of the steppe, and a glimpse of how life settles on the edge of this Patagonian landscape.
Half Day | Easy
Cañadón Calafate
Distance: 11.2 km / 7.0 mi
This exploration takes us deep into the river canyon carved by the Calafate River. Breaking through the aridity of the Patagonian steppe, the river has eroded sedimentary formations dating back millions of years. Walking upstream, we will see how its waters have shaped the landscape, rewarding us with beautiful views.
Full Day | Moderate
OVERLAND
Calafate
Distance: 3 km / 1.9 mi
We explore Laguna Nimez, a small bird sanctuary on the shores of Lake Argentino. Walking its trails, we may discover flamingos and various diving birds that find refuge in this wetland, and we come to understand the close relationship between the water, the birds, and the town of El Calafate that grew beside it. A serene exploration, ideal for wildlife watching and for understanding how wild and human life coexist on the edge of the steppe.
Half Day | Easy
El Chingue
Distance: 9 km / 5.6 mi
On this exploration we venture into the Hoya del Chingue area, a mountain range of sedimentary origin that holds an ancient history of the land. We walk along its ledges, reading the passage of time in the layers of rock, while views open toward El Calafate, Cerro Moyano, and Lake Argentino. It is a route that combines geology and sweeping panoramas, where each stratum tells how this landscape was, at different moments, sea, sediment, and finally mountain.
Half Day | Moderate
Walichu
Distance: 0.7 km / 0.4 mi
We visit Punta Walichu, an archaeological site on the shores of Lake Argentino that preserves the traces of the first inhabitants of this land. Its rock paintings —hands, figures, and marks left by hunter-gatherer groups— allow us to glimpse the way they understood and inhabited the Patagonian landscape long before the arrival of the settlers. An exploration that invites us to read the territory through time, recognizing in the rock the oldest memory of the region.
Half Day | Easy
HIGH MOUNTAIN
Cerro Moyano
Distance: 16.6 km / 10.3 mi
Cerro Moyano tints the surroundings with color and rises as a natural lookout over the territory. We climb to its summit, reading in the rock the traces of a fiery past, until we reach a point where the landscape unfolds without limits: the pampa, Lake Argentino, and, in the distance, the border with Chile. An exploration that rewards the ascent with one of the most complete and singular panoramas in the area.
La Leona
Distance: 16.9 km / 10.5 mi
We descend through the valley of the La Leona River, observing sedimentary formations that safeguard fossils of petrified forests and of the fauna that inhabited the steppe millions of years ago. Each layer of rock reveals a different episode of Patagonian history, from ancient environments to the present landscape shaped by the wind. An exploration that is, above all, a journey through time.
This exploration is coordinated with specialized thirdparty services, subject to availability and additional cost.
Full Day | Advanced
Full Day | Fácil
KAYAK
SIGNATURE
Ancient Ice
Zone where the glaciers that make up the Southern Patagonian Ice Field predominate, among them the iconic Perito Moreno Glacier. This zone is located within Los Glaciares National Park. A territory exposed to the cold of the ice field and its winds, it presents a glacial ecosystem or cold biome, accessible only by boat.
HIKE
Perito Moreno
Distance: 2 km / 1.2 mi
We sail along the Brazo Rico toward the Perito Moreno Glacier. We disembark to walk along its southern shore, drawing closer and closer to the wall of ice, and then sail again among the drifting icebergs broken off from the glacier. A complete exploration that lets us experience the Perito Moreno from the water, the land, and the heights.
Half Day | Easy
HIGH MOUNTAIN
La Península
Distance: 11.5 km / 7.1 mi
SIGNATURE
We climb along the outer edge of the Magallanes Peninsula, gaining height above the Patagonian forest until we overlook the Brazo Rico of Lake Argentino. From this privileged vantage point, the Perito Moreno Glacier appears in all its magnitude, revealing its origin in the Southern Patagonian Ice Field. It is an exploration that combines the intimacy of the forest with the monumental scale of the ice, reminding us of the force that continues to shape this part of Patagonia.
Full Day | Advanced
KAYAK
Kayak Perito Moreno
Distance: 6.5 km / 4 mi
This kayak experience offers the chance to discover the Perito Moreno Glacier from a unique perspective, paddling across the waters of Brazo Rico in Lake Argentino, within Los Glaciares National Park. We will approach one of Patagonia’s most iconic natural wonders, declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
This exploration is coordinated with specialized thirdparty services, subject to availability and additional cost.
Half Day | Moderate
Ice Hike
Distance: 13 km / 8.1 mi
This exploration allows for a deep, extended immersion into the ice of the Perito Moreno Glacier, venturing into the heart of the glacier where we will find blue lagoons, crevasses, caves, and sinkholes.
This exploration is coordinated with specialized thirdparty services, subject to availability, additional cost, and age restrictions.
Full Day | Moderate
OVERLAND
Pasarelas / Boardwalks
Distance: 2.9 km / 1.8 mi
This is the most accessible exploration for contemplating the Perito Moreno Glacier. Along a system of gentle walkways, we visit various viewpoints and calmly take in the immensity of this wall of ice, alert to the roar of each calving. An exploration designed for those who seek time and serenity to admire one of the most impressive glaciers on the planet, at their own pace.
Half Day | Easy
NAVIGATION
Cara Sur
We sail along a stretch of the Rico River toward the Perito Moreno Glacier, approaching it from a singular perspective. As the boat advances, the southern face of the glacier reveals itself: a wall of ancient ice rising from the water with a presence both silent and overwhelming. An exploration for those who seek to contemplate the glacier without intermediaries, from the water, at the unhurried rhythm of the lake.
Half Day | Easy
La Estancia
Zone where the lodge is located, known as Estancia Chorrillo Malo. Its history is tied to summer grazing and cross-border transit into Chile. It is a zone where human history in the territory can be traced from indigenous peoples to the advance of modernity. This zone sits on the southwestern edge of the territory, bordering Chile. Cerro El Fraile rises to the south, giving way to two river valleys with different landscapes, where entirely distinct geological formations stand out and lend picturesque scenes to the scenery. Along the western edge of this zone runs the Río Rico.
HIKE
Erráticas
Distance: 3.2 km / 2 mi
We explore the surroundings of the lodge among erratic boulders—enormous rocks transported and abandoned by the glaciers as they retreated. These silent witnesses, out of place in the middle of the steppe, are proof of a territory in constant transformation. A nearby and accessible exploration that teaches us to read the traces of the ice in every detail of the landscape.
Half Day | Easy
Los Toros
Distance: 4.7 km / 2.9 mi
We venture into the Magellanic forest, following the trails left over generations by the herds of bulls and cows that grazed on this estancia. Among the dense woodland we discover hidden nooks where the livestock found shelter from the Patagonian climate, corners that still hold the echo of ranching life. An exploration that interweaves nature and history, revealing how human beings and the forest shared this territory.
Half Day | Easy
La Frontera
Distance: 16 km / 9.9 mi
We set out from the lodge toward the southwest, heading for the border with Chile. Following the course of the Rico River, we walk through different ecosystems —from the pampa to the forest— until we reach the “backyard” of the estancia. From there, the Paine massif is revealed on the horizon, and we grasp how close we are to the boundary between the two countries. An exploration that brings together geography, history, and the feeling of advancing toward the edges of the territory.
Full Day | Moderate
Distance: 6.1 km / 3.8 mi
We climb along the bank of the Chorrillo Malo, toward the plateau nearest the lodge. Upon reaching its ledge, the landscape unfolds in perspective: the surroundings of the lodge and the historic heart of the Chorrillo Malo estancia are revealed at our feet. From this privileged point we revisit the history of the place, which dates back to its founding in 1906, understanding how estancia life gradually shaped this Patagonian territory. An exploration that weaves together the traces of water, the breadth of the plateau, and the memory of more than a century of history.
Half Day | Moderate
La Condorera
Distance: 6 km / 3.7 mi
We climb to the ledge of Cerro El Fraile in search of the same perspective with which the condors read this landscape. As we gain altitude, we find traces of their activity —feathers, roosts, and remains— and, with luck, we will see them gliding by our side, masters of the wind. An exploration that brings us closer to the most emblematic bird of the Andes and to the vast horizon it commands each day.
Half Day | Moderate
El Fraile
Distance: 13 km / 8.1 mi
Beside the lodge rises El Fraile, a hill whose geological formations tint the territory with color. We climb its slopes, reading in the rock the layers that compose it, until we reach the summit. From the top, extraordinary views open up and, if luck is with us, we will make out some of the most iconic peaks of Patagonia outlined on the horizon. An exploration that rewards the effort with one of the most complete panoramas in the area.
Full Day | Advanced
La Meseta
HORSEBACK
Pastizales
Distance: 5.5 km / 3.4 mi
We ride at a walking pace through the pampas and grasslands near the lodge, advancing among erratic boulders and calafate bushes. The route, serene and unhurried, culminates at a lookout with views of the Perito Moreno Glacier, which appears in the distance like a promise of ice. A horseback exploration, ideal for feeling the unhurried rhythm of the steppe and the breadth of the Patagonian landscape.
Half Day | Easy
La Tranquera
Distance: 6.1 km / 3.8 mi
We ride up to the summer-pasture gate of the Chorrillo Malo estancia, the point where the movement of livestock between the main valley and the upper summer pastures was once controlled. From this place, steeped in ranching history, we begin the return toward the stables with a privileged view of the territory. A horseback exploration that combines estancia heritage and grand Patagonian panoramas.
Half Day | Easy
Río Rico
Distance: 12 km / 7.5 mi
On horseback we venture into the valley of the Rico River, an old route toward the border traveled by the gauchos on both lawful and unlawful crossings. As we leave the pampa behind and enter the valleys, the vegetation changes and the Patagonian forest envelops us, denser and more humid. An exploration that follows the traces of those who crossed these lands, reading in the landscape the transition between steppe and mountain.
Half Day | Moderate
Chorrillo Malo
Distance: 3.7 km / 2.3 mi
We cross the Chorrillo Malo toward the eastern sector of the estancia and gain some height to contemplate the landscape in perspective. We advance at a walking pace, unhurried, enjoying the views of the lodge, Cerro El Fraile, and the pampa that stretches to the horizon. A calm horseback ride that invites us to read the territory from the saddle, at the rhythm of the gauchos who rode it before.
Half Day | Easy
Las Faldas
Distance: 9 km / 5.6 mi
We ride across sedimentary plateaus that, in a distant past, marked the level of the ancient Lake Buenos Aires. From this height, the landscape arranges itself in perspective: the lodge at our feet and, in the distance, the Perito Moreno Glacier emerging among the mountains. A horseback exploration that unites deep geology and broad horizons, reminding us how much this territory has changed over time.
Half Day | Moderate
Veranadas
Distance: 29 km / 18 mi
We ride all the way around Cerro El Fraile, traversing the old Chorrillo Malo estancia just as the gauchos did in their work of tending the livestock. The landscape transforms without pause —from the pampas to the forest, and from the forest to the mountain— on a route that encompasses the full diversity of the territory. A horseback exploration that combines tradition, nature, and the unmistakable breadth of Patagonia.
Full Day | Advanced