El Chalten and Parque Nacional Los Glaciares is one of the most popular parts of Patagonia, primarily due to Cerro Fitz Roy and the two neighboring peaks, which create a dramatic backdrop to stunning mountain lagoons. However, it’s not all that the park has to offer, and in our opinion, the centre of the park is Absolutely NOT the highlight. The Huemul Circuit is a 4 day, 65km loop that runs around the southern of Los Glaciares (but still starting from El Chalten, so not that south – it’s a big national park!). It’s technically a very normal hike, with two exceptions – two Tyrolean Traverses, which require you to hire a harness in El Chalten and carry it for the hike. The Tyroleans are so cool, and an awesome experience if you haven’t done it before (like us!). But the true highlight of this track is the Southern Ice Fields. If you’re lucky enough to complete this track with good weather, you’ll come across the first pass with an unbelievable view of the world’s second largest non-polar ice field. If the mouthy title doesn’t impress you, the views absolutely will!
If you are only here for planning purposes and only want key info about the trek, then please CLICK HERE to take yourself to ‘Keep it Short and Sweet’
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Hiring a Harness:
A harness, safety rope, a steel carabiner and a aluminum carabiner are all musts. Optionally, you can hire a loop of retrieval rope. We didn’t know much about the traverses before we did them, so we hired this, but it’s absolutely not necessary if you’re completing this loop in the direction we describe. The only reason it can be helpful is if you have a big group and want to pull all the bags over at once (instead of each person clipping on their bag), or if you complete the track clockwise (and you’re in a multiple), because there is only one retrieval rope on the second Tyrolean, and it’s on the wrong bank.
The cheapest place (Feb 2025) we found was Viento Oeste, at 8k ARS per day for the essentials, and 2k ARS per day for the retrieval rope. The other four shops in town were 10k per day. Viento Oeste was also the only shop that checked we could put the harness on correctly before hiring it out – which made us feel more comfortable!
Starting Off:
El Chalten is your start point. From the bus stop, head back south across the bridge to the visitor centre for the trailhead. At the centre, the staff can give you any up to date information on the track, and there’s a form to fill out with your intentions. I don’t think they check it, to be fair, so have your own safety system set up (as always!).
At this office, we were lucky enough to snap a photo of an old park map, which marks a number of tracks that new park maps don’t show. It was very helpful once we moved back into the main section of the park!
More details on the above photo will follow in our Los Glaciores post.
The track starts behind the office. This is one of the trailheads that was marked by a guardparque toll booth in 2025. Enter after 6pm as required. The track is marked well in places, and can be unclear in others. Make sure you have a GPS or offline maps. The campsites are all free, but there are also no facilities. Always be a good hiker and bury your shit well and away from water sources, and piss somewhere it will get washed away. Be aware there are lots of stinky spots!
We’re describing the ‘normal’ way to do the track, anti-clockwise, though it is doable clockwise too, we can imagine the ascent up on the 2nd day (3rd in our blog) would be quite rough.
Day 1: El Chalten to Laguna Toro; 16km; 4 hours
Day 1 is fine, but our memories are limited as is not hellishly interesting compared to all the other days. We completed it quite late, as we arrived late in El Chalten, and were hustling down the track. The trail starts quite rocky and uphill, but eventually changes to a mix of boggy fields and drier forest. There is a lot of cattle on this section, weirdly enough, but also great views to the north of the iconic tip of Fitz Roy. Eventually, the track descends back down towards Río Túnel, and then alongside it for another hour or so until you reach the (very basic) campsite, sheltering In some trees. We actually started so late we didn’t make it to the campsite, just found a flat spot near the Río Túnel.
Day 2: Laguna Toro to Paso del Viento Camp; 16km; 5 – 7 hours
From the campsite, start weaving your way around the rocky formations on the true left of the river. The track can be a little unclear at times, so check for cairns, but you’ll know you’re in the right place in about 30 minutes, when you reach your first Tyrolean Traverse! This Tyrolean runs over a ravine that the water has carved – there isn’t an alternative crossing place. The traverse is short and a bit steep, so definitely keep your bag off your back, and clipped in by your feet. ALWAYS remember: steel-on-steel. Make sure your harness isnt twisted. Take your time! Safety is more important than someone else’s impatience. There are plenty of videos out there, either keep one downloaded or screen-record if this is your first time to make sure you’re comfortable with the process.
Awal did the traverse with his backpack on his back and he would not recommend this! Your back pulls you down and you cannot stay upright as you’re attempting to pull yourself uphill. DONT MAKE THE SAME MISTAKE I DID! Take your backpack off and clip it too the steel carabiner aswell.
We were lucky to reach this Tyrolean first, so we could get comfortable with the gear and set up. As we said, it’s short but quite steep, so it can be a bit rough on the forearms. The dismount is also a bit hectic, because the rock face is fairly steep, so again take your time here!
Once over the ravine, and the adrenaline rush wears off, continue along the true right of the river along the rocks. This wends around a bit until you come to your next challenge – walking on or next to a glacier!
It’s important to be careful here, as the moraines are unstable and the glacier, well, is icy. We found there was a well travelled path on the moraine, that wasn’t too slippery, so we followed that along the edge of the glacier, and just jumped on for a walk on it at the end. Poles definitely help with the slipperiness. There were lots of crevasses on the glacier that we could see, even right next to the moraine, so we kept off it until right at the end.
Once youve had your fun on the ice, the track begins to ascend steeply, providing awesome views of the glacier below. Continue climbing for views over the glacier, which is broken up into two pieces now (or maybe it splits into two? Either way, it looks amazing!). The climb continues for an hour or so until you come to the top of the saddle.
Now, if you’re lucky with the weather, this is the real extraordinary part, with the Southern Ice Field opening up below you. The views descending the pass into the valley below are the best you’ll get – we advise stopping and taking your fill of the view here and now.
When we completed the O Trek, one of the rangers told us that as we ascended the John Gardener pass, if we were lucky we’d be able to see up the glacier to the Southern Ice Fields – and we were not lucky, so seeing it this time was so spectacular.
The main campsite descends to the left of the pass, and is only another hour’s walk. It sits next to a little lagoon and at this one, there is a tiny little campers’ shelter – which smelled like piss. There are several camping boundaries set up with rocks, and there’s not a lot of privacy. Being people who don’t love that vibe, we managed to find a little flat spot up in the rocks above the campsite (beyond the ‘toilet’ section – watch your step).
Before that though – if you have terrific weather and time to spare, we recommend heading down to the right and camping at Laguna Ferrari for an extra night, which is a brilliant blue and is close to a series of moraines that overlook the ice sheet and give brilliant views. Obviously, being close to so much ice means it is quite cold, so wrap up tight overnight! It’s only an hour between the two campsites.
Day 3: Paso Del Viento Camp to Bahia de los Tempanos; 14km; 5-7 hours
As above, this was our day 4, but we’ll keep the numbers as is. The day starts with some easy, flat walking parallel to the ice sheet, between rocky moraines and stream ridden grassy fields. Eventually, the trail starts turning to the east, and you’ll start catching views of the Glaciar Viedma, which splits off the ice sheet. There’s a particularly nice view, and a good spot to take a break, just before the track begins to narrow and follow a sheer wall on the left, and a solid drop on the right. This is also where, for us, the famous Patagonian winds began to really pick up. The ascent up the pass is very steep, but not too technically difficult, and we did it with the wind blowing into our backs, making us trip up into the hill, but there were times where standing was nigh impossible!
There’s a slight reprieve of a bowl at the top of this section, though the real ‘peak’ of the pass is up to the left a bit further. We took a right turn here before checking the GPS, and had to backtrack (big regrets in the wind). The track descends through scrubby legua forest – we assume the roots keep erosion to a minimum, but they make for some leg raises as you’re walking! The real rough bit comes on a very steep, eroded section a little way down. There are some ropes to help (it’s basically on sand covered rocks, but at about 45° – hell), but we both spent most of it sliding down and not really walking. The descent overall is quite long, so take care on your knees.
Eventually the track flattens out though. Take care, as you’re again in a section with lots of cattle, and misleading tracks. The campsite is only about 30 minutes walking more, where the final stretch descends to Bahía Tempanos of Lago Viedma, sheltered by the trees. There a lotsssss of rats at this campsite, so keep your food triple bagged and out of your tent. We think there’s an alternative campsite another 30-60 minutes along the trail, but we didn’t check it out. The beach is rocky and slippery, and with the wind can be quite rough, so take care if you swim (but it’s so worth it).
Day 4: Bahia de los Tempanos to El Chalten; 16km; 5-7 hours
As mentioned, take care with the cattle trails compared to the track. GPS can be helpful in this section to keep you confident. Also note that when we completed this section, we had to do a small stream crossing about an hour in. It’s a couple of hours trekking through grassy countryside until you reach the second Tyrolean.
As mentioned, this Tyrolean only has one retrieval rope, but you should be on the correct side. Just make sure you don’t forget anything on the pulley (or let go of the pulley too early… maybe before you’ve attached your harness for your trekking partner… just a thought). This one is also quite long! So be prepared for a workout, and possibly wear gloves to help with the rope chafing.
From here, it’s pretty flat walking out of the park. If youre lucky, or organised, you can plan a ride to picn you up another 30 minutes along the track. If youre not so organised, or cant afford the taxi, its another hour and a bit to the road, which at this point, is really just a slog. But you’ll get there eventually, joining up to the road, and a beer and a bed.
Keep it Short and Sweet
Track Type: Circuit
Distance: 65km
Elevation: 2500 meters gained
Days: 4
Park Entry Cost: 45k ARS (the guards leave after 6pm)
Camping Cost: Free. No facilities at campsites.
GPS needed in sections, in general the track is easy to find.
Cattle tracks can be misleading.
The cheapest place to hire a harness is from Viento Oeste, at 8k ARS per day for the essentials, and 2k ARS per day for the retrieval rope.
Day 1: El Chalten to Laguna Toro; 16km; 4 hours
Cruisy day
Day 2: Laguna Toro to Paso del Viento Camp; 16km; 5 – 7 hours
First tyrolean traverse, glacier walking
Day 3: Paso Del Viento Camp to Bahia de los Tempanos; 14km; 5-7 hours
Walk up a pass with a sketchy downhill
Day 4: Bahia de los Tempanos to El Chalten; 16km; 5-7 hours
Bit of a slog and final Tyrolean traverse