Learn how the ice fields work before you see them, then climb the dry hills above town for the view over Lago Argentino to the Andes.
The Glaciarium is a museum of Patagonian ice, in a striking angular building on the hillside six kilometres out of El Calafate, on the road towards Perito Moreno.
Its exhibits and films explain how the Southern Patagonian Ice Field formed, how glaciers move, calve and retreat, and what climate change is doing to them, all useful before or after a day at the ice.
In the basement is an ice bar, where you borrow a thick coat and gloves and drink from glasses made of ice in a room kept below freezing.
Around town, the open steppe climbs to viewpoints such as Cerro Calafate and Cerro Huyliche, with wide panoramas of the turquoise lake and the Andes on the horizon. Guided 4x4 trips go up, or you can walk the lower slopes.
An afternoon around town.
Take the museum shuttle or a taxi from the centre to the Glaciarium on its hillside.
Walk through the galleries and watch the film on the ice field.
Put on the coat and gloves for a short, cold drink in the ice bar.
Join a 4x4 trip up Cerro Calafate, or walk the slopes above town towards Huyliche.
Watch the light go gold over Lago Argentino before heading back for dinner.
A shuttle runs from the town centre to the museum; check times locally. Taxis are quick and cheap.
Museum and ice bar are ticketed separately. 4x4 hill trips are booked through agencies in town.
Ideal for a day when wind or rain cancels the boats.
Calafate & Chaltén practical notes →Photographs from Wikimedia Commons and Pexels under their licences.
