A day on the milky turquoise arms of Lago Argentino, drifting past icebergs to glaciers you can only reach by boat.
Perito Moreno is the glacier you can drive to. The others that pour into Lago Argentino from the Southern Patagonian Ice Field can only be seen from the water.
Boats leave from Puerto Bandera, west of El Calafate, and head up the lake's northern arms. The channel towards Upsala, one of the largest glaciers in the park, is often crowded with icebergs in shades of white and electric blue.
The Spegazzini glacier has the highest front in the park, a wall of ice around 130 metres tall, framed by steep peaks.
Some trips land at Estancia Cristina, a sheep station founded in 1914 by a pioneer family and reachable only by boat. There's a small museum, and 4x4 or walking trips climb to a lookout over the Upsala glacier.
A typical full-day route.
A bus collects you in town for the drive to the port, then the boat heads out across the lake.
Slow down among the floating ice in the channel towards Upsala, where the colours are best on a bright day.
The boat noses into a narrow arm under the Spegazzini glacier's towering front.
On estancia trips, land for lunch, the museum and the climb to the Upsala lookout.
Cruise back down the lake, often into the wind, and transfer to town by early evening.
Several operators run lake trips with different itineraries and prices; book in town a day or two ahead, more in high summer.
The trips enter Los Glaciares National Park; the park fee is paid separately on the way to the port.
The decks are cold and windy; seasickness is rare but possible on rough days.
Calafate & Chaltén practical notes →Photographs from Wikimedia Commons and Pexels under their licences.
