The legendary Ruta 40 across empty steppe, a roadhouse stop for lemon pie, and the moment Fitz Roy appears on the horizon.
Ruta 40 runs the length of Argentina along the Andes, more than 5,000 kilometres from the far south to the Bolivian border. The stretch between El Calafate and El Chaltén is one of its most famous.
For about three hours the road crosses open steppe: tawny grass, low bushes and huge skies, with Lago Argentino and then Lago Viedma glinting turquoise to the west. Guanacos and rheas graze beside the tarmac, and condors circle overhead.
Halfway, by the Río La Leona, stands Hotel La Leona, an 1894 roadhouse that served travellers and sheep drovers. Legend says Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid once stayed. Today the bus stops here for coffee and a slice of the famous lemon pie.
After the turn west along Lago Viedma, the jagged Fitz Roy massif rises ahead, growing for the last hour of the drive into El Chaltén.
What to look out for.
Leave town east along Lago Argentino, then turn north on Route 40 across the steppe.
Watch the roadside for herds of guanacos and the long-legged, flightless rheas.
Stop at the old roadhouse by the river for coffee, pie and the photos on the walls.
Leave Route 40 for the road along Lago Viedma, with the Viedma glacier far off at its western end.
Pull over at the viewpoint before the village for the classic photo of the road and the peaks.
Several companies run between the two towns daily in season; book a day ahead in summer.
The road is paved; there's no fuel between the towns except in Calafate and Chaltén.
Some buses stop longer at La Leona than others; ask when you book.
Calafate & Chaltén practical notes →Photographs from Wikimedia Commons and Pexels under their licences.
