Argentina’s trekking capital & the hardest hike of my life

Six Months in South America, Part 3

Part 3 of the Six Months in South America series: Kim and I travel to El Chaltén, Patagonia, the trekking capital of Argentina, and I complete the hardest hike of my life. 

If you know me, you know I love two things: long, scenic hikes and not having to drive hours to get to them. 

That’s why the mountain village of El Chaltén, Argentina—with its accessible-from-town treks—is a paradise to me. 

Kim and I traveled to El Chaltén after completing the W Trek in Chile, taking a few days off work to hike the famous Laguna de los Tres (or Mount Fitz Roy) hike. 

To be fair, this was one of the hardest hikes I’ve done, not because of the distance, topography, or elevation, but because I decided to experiment with the route and ended up adding an unexpected three hours to the journey.

At the summit of the Laguna de los Tres hike in El Chaltén, Argentina

At the summit, the picture above was me experiencing pure delirium, but overall, the experience was absolutely worth it. I made it back to our hostel with plenty of blisters but also blissful memories. 

Quick link:

• Here’s a guide to the best hikes around El Chaltén, their distances, and links to AllTrails 

How about you? Where’s your favorite hiking spot or the hardest route you’ve completed?

Thanks for reading, and stay tuned for part 4, where we take a ferry from Argentina to Uruguay for Carnaval.