Patagonia in 2 Weeks: Argentine & Chilean Wilderness

Stops on this route

Day by Day

1. 1

   Buenos Aires

   • Day 1

     Arrive in Buenos Aires — Parrilla Dinner & Palermo

     Transit

     Land at Ezeiza International Airport (EZE) and take the Manuel Tienda León shuttle bus to Palermo or San Telmo — around 45 minutes and €10, far cheaper than taxis. Buenos Aires is your only city stop before weeks of wilderness, so use the evening well: book a table at a classic parrilla like Don Julio in Palermo (reserve online) for a bife de chorizo with Malbec, then walk Palermo Soho's bookshop-lined streets. Pack light and leave heavy luggage stored at your accommodation — you'll need only hiking gear south of here.

2. 2

   El Calafate

   • Day 2

     Fly to El Calafate — First Glacier Views

     Transit

     Catch an early morning LATAM or Aerolíneas Argentinas flight from Jorge Newbery Domestic Airport (AEP) to El Calafate's Comandante Armando Tola Airport — 3 hours, typically €80–120 booked ahead. El Calafate town sits on the southern shore of Lago Argentino at 200 m elevation; the surrounding steppe is flat, rust-coloured, and windy, making the first view of the ice-blue lake a shock of colour. Check into a hostel on Calle del Libertador (the main strip) and spend the afternoon walking to Laguna Nimez, a flamingo reserve right on the edge of town, to shake off the flight.

   • Day 3

     Perito Moreno Glacier — Calving Walls & Walkways

     The 80 km transfer to Perito Moreno (€10 by Caltur shuttle or €25 by taxi) deposits you in front of one of the world's only advancing glaciers, a 5 km wide ice wall that calves cathedral-sized chunks into Lago Argentino with thunderous booming. Los Glaciares National Park's steel walkway network puts you face-to-face with the 60 m high blue-white ice cliff — budget 3–4 hours on the platforms. Optional: book the mini-trekking ice walk (€40 extra) to crampons and walk on the glacier surface itself, crossing crevasses and peering into cerulean meltwater channels.

3. 3

   El Chaltén

   • Day 4

     Drive to El Chaltén — La Leona & Arrival

     Transit

     Rent a car or take the Cal-Tur bus from El Calafate at 8 AM (€15, 3 hours) north along Ruta Nacional 40 — one of Argentina's great road-trip corridors — across wind-scoured Patagonian steppe toward the Fitz Roy massif, which appears as a jagged granite skyline above the flat plain around 30 km before El Chaltén. Stop at La Leona historic estancia roadhouse, where Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid reportedly stayed in 1904, for coffee and medialunas. El Chaltén itself has no traffic lights, one paved street, and the best free-access hiking in South America starting directly from the village.

   • Day 5

     Laguna de los Tres — Fitz Roy's Epic Base Lake

     This is the signature hike of Argentine Patagonia: 19 km return, 800 m elevation gain, usually 8–10 hours. Leave the village on the Sendero Fitz Roy trail by 7 AM and hike through lenga beech forest to Laguna Capri (spectacular Fitz Roy reflection at 2 hours in) then grind up a 400 m steep moraine to Laguna de los Tres at 1,170 m. The panorama across the turquoise lagoon to Cerro Fitz Roy (3,405 m), Cerro Poincenot, and Aguja Saint-Exupéry is the most iconic view in Argentine Patagonia — bring waterproofs and extra food regardless of morning conditions.

   • Day 6

     Cerro Torre — Laguna Torre & Condor Thermals

     The 18 km return Laguna Torre trail is flatter than the previous day's epic, winding through wind-bent lenga and ñire forest to the moraine-dammed lake beneath Cerro Torre's impossible needle (3,128 m). This peak was one of climbing's great controversies: Cesare Maestri's disputed 1959 'summit' and his later bolt-drilling compressor route defined a generation of alpine ethics debate. On clear days, condors soar the thermals above the lateral moraine above the lake at around 2 PM — bring binoculars. Afternoon: rest legs at Cervecería Chaltén brewpub in the village.

4. 4

   Puerto Natales

   • Day 7

     Border Crossing to Chile — Drive to Puerto Natales

     Transit

     Take the direct Cal-Tur or Chaltén Travel bus from El Chaltén to Puerto Natales (5–6 hours, ~€20) via El Calafate and the Cancha Carrera/Cerro Castillo border crossing — bring your passport, declare any food at customs, and allow extra time at the border. Puerto Natales, a former meat-packing town on Seno Última Esperanza fjord, has transformed into Patagonia's main trekking outfitter hub: gear shops, freeze-dried food suppliers, and some of Patagonia's best restaurants (Aldea, Afrigonia) all line Calle Eberhard. Book your refugio beds in Torres del Paine at the CONAF office or Fantástico Sur/Vertice online portals if you haven't already.

5. 5

   Torres del Paine

   • Day 8

     Enter the Park — Lago Grey & Grey Glacier

     Transit

     Take the 7 AM Bus Sur or Turismo Zaahj bus (€10 one-way, 2.5 hours) to Torres del Paine National Park entrance and on to Lago Grey, the western anchor of the W Trek. The Grey Glacier calves enormous ice blocks into the pewter-grey lake, and a 2-hour out-and-back walk from Refugio Grey takes you to a lookout directly above the glacier's terminus. Check into Refugio Grey (Vertice network, €50–70 per person with dinner and breakfast included) — the refugios are hut-style with bunk rooms, shared bathrooms, and hearty three-course dinners that feel like luxury after a day in Patagonian wind.

   • Day 9

     W Trek Day 2 — French Valley & Hanging Glaciers

     Hike from Refugio Grey east along the lakeshore to Refugio Pehoe, then head north into Valle del Francés — the dramatic central arm of the W and widely considered its most spectacular section. The trail climbs through ancient lenga beech forest to Mirador Británico (4 hours return from the valley floor) where hanging glaciers on Cerro Paine Grande crack and thunder overhead and condors wheel at eye level. The 360° panorama takes in every peak in the Paine massif including the Torres to the east; this is the moment many trekkers consider the trip's emotional peak.

   • Day 10

     W Trek Day 3 — Lago Pehoé & Mirador Las Torres

     Continue east from Refugio Paine Grande along the southern shore of impossibly turquoise Lago Nordenskjöld to Refugio Los Cuernos (5 hours), where the distinctive banded Los Cuernos peaks loom directly overhead — their black sedimentary caps and granite cores are exposed by millions of years of glacial erosion. In the late afternoon push on to Refugio Torres or Las Torres central hotel (the eastern W trailhead) to position for tomorrow's famous dawn ascent. Fuel up with the refugio dinner: most serve lamb stew, bread, and hot chocolate that trekkers remember months later.

   • Day 11

     W Trek Day 4 — Dawn at Mirador Las Torres

     Transit

     Set the alarm for 4:30 AM and hike the 9 km (700 m gain) by headtorch to Mirador Las Torres, timing your arrival at the moraine-rimmed lake for the first alpenglow on the three towers — the pink then gold light creeping down the 1,000 m granite faces into the teal lake below is one of South America's defining natural spectacles and the reason the park draws over 250,000 visitors a year. The trail is well-marked and heavily used; crowds build quickly after 7 AM so early starts are essential. Descend and take the afternoon bus or catamaran back to Puerto Natales, exhausted and euphoric.

   • Day 12

     Rest & Restock in Puerto Natales — Milodon Cave

     A rest day back in Puerto Natales after four days on trail: drop gear at your hostel, do laundry at Hostal La Cumbre (€5/load), and visit the Milodon Cave 24 km north of town — a giant cavern where a prehistoric giant ground sloth (mylodon) lived until around 10,000 years ago, with a cartoonish fiberglass replica in the cave mouth that became strangely iconic. The fjord waterfront (Costanera) at golden hour turns the mountains across Seno Última Esperanza amber and pink; watch from the dock with a bottle of Austral beer.

6. 6

   Punta Arenas

   • Day 13

     Bus to Punta Arenas — Strait of Magellan

     Transit

     Catch the 3-hour bus south from Puerto Natales to Punta Arenas (Buses Fernández, ~€10), crossing the flat Patagonian pampa and arriving at the continent's southernmost large city on the Strait of Magellan. The city's ornate municipal cemetery — where Patagonia's immigrant Welsh, Croatian, and British sheep-farming dynasties are buried under elaborate mausoleums — is a surreal and beautiful afternoon walk. Dinner: try centolla (king crab) at El Mercado or La Luna on the main plaza — Punta Arenas is the best place in the world to eat it fresh.

   • Day 14

     King Penguins & Departure Flight North

     If your flight allows, drive 40 km north to Reserva Nacional Pingüino Rey at Bahía Inútil (a private estancia; entry ~€10) to see Patagonia's only king penguin colony — around 100 birds year-round, easily approached within a few metres. Return to Punta Arenas Presidente Carlos Ibáñez del Campo Airport (PUQ) for the 2.5-hour LATAM flight to Santiago (LAN), connecting onward to Buenos Aires or international destinations. Stock up on artisanal Patagonian lamb jerky and craft gin from Damajuana distillery at the airport as last-minute gifts.

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Further reading

• South America on Wikipedia
• South America travel guide on Wikivoyage