After hiking around the northern sector of Parque Nacional Los Glaciares, we headed a few hours south to check out El Calafate and the southern sector of the park. The crown jewel of the entire park is the Perito Moreno Glacier, a massive glacier that is 5 km wide, 60 meters tall (at the edge where it meets the water) and 30km long that is accessible by bus. Although it requires no sweat to get there (and is therefore overrun with tourists), it is still one of the most amazing things I have seen on the trip.
A visit to the glacier basically involves walking around to different lookout points getting different angles on the ice. The glacier truly is alive as it is constantly making various noises as the ice settles, cracks and slowly moves into the lake. We were also treated to several chunks of ice calving off the glacier and into the water below. Twice we saw enormous 60 meter tall columns plunge into the lake and several times we saw smaller chunks fall into the lake.
Before actually seeing the chunk of ice fall, we would hear what sounded like a shotgun blast followed by an enormous crash as it splashed into the water, sending huge waves out in all directions. Really amazing to watch, but something that really needs to be seen in person to truly appreciate.
After hiking around the northern sector of Parque Nacional Los Glaciares, we headed a few hours south to check out El Calafate and the southern sector of the park. The crown jewel of the entire park is the Perito Moreno Glacier, a massive glacier that is 5 km wide, 60 meters tall (at the edge where it meets the water) and 30km long that is accessible by bus. Although it requires no sweat to get there (and is therefore overrun with tourists), it is still one of the most amazing things I have seen on the trip.
A visit to the glacier basically involves walking around to different lookout points getting different angles on the ice. The glacier truly is alive as it is constantly making various noises as the ice settles, cracks and slowly moves into the lake. We were also treated to several chunks of ice calving off the glacier and into the water below. Twice we saw enormous 60 meter tall columns plunge into the lake and several times we saw smaller chunks fall into the lake.
Before actually seeing the chunk of ice fall, we would hear what sounded like a shotgun blast followed by an enormous crash as it splashed into the water, sending huge waves out in all directions. Really amazing to watch, but something that really needs to be seen in person to truly appreciate.
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