Essential guide to visit Perito Moreno

The Glacier Perito Moreno is, without a doubt, the most visited attraction of Argentina. Even as a national tourist, having a photo of your family at the glacier hanging on a wall is a must. Patagonia has a lot of glaciers here and there but the easy-accessible Perito Moreno really does take up the role completely. Where else do you get the chance to see huge chunks of ice falling off a glacier?

Don’t be fooled, though! Some could think that the spectacle comes at a big price for the glacier but as it stands today, Perito Moreno is not retreating but advancing. The constant pressure from the base push the outer rim of the glacier creating a once-in-a-lifetime show.

Here’s an essential guide for the Perito Moreno, covering all about transport, entrance price, maps and top spots for glacier watching.

Views of the glacier from above

Some clarification about the name

Funnily enough, in Argentina there are two places with the name Perito Moreno. Near the town of Chile Chico there’s Perito Moreno TOWN but it’s not where the glacier is located! The Perito Moreno GLACIER is more south than that next to the town of El Calafate.

Entrance of the park

Getting there

The glacier is located within the southern section of the Los Glaciares National Park and, as mentioned above, the closest city nearby is El Calafate. From El Calafate you’ve got three options to get to there.

Public bus – There are several bus companies connecting El Calafate to Perito Moreno. Usually, the whole trip would take a total of 5-6hrs of which 3hrs will only be transport. Some companies will let you wander the park for 2hrs others for 3hrs but don’t expect much more than that. At time of writing, the price for a shuttle to Perito Moreno was fixed at 800ARG/pp.

Taxi & Remis – If you’re traveling in a group 4 or more, the taking a private taxi or remis can be a more convenient and more relaxing way of visiting Perito Moreno. Similarly to buses, taxis/remis would also wait for you on-site but for longer, even 4-5hrs if you like. During high season (and with a little bit of bargaining), the trip costs 2’800-3’000ARG for the group.

Car Rental – This is definitely the cheapest option if you’re travelling in a group of 3 or more. Around town there are plenty of car rentals that will have vehicles for rent on a daily basis, ranging from small economic compacts to huge SUVs. Expect to pay anything between 2’000-4’000ARG/day for a car, depending on how many days you rent if for and your group size.
BE AWARE: During high season, finding an available car even for a day is nearly impossible so make sure to book well in advance for the Dec-Feb period.

Entrance Price & Visit time

At time of writing, the entrance price for a foreign adult is 700ARG. On site expect to spend at least 2-3hrs wandering the place and observing the glacier, if you’re lucky you might see some chunks of ice falling off!

The pasarelas aka wooden paths

Picking the best path

In order to enjoy the best views, on-site at the glacier you’ll find a number of pasarelas (wooden paths) that lead you to different viewpoints of the glacier. If you’re planning to walk all the paths, expect to spend at least 1-2hrs without stopping.

When we visited, we took the (1) blue path then the lowest section of the (2) yellow path, a bit of (3) red path and eventually headed back to the upper parking lot with (4) green path.

Blue Path (Paseo de la Costa) – Connects the lower parking lot with the central area of the paserelas. It’s about 1.1km and is usually walked on the way to or back from the glacier. In the last part you’ve got some beautiful less-crowded views over the channel and east side of the glacier.

Yellow Path (Paseo Central) – Essentially the heart of the whole pasarelas, this short 600m path is the perfect spot to see the glacier the closest. This path also connects with the upper parking lot.

Red Path (Paseo Inferior) – Similar to the Paseo de la Costa but for the west face of the glacier. It’s not hugely visited and it’s a good option (1.1km) for those wanting a break from the crowds.

Green Path (Paseo del Bosque) – Short path (600m) usually taken to head back to the upper parking lot after having walked the Paseo Inferior. It doesn’t feature any viewpoint over the glacier but connects the Paseo Inferior to the upper parking lot.

What to bring

Even though on-site there are a couple of shops/restaurants, buying anything from food to suncream there will badly hurt your pocket. The best option is to bring everything from home!

• lunch & snacks
• windbreaker
• hat (warm or baseball)
• warm clothes
• suncream
• sunglasses
• nice camera
• lot of patience!

The best spots to see ice falling

Before getting to Perito Moreno, we thought seeing chunks of ice falling as a somewhat fortunate event. That said, while visiting the place we got told (apart from figuring out ourselves) that during summer months falling ice is a pretty standard thing to a degree. Some days more, some less but always something.

In terms of best spots to see ice falling, the last part of the blue path and the lowest bit of the yellow path are the winners. From the first you get to see all the east face of the glacier but with the latter you get an incredible view of the part closest to mainland. In other words, all viewpoints over the Canal de los Tempanos are top-spots (you’ll notice easily by the amount of tourists).

You might want to head toward the lowest section of the red path to see the west face of the glacier but don’t expect much activity going on there!

In the end, we knew Perito Moreno was a big touristy attraction but to be honest the overwhelming beauty of the place made us forgot that. We loved our time there! Did you have the chance to visit this amazing place? Have you got questions or update for Perito Moreno? Let us know in the comments!

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