I said goodbye (sadly) to my travelling companions last night and am heading out on the 7.30am bus to El Chalten. It takes four hours to drive the 200-odd kilometres on the gravel track. A few miles before we reach Los Glaciares National Park I see the Fitzroy`s jagged peaks rising sharply from the Patagonian steppe. It´s a dramatic sight.
On arrival into the park everyone is met by one of the park rangers and told about the various hikes (there are three main ones) and other general stuff like not peeing near the (glacial) lakes and not leaving litter etc.
El Chalten is a tiny, pretty town of about 500 people, surrounded by mountains. There´s a gravel road running through the middle with houses and hostels on either side. Whenever a car drives down the road the air fills with a cloud of dust. The word (Chalten) means smoking mountain in Tehuelche, as the locals thought smoke was rising from the top of Fitzroy.
It takes an hour and a half to walk up to the first Fitzroy viewpoint. The path hugs the side of the mountain overlooking a beautiful valley before it enters the forest. It´s a further 10 minutes to Laguna Capri where I sit for a while and admire Fitzroy´s jagged peaks.
(Photo - Fitzroy)
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