A visit to Patagonia isn’t complete without sampling one of the regions finest offerings.. the world class hikes! We had planned to enjoy some of the varied trails during our visit to the gorgeous mountain town of El Chalten, and the popular Laguna Torre was on our Patagonia itinerary. While Youtube views and guides online hadn’t been as complimentary or ‘vibrant’ as we had hoped, we decided it was the perfect ‘warm up’ for the ‘must do’ Laguna De Los Tres the day after.
The trail head is located at the edge of the town, where a steady incline over the first few kms is smattered with lovely views of El Chalten (first few 100m), along with a sneap peak of Fitz Roy around 1km in.
The trail then flattens out, winds through the forest, along the valley, and up towards the mountains.
As you reach the end of the trail, you’ll have a few 100m incline to reach your prize, the glorious Torre Glacier and Laguna Torre, situated at the base of Cerro Torre Mountain. Pending the time of year, you’ll likely be treated to floating glacier ‘icebergs’, complimenting the already spectacular views.
The trial is reported to be 18kms online, however it is more like 19-20kms from the car park (trail “start” is around 500m in). Additionally, if you walk from the heart of the town, allow another 1-2 kms. We hiked ~21kms all up. There is around 500-550m of elevation, but most of this is at the start (200-300m) and the end (200-300m). The hike took us 4.5-5 hours of hiking, with around 30-45 minutes of rest time all up (5.5-6 hours total), however it may take longer if you are wishing to go at a slower pace.
So do we recommend Laguna Torre hike? Absolutely! Great views, a moderately challenging hike, and not as long or demanding as other ‘big’ hikes in El Chalten.
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