Perito Moreno Glacier

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Perito Moreno

The Perito Moreno Glacier is probably Patagonia’s greatest highlight. About 1h away from El Calafate in the Los Glaciares National Park you can visit the Perito Moreno Glacier. With about half a million visitors per year, the national park is the 2nd most visited park in Argentina. Only the Iguazu National Park has more visitors.

You can find information about the entrance fee for Los Glaciares here: https://www.elcalafate.tur.ar/los-glaciares-national-park-1.htm

The Perito Moreno is very impressive. It has a width of almost 5km and a visible height of over 50m (under water are another 100m) at the front. In the middle the glacier is even 500 – 700m thick. The glacier extends over a length of about 30km. It starts in the mountains and flows into Lago Argentino.

While in the middle part the glacier for example only pushes forward a few centimetres a day, the speed at the front is higher. Here about 2m per day are reached. At the front of the glacier, the water flows from the south arm Brazo Rico to the Canal de los Témpanos to reach the main part of Lago Argentina.

Every few years the glacier closes the connection, which then leads to a rise of the Brazo Rico. This can be several metres. At some time, the water cuts through the glacier again and forms a tunnel. The glacier bridge then exists for only a few days before it collapses and the flow is completely opened again. The fact that this spectacle has taken place again and again over the last 100 years, the last time in 2018, is a sign that the Perito Moreno Glacier is intact. This means that it is stable and does not belong to the melting glaciers.

Detail pages

Viewpoint & Boat Tour

Perito Moreno

Glacier trekking

Perito Moreno

El Calafate Overview

Argentina Overview