Perito Moreno

It takes around 1 hr by bus on a good road to reach the Perito Moreno glacier from El Calafate.

The name Perito Moreno comes from the explorer that was appointed by the Argentinean government to explore the area in order to define the borders between Chile and Argentina.
Originally the border line was defined by the direction of the water in the rivers (i.e. if the water goes towards the Pacific then it is Chile, if it flows towards the Atlantic it is Argentina).
Moreno was the first to highlight that rivers and glaciers were in constant movement and so were the borders (causing major problems).
His major contribution was to suggest the current way of defining borders which is by using the picks of the mountains.
His methodology was finally adopted and Argentina and Chile never had a war.
Moreno never saw the glacier that carries his name. In his diaries he wrote that “huge icebergs were floating in the area and therefore he assumed that there was a glacier at the end of the valley”.

So, what’s so special about the Perito Moreno glacier? At the end of the day South Patagonia has a front of ice long 350 kms with plenty of glaciers, often much bigger than the Moreno.

There are few reasons why the Moreno glacier has established itself as a huge tourist attraction:

First of all the surrounding area it is not covered in snow or ice which makes the glacier to stand out from the rest.

The Moreno (unlike many glaciers that are receding) is a stable glacier, it does not move location, which makes the life of the tour providers much easier (they can set up view points and facilities which can be left in the same place indefinitely)

The northern front of the glacier provides plenty of breakings during the day which is a stunning show both in terms of view and sound.

Due to its stability the glacier is safe to walk on. As the tour agency says all you need is to be fit and between 18 and 65 years old to do the mini trekking (90 minutes). For the big ice tour (4 hrs) the age limit is 45.

Boats can also approach the glacier very closely.

Last but not least the glacier offers once in a while a majestic breaking.
The advancing ice often creates a natural dam blocking one side of the lake.
As torrents keep filling the newly formed mini lake, the level of the water keeps growing and so the pressure on the dam made of ice.
Eventually, when the pressure is too big, the trapped water carves a tunnel under the ice which gets wider and wider until the outstanding arch of ice collapses in a thundering wave.
We are told that back in the 60’ the level of the lake rose by 20 meters.
When the water finally broke through the tunnel it only took 24 hrs for the collapse to take place.

The tour can only be organised by one agency in El Calafate called Hielo y Aventura. They have the monopoly.

We have to say that they do a very good job with plenty of explanations during the tour and always putting safety first.

The cost of the tour is around £90 per person and includes bus transfer from and to the hotel, boat tour, 90 minutes ice trekking, and even a free drink at the improvised ice bar in the glacier!