Patagonia's glaciers

1.Perito Moreno

You will probably be impatient to explore the magical Petito Moreno during your voyage to Argentina. The 80 kilometres from El Calafate may seem interminable, but when you finally reach the glacier, you will be amazed by its grandeur. 60 metres high, 15 kilometres long and 5 kilometres wide. Did you know that it is as large as the city of Buenos Aires? Impressive! It can be reached by boat and the size of this giant will leave you speechless. When you go to the walkways you will get a better idea of just how big it is and you will have plenty of time to admire it. The most impressive part is listening to its sounds. It cracks and groans because it grows three metres on some days. Sometimes a big block detaches itself, causing enormous waves and a lot of noise.You will have the opportunity to take incredible pictures that will remind you of the amazing experience when you go back home. It is difficult to turn around and leave because it is not something that you see every day, so try to immerse yourself in the atmosphere and soak the view in front of you as much as you can.

2. Torrecillas Glacier

Hiding in the shadow of Perito Moreno's immense fame, there are lots of other glaciers that are worth going to. In Los Alerces National Park a beautiful hike leads you to Torrecillas Glacier. The National Park is a World Heritage Site, located in Chubut Province, Argentina, along the border with Chile. Its name come from alerce (lahuán) trees (one of the longest-living trees in the world) because the park itself has the largest alerce forest of Argentina. Numerous lakes are located there such as the Menendez, Rivadavia, Futalaufquen and Krüger lakes. You can walk around the park, go fishing and after that take a boat trip and go to see the Torrecillas glacier.
3. Other glaciers

Close to Perito Moreno, after a beautiful trip on Lake Argentino you can get to Spegazzini (the picture above), Onelli and Upsala. The former was named after the Italian-Argentinian Botanist and Fungi Investigator Carlo Spegazzini and provides a unique opportunity to view various landscapes within a single day-trip. The Onelli glacier is among the forty-six glaciers located in the Los Glaciers National Park and is still considered a hidden treasure. You can reach it by taking a boat from Punta Bandera on the Lago Argentino towards the Onelli Bay. The Upsala Glacier flows from the Southern Patagonian Ice Field, feeding the nearby Perito Moreno Glacier and is well known for its rapid retreat, which many see as an example of global warming. It is named after Uppsala University, which sponsored the first glaciological studies in the area. Another glacier that you can see it Viedma. You can go there by sailing over Lake Viedma or by trekking from El Chaltén. We promise that it will be worth it because the beauty is incomparable!
4. Interesting Facts

Did you know that nowadays 92% of the glaciers are retreating, 7% are stagnant and 1% are growing? For a glacier to be created it has to snow in that particular location without stopping, and be under 0°C for hundreds of years. 10 metres of snow are needed to create 1 centimetre of a glacier. Wow! We should visit and cherish the glaciers while they are still here, because unfortunately they will become rarer and rarer in the future.