Los Glaciares National Park

Two sectors, 213.7 km apart

The park covers 726,927 hectares of the Andes in the province of Santa Cruz. It was created in 1937 and has been on UNESCO’s World Heritage List since 1981 (APN). Visitors use two parts of it. The south sector holds the Perito Moreno Glacier, about 30 km long with a front of 4 to 5 km (APN), and the port of Puerto Punta Bandera, where boats leave for the Upsala and Spegazzini glaciers. The north sector starts at the village of El Chaltén, where the trails to Fitz Roy and Cerro Torre begin.

El Calafate, on the shore of Lago Argentino, is the base for the south. By road it is 76.6 km to the walkways car park; the APN gives 80 km to the glacier and 47 km to Puerto Punta Bandera. El Chaltén is 213.7 km by road from El Calafate on our routing, 220 km on the APN’s. Where is Los Glaciares National Park? has both sectors and the roads.

The entrance fee

The APN charges the same day rate in both sectors. From 1 June 2026 the general rate is ARS 50,000, the rate for Argentine ID holders ARS 25,000, for Santa Cruz residents ARS 8,000 and for students ARS 15,000; children up to 6 go free. The APN prints no separate rate for foreigners. Our reading of its categories is that a visitor without an Argentine ID pays the general rate. A second day in the park costs half, within 72 hours of the first, and a three-day pass costs ARS 100,000.

Every tour on this site leaves the fee out. You pay it at the gate or buy it online beforehand. The entrance fee has every category and how to pay at each gate.

A day at the Perito Moreno Glacier

Info de Ushuaia’s day is 8 hours from El Calafate. A van collects you in town, about an hour each way. The drive is 80 km. In the park you walk the walkways facing the glacier with the guide and have free time for lunch at the restaurants there; lunch is not included. On the dearer option a one-hour boat trip passes the glacier’s northern wall. The day started at 9:00 AM or 12:00 PM on the dates we read. The guide row lists Spanish and English, and on the dates we read the booking page showed an English guide.

The walkways are the APN’s. Its map lists six trails, from the 150 m Sendero de los Témpanos to the 1,117 m Sendero de la Costa; the 1,100 m lower trail is the one it rates hard. The handrails are safety barriers: climbing or crossing them is forbidden, because falling ice throws splinters tens of metres. The floor is metal grating, so the APN advises walking shoes that hold the ankle.

Check dates for the glacier day

If you want more time on the walkways, Patagonia Dreams' day is from US$80 with up to 4 hours there, and SALUM TOUR & TRAVEL's, from US$79, is limited to 15 people. A private car with a driver is from US$330 for up to four, with about 3 hours of free time at the walkways (checked November 2026). The Perito Moreno Glacier from El Calafate compares them with the bus and your own car.

El Chaltén, Torres del Paine and the ice

El Chaltén is a full day from El Calafate. Patagonia Dreams' El Chaltén day is from US$117 on promotion, usually US$130 without lunch (checked November 2026): 11 hours, with a guided walk to the Mirador de los Cóndores and the Chorrillo del Salto waterfall. The walks the APN describes from the village are longer: the Fitz Roy trail to the Laguna de los Tres is 25 km and 8 to 9 hours. Cloud over Fitz Roy is the most common complaint in the tour’s reviews. The El Chaltén day trip weighs the day against a night in the village.

Torres del Paine is in Chile, across the border. Patagonia Dreams' Torres del Paine day is from US$207 (checked November 2026) and takes 16 hours, with a passport check at the border both ways. Torres del Paine from El Calafate explains the border, the hours and Chile’s park fee.

To walk on the glacier itself you need the operator that holds the park’s ice-trek concession: the APN names Hielo y Aventura for the Minitrekking and Big Ice treks. Hielo y Aventura runs the walks on the ice; we don’t. Bookings go through GetYourGuide or Viator. Its Mini-Trek is from US$346 (checked November 2026), for the 4.5-hour option from the port without transport. The listing rules it out for children under 8 and people over 65.

Is the glacier growing?

No. For decades the Perito Moreno was known as a glacier that held its position while its neighbours retreated. A peer-reviewed study published in August 2025 (Koch and others, Communications Earth & Environment) measured the surface near its front lowering by 0.34 m a year from 2000 to 2019 and by 5.5 m a year from 2019 to 2024, with the glacier speeding up and its front retreating. Is the Perito Moreno Glacier growing? has what the study found and what it does not predict.

What reviewers of the walkways day say

Info de Ushuaia’s day has 947 reviews on GetYourGuide. We read the 350 newest, the oldest dated 25 April 2026 and the newest 8 November 2026: 295 give five stars and 15 give three or fewer, 7 of them with text. One (9 September 2026) calls it “essentially a ride service to the park with some commentary and then free time to use the walk ways” and found it dear with the park fee on top. Another (17 October 2026) says the price covers little more than the transfer and the guide, with the park and the boat paid separately. One (7 November 2026) had a guide who came 40 minutes late and spoke Spanish most of the time; another (16 October 2026) felt pushed to pay for the boat. Read it as what it is: transport, a guide and time on the walkways, with the gate and the boat on top.

Before you book

• The park fee. ARS 50,000 a day on the general rate (APN, from 1 June 2026), not included in any tour on this site.
• The boat. Most walkways days sell the boat as a second, dearer option. Check which option you pick.
• Language. The guide rows list Spanish and English. Some reviewers had a guide who spoke mostly Spanish.
• Cancelling. Every GetYourGuide day on this page can be cancelled free up to 24 hours before.

Check dates for the walkways day