Cerro Torre and Fitzroy, March 2001. Los Glaciares NP, Argentina

For the climber or backpacker, one of the highlights of a trip to South America is a visit to Patagonia. There are two famous areas of Patagonia that seem to get all the attention: Torres del Paine (Chile), and Los Glaciares National Park (Argentina). I visited both areas in March of 2001, and was very lucky to have perfect weather.  Above is the main Fitzroy group , named for the captain of Charles Darwin's Beagle.  

Los Glaciares

You really have to want to get to this park, because it's not easy...I started by taking a bus from Punta Arenas, Chile, across the border to El Calafate, Argentina, the "jumping off" point for the park. The ride costs about $4 US and takes around 3 hours.  Once in El Calafate, you catch another bus for the 4 hour ride to El Chalten. This trip costs considerably more, around $50 US, but is of similar distance to the 1st ride.  El Chalten is an isolated outpost located in a small valley adjacent to the main Fitzroy group. The Argentinians are trying to profit from the steady stream of backpackers passing through here.

Once in El Chalten, the hikes are relatively short, each being only a couple of hours travel from the town. I am sure they would like to  have travelers stay in town in one of the numerous lodges rather than camping in the hills. Nonetheless, I stayed a couple of days at the two camps below Cerro Torre and Fitzroy.

Here are a couple of shots from the area below Cerro Torre.

     Reflection.

Here's the highlight of Los Glaciares...the Fitzroy Group.

Peru

Later in the same trip, I was in the Cuzco area of Peru, and hiked the 40-odd miles of the Inca Trail to Macchu Picchu. Truly a spectacular place, a UN World Heritage Site. Macchu Picchu remains largely as it was when it was mysteriously abandoned somewhere back in the dark reaches of time...The interesting thing about this photomontage is that there are no people visible in it...On a normal day there are hundreds of tourists crawling over the city by 10:00 AM.

Here's a house in the fortress of Pisac.

I'll post some more photos here if I get a chance.