Southwestern Patagonia
As soon as we had crossed the border from Chile to Argentina at Paso Roballos we were in off-road and outdoor heaven again. Lonesome gravel roads, sunny weather, great views, perfect wild camps.
Paso Roballos is the last border crossing to Argentina before the Carretera Austral ends in Chile. The back road down to PN Perito Moreno was one of our most epic off-road trips.
From Lago Posadas to PN Perito Moreno
Rather than taking a 250km detour to RN40 we were tempted to take the direct path southwards from Lago Posadas. This road had only been opened one month ago and does not yet show up on any maps. But we were assured it is there and can be driven with a 4WD vehicle. So we stocked up on fuel, water and food and off we went.
What a nice surprise. No other soul on this track. It was a very bumpy ride and extremely steep and inclined in some parts, but the views were all worth it.
As it became clear that we would not make it to the other side at a reasonable time we found this overnight spot at Laguna La Oriental. No complaints.
The next day we drove down to Perito Moreno national park.
PN Perito Moreno
This national park is one of the least frequented but also one of the most beautiful in our opinion. It only offers a few simple refugios with pit toilets but no other facilities. We were also lucky enough to experience almost no wind and sunny 25°C daytime temperatures during three days.
Lago Belgrano impresses with its shining turquoise color.
We hiked up Cerro León on a pretty steep path to enjoy a fantastic 360° view of this part of the park. We were the only human beings on that mountain all day long.
Cerro Fitz Roy
Next we were up for some touristic highlights we did not want to miss while being in this region. First we went to El Chaltén where we experienced our first real strong Patagonian winds.
On the only sunny day we did a hike up to Laguna Capri with wonderful views of the famous Cerro Fitz Roy.
Glaciar Perito Moreno
Our other mandatory stop was in El Calafate. From here we went to see the impressive Perito Moreno glacier, once in the afternoon and once in the morning the next day. We easily spent half a day here walking around and enjoying the fantastic views from every possible angle.
While this region receives the majority of tourists in Argentina, on the up side there were a handful of really good restaurants to eat out a few times.
The Turnaround
At this point we decided for a number of reasons to cut it short and ended our journey southwards (which meant skipping Torres del Paine and Tierra del Fuego). We took a turn to the east heading to the Atlantic coast.