The Motorcycle Diaries: El Chaltén

Rarely have I seen a mountain range as spectacular as El Chaltén. Turing west form Highway 40 onto the road leading to the town of El Chaltén is an impressive sight as the monumental Mount Fitz Roy and its surrounding peaks are visible from 100 km away. With every passing minute the view gets better as the road leads straight towards the mountains. The days I spent in El Chaltén were blessed with good weather and amazing views of the mountains. Almost like a finder, Fitz Roy (elevation 3400m) and together with its neighboring peaks forms a shape somewhat similar to a hand sticking straight up. It is for good reason that El Chaltén is turning into the mountaineering capital of Argentina and the town and tourism are booming (the tourist office counted 40000 visitors last year, up from only1000 ten years ago!). The region offers everything imaginable from a casual hike in the mountains to some of the most challenging climbs in the world. Needless to say, I did not spend much time in town or on the campground but hiked and climbed through this beautiful scenery almost every waking hour: though forests, over rocks, by mountain rives (crossing one via a 20m rope tied over a small canyon), sitting and enjoying the view from the many scenic overlooks, walking by awesome glaciers or just resting by a lake. El Chaltén is truly a pearl of the Andes and one I hope to see again one day.