Huemul Circuit – 4 days
Guides and group sizes
Ratio is 1 guide/assistance per 3 guests. Maximum group size is 12 people.
Difficulty and prerequisites
These are all physically demanding days and participants must be in good hiking shape.
Guests are required to carry a backpack with their personal gear (clothes, sleeping bag, pad, etc), group (tents, pot, stoves, food etc), about 18 kg. Personal porters could be arranged in advance, if needed.
No mountaineering experience is required, however if you had some it helps a lot.
Transportation
Participants are responsible for their own transportation to El Chaltén, Argentina. Your travel agent should be able to arrange this for you. You can get there by flying to Buenos Aires, and then fly to El Calafate. From there, you can get on a 4-hour bus journey or you we can arrange a private transfer.
Accommodation & meals
All food during the expedition is included. Please let us know of any special dietary requirements you have when booking. If you need any help with your lodging, do not hesitate to ask us. We can find the best for your taste and budget.
Weather consideration
The fame of the area regarding wind and fast changeable conditions are not a legend. Be ready to experience nature and all its beauties and power.
HUEMUL CIRCUIT 4 DAYS
ITINERARY
Day 1
We hike along the Río Túnel and over the Loma del Pliegue Tumbado. Only 6 hours with 500-meter elevation gain. One of the less hiked trails in the park, however one of the most spectacular. We will be able to admire both mountain ranges, Cerro Torre Range and Fitz Roy! Also, if mother nature allows, we could see the famous Paso del Viento with Mariano Moreno range in the back (mountains in the Southern Continental Ice Cap). We camp in Laguna Toro Campsite.
Day 2
On day 2, after breakfast we start hiking towards Paso del Viento. During the hike you will admire the impressive views of the continental Southern Ice Cap, the third largest ice mass of freshwater in the world.
We cross the Río Túnel through a Tyrolean traverse crossing or by wading the river according to its conditions, after a 900-meter elevation gain hike.
We will be admiring one of the most striking views of Patagonia since this trek merges all terrains: grass, scree and glacier.
Then we arrive at the rustic Paso del Viento hut. We only use the hut for cooking and we sleep in the tents.
Day 3
We contour around Cerro Huemul, with the Glacier Viedma on our right.
Alpine meadows and glacier erosion terrain delights us along the way. By the end, only 400-meters elevation separates us from Paso Huemul.
Another impressive view, surrounded by Lago Viedma, and Glacier Viedma!
We start descending to reach Paso Huemul Campsite. After pitching campsite, a five-minute walk delights our eyes: Viedma Glacier face falling into Lago Viedma. Only fifteen more minutes away, in a cliff of 500 meters, we find condors nesting.
Day 4
We wake up, pack our gear and have the last breakfast of our expedition. On the hike back we can see the beautiful patagonian steppe From here on, everything is down hill! With Lago Viedma on our right, we get to Río Túnel and wade through it and reach Bahía Túnel… Here a land-transfer will pick us up, to return to El Chaltén. So the rule is: your butt touches the ground; you buy a beer/drink for the group! Local cuisine will be waiting for us in town!
Distance of 65 km round trip.
Altitude gain of 1414 meters.
