The Perito Moreno Glacier

The Perito Moreno Glacier is one of the most spectacular and accessible glaciers in the world, a vast river of ice in Argentine Patagonia that ends in a towering wall some five kilometres wide and on average 74 metres high, plunging into the turquoise waters of Lake Argentino. For decades it was famous for holding its position while glaciers elsewhere shrank, but since around 2020 it has been thinning and its front has begun to retreat; the calving is as dramatic as ever, and from a network of boardwalks visitors watch and hear great blocks of ice calve off and crash into the lake with a thunderous roar, in a UNESCO wilderness.

History

Juan Tomás Rogers, in 1879, was the first non-indigenous person to sight the glacier, and in 1899 Lieutenant Iglesias named it Perito Moreno in honour of the explorer Francisco Moreno. In 1917 the advancing ice closed off the lake's arm for the first time and the first recorded rupture followed; the dam has formed and broken many times since, with ruptures recorded from 1935 through 2019, at no regular interval (Wikipedia, Perito Moreno Glacier).

What you'll find

• The ice wall - the towering, kilometres-wide face of the glacier.
• The calving - the great blocks of ice crashing into the lake.
• The boardwalks - the viewing balconies facing the glacier.
• The ice trek - the optional guided walk on the glacier itself.

When to go

October to April, the southern spring to autumn, for the mildest weather and longest days; the glacier is impressive year-round, and the calving happens at any time, rewarding patience on the boardwalks. Summer is busiest.

Before you go

The famous calving is unpredictable, so it takes patience on the boardwalks to catch a big collapse, though smaller falls are frequent. Patagonian weather is fierce and changeable, with strong wind and cold even in summer, so dress warmly. It is reached via El Calafate, itself a long way south. The optional ice trek costs extra.

Nearby

El Chalten and Mount Fitz Roy are to the north; El Calafate is the base town.

Key facts