Perito Moreno National Park

The park shares a name with the glacier six hundred kilometres south and is otherwise entirely unrelated, which is the first thing worth knowing and the reason many travellers have never heard of it. It sits high in the Santa Cruz cordillera, a basin of lakes, Belgrano, Burmeister, Azara and Nansen among them, whose waters run different shades of blue and green, ringed by peaks including Cerro San Lorenzo and steppe grazed by guanacos. Huemul, the endangered Andean deer, survive here in one of their better remaining strongholds, along with condors, pumas and flamingos on the lakes. Visitor numbers run to a few thousand a year. There are trails, basic campsites and rangers, and nothing else.

What you actually see

• The coloured lakes - Belgrano, Burmeister and others in contrasting blues and greens.
• The huemul - the endangered Andean deer in one of its refuges.
• The peaks - Cerro San Lorenzo and the cordillera above the basin.
• The emptiness - one of the least visited national parks in the country.

When to go

December to March is the practical window; snow and cold close the access for much of the year and the road is exposed. Even in summer, weather can turn severe within hours at this altitude.

Honest expectations

There is no fuel, food, shop or phone signal, and the nearest town is hours away on gravel; everything must be carried in. Vehicles need to be sound and carry spare fuel and tyres. Camping is basic and free, huemul sightings are uncommon, and the park closes areas to protect them.

Nearby

Gobernador Gregores is the supply town; the RN40 runs east of the park.