After El Chalten and Perito Moreno, we took our journey further north (deeper into Argentina) to El Chalten. I would classify El Chalten as Argentina's Torres del Paine. It was spectacular with huge mountains and cliffs, a lot of hikes and plenty of organized activities to do (i.e. river rafting, horseback riding). Again, it was obvious how much better Argentina was at tourism than Chile (Torres del Paine did not have near the amount of activities as El Chalten).
One of the highlights of our trip to Patagonia was horseback riding in El Chalten. We booked a tour with one of the local groups and each person was given their own horse. With just a little instruction we were on our way. We got to ride through some spectacular scenery right on the outskirts of the park (on private land). We were able to cross streams on the horses, which was a cool experience and they let some of the adults gallop the horses (split off from the rest of the group to take a more advanced path). We ended up at a mountain shack to have some snacks and take some pictures before we headed back down the mountain. Everyone enjoyed the great weather and even better scenery that we were able to take in from the back of our horses.
The next day, we decided that with a couple days rest, we were ready for another big hike, so a few of us got up early the next morning and set out to see some of the more picturesque areas of El Chalten. Unfortunately, we ended up getting a bit lost on some of the trails and did not end up where we thought we were going to be. All was fine in the end and we did see some good views. We ended up having to cross a pretty deep river at the end of the hike since we could not find a crossing anywhere (all part of the experience).
Toni, Eliza, and Whitney in front of a waterfall that we hiked to at El Chalten.
Part of the adventurous crew (minus Toni) that hiked 13 miles in El Chalten.
The kids playing in the river at El Chalten, Argentina.
Motorhomes in front of El Chalten, Argentina.
All the girls in our crew at El Chalten, Argentina (Eliza, Toni, Whitney, Jovi, and Sawyer)
View from horseback on our excursion in El Chalten, Argentina.
Jovi and Zander in the town of El Chalten.
Cody, Ryder, and Toni on the hike in El Chalten, Argentina.
Kyle, carrying Toni across the creek in El Chalten at the end of the hike.
Our crew, on horseback in one of the beautiful meadows on the outskirts of El Chalten.
View from the mountain shack on the outskirts of El Chalten, Argentina.
Dinner after our long hike in El Chalten.
Family picture at El Chalten, Argentina.
Sawyer, horseback riding in El Chalten, Argentina.
Ryder, horseback riding in El Chalten, Argentina.
Nash, horseback riding in El Chalten, Argentina.
Cody and Eliza, horseback riding in El Chalten, Argentina.
Cody and Eliza at a waterfall in El Chalten, Argentina.
Ryder, the only kid that got up with the adults for the long hike in El Chalten, Argentina.
Toni, hiking in El Chalten, Argentina.
Our time came to an end quickly (Patagonia is huge!) and we had to hit it hard back down to Punta Arenas, Chile. We traveled the more well established routes in Argentina heading all the way down to Rio Gallegos and then crossing back into Chile right around Punta Arenas. We then grabbed the LATAM flight home from Punta Arenas back to Santiago, Chile.
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