El Calafate – A Beautiful (and Fast-Growing) Little Tourist Town

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The Patagonian Landscape near El Calafate

As the plane descended towards the runway at the El Calafate International Airport, I looked past my girlfriend and out the window to see a beautiful, electric blue-green lake spanning out for hundreds of meters. Set behind the lake was a stunning background of rust-colored mountains lining the cloudless sky. Needless to say, my first impression of El Calafate was a great one. After exiting the airport, we took a 15 minute ride down the one road that leads into town. We quickly turned off onto one of the dirt roads that lines part of the upper portion of the city, and after the shuttle bus pulled over, we grabbed our bags and entered our hostel.

America del Sur Hostel was by far the nicest hostel I have ever stayed at in any part of the world. From the minute we walked through the doors, we were barraged with smiles and offers to help us carry our baggage, plan excursions for us, recommend dining options, etc.

Once we settled into our private room with a private bathroom and a beautiful view of the lake and mountains (for $50 dollars total per night), we ventured back out to the common area where a hostel employee sat with us for about 15 to 20 minutes to help plan our glacier trek and other activities for our two full days in El Calafate.

Perito Moreno (the guy) not the GlacierBefore our $30 peso all you can eat parilla at the hostel, we decided to walk into town and take a quick look around. The five minute walk led to a town that resembled exactly what I imagine that Park City, Utah or Vail, Colorado must have looked like in the old days. The main street, Libertador, was lined on each side by cafes, restaurants, homemade chocolate shops, and winter sporting good stores that all looked like ski lodges. Each shop appeared to be its own little log cabin, inside and out.

Upon our return to the hostel, we ate way too much and spoke with a smattering of other travelers from all over the world, equally enthralled by what this little tourist town had to offer. We were told by a Swiss traveler that in the past three years, El Calafate had grown from 3,000 people to 18,000, and more than 50,000 people are eventually expected to settle in the town.

And from what I saw, I have no doubt that this is possible. El Calafate is a little town bursting with happy faces and offering tons of neat excursions (from horseback rides in the mountains, to trekking on glaciers, to weaving in between icebergs and glaciers on a boat), all of which can be reached by a short bus ride. Now, I would not recommend El Calafate to the traveler looking for nightlife and a party, because from what I saw, this part of life is hard to find if it exists at all.

However, all of the meals we had, the excursions we embarked on, and the people we met made us sad to leave this picturesque town. When we finally hopped in the taxi at the end of a beautiful four day weekend to head back down that one wonderfully sprawling lonely road between our hostel and the airport, we knew we would return.

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Tim Patterson on April 23, 08

Fast-growing? Definitely. Beautiful…well, the mountains are gorgeous. Picturesque? No way. I stayed in Calafate for 3 weeks researching a guidebook assignment – it’s a tourist boomtown, much of the construction is ugly and it seems like there are no locals – only workers and tourists. By all means go to Calafate, check out the glacier and scope some estancias (I love Nibepo Aike and the Lago Roca region) but there’s simply no reason to hang out in town longer than you have to. Good call with America del Sur. Marco Polo hostel is also nice, and the Miyazato Inn is a good bet for couples.

César González on April 25, 08

Hi Tim, thanks for the great suggestions!

Elizabeth on May 14, 08

Hi, I was just wondering where you got that gorgeous photo of the El Calafate landscape? And if it is yours, whether I could have your permission to use it on my company’s website for the promotion of El Calafate?

Do email me 🙂

Warm regards,
Elizabeth

Bill on July 15, 09

Agreed with Tim. I found Calafate soulless and dull in the extreme. It’s little more than a convenient jumping off point for some beautiful nature, and certainly not a destination in itself.

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