You will see that it is an open door to the glazier world.
Next to the Argentinian Lake, green and 1.600km2, the Calafate will present you the most distant and the most magic things of our geography.
The writer and journalist German Sopeña gives you an idea of the landscapes that you will find in the area, in his book La Patagonia Blanca (Publishing House Elefante Blanco). "The point of observation cannot be better. It is almost the bow of a ship from which we can see every thing.
There is an undefined attractive thing in the white surface. One can stay hours looking at the scenery which is apparently still but we all know that has movement and life".
And Padre Agostini says:
"i remain amazed in front of this scenery and i taste the joy that comes from the secrets of this place and the eternal glaziers... There it is the white magic of Patagonia Blanca."
El Calafate is 316km from Río Gallegos, the capital city, 185 and is named after the small tree calafate, typical of the Patagonian south. Its fruit is a delightful berry. According to tradition, who eats this berry will return to this place for more. But reality has that if you are in Calafate you will never want to leave.
Poplars, willows and pines oasis... the town is an important tourist centre that has acquired national and international importance. If the glaziers are your goal, you cannot miss this village and all the magic it offers.
In Calafate you will find dry weather, with 19ºc in summer and -2ºc in winter. The duration of the day varies according to the season of the year, because in summer the sun rises at 5:30 and it sets at 23:00. in winter the days are shorter and they have only 8 hours of sunlight.
Calafate is the principal shopping centre of the zone, that has 8.000 inhabitants over an extension of land of 155.000 hectares and whose rivers end in the Atlantic Ocean.
The National Park The Glaziers covers 600.000 hectares and from them, 47 glaziers separate: Marconi, Viedma, Moyano, Upsala, Agassiz, Bolado, Onelli, Peineta, Spegazzini, Mayo, Ameghino, Moreno y Frías are the most important.
The city has an International Airport El Calafate, 23km from the centre. Direct flights depart from here to Buenos Aires, Bariloche, Ushuaia, Puerto Madryn, Trelew and Puerto Natales among others.
