When touring South America most travellers talk of heading down to Ushuaia the southern most city on the continent. Personally, I don’t see the point, unless there is something specific you want to see there, otherwise it’s just a checkbox exercise.

For me, there wasn’t any point. My main reason for heading south was to see the awe-inspiring Perito Moreno Galcier. So here it is, in all it’s glory.

Perito Moreno Glacier head on

 

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In total I spent a couple of hours at the glacier, but many people spend longer. I had been interested in taking boat up to the face of the glacier, but the port is a good 5km from the actual glacier look out so it make things a bit awkward if you want to do both.

In truth, I don’t think the boat gets any closer anyway, the walkways get pretty damn close to the ice sheet. What you will get instead is a slightly different perspective, and I imagine some spectacular slashes when ruptures occur. I had read that the boat must be booked in advance, but I asked a tour operator prior to arriving, who said that it’s possible to just turn up at the dock and pay on arrival. The fee is in the region of $25.

I visited the glacier in the morning, and saw plenty of breakaway ice tumbling into the lake below, but it was near impossible to catch it on camera. If you have the patience of a meerkat on lookout duty, you may fair better. Apparently the afternoon is the best time to visit if you want to capture the tumbling ice.