Most glaciers ask you to hike for days before they show themselves. Perito Moreno does the opposite. You park, take a short shuttle, walk out onto a metal balcony, and a wall of blue-white ice fills the whole view, close enough that you hear it crack before you see anything fall. It is the easiest great glacier on earth to reach, which is exactly why a little planning makes such a difference to the day.
This guide decides the practical questions for you: what the park entry costs now and how to pay it, which walkway circuits are worth your time, whether to add a boat or a walk on the ice (and whether you are even allowed to), and when to go. The southern summer season is just starting, so this is the window to book. Fees, hours and age rules below are as checked October 2026; Argentina adjusts park prices often, so confirm on the day before you set off.
Where it is and how you get there
Perito Moreno sits inside Los Glaciares National Park in Santa Cruz province, Argentine Patagonia. The park was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1981 and covers more than 7,000 square kilometres, from the glacier fronts around Lago Argentino to the granite spires near El Chaltén.
Los Glaciares National Park covers about 7,269 km² and was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1981. [9]
Your base is the town of El Calafate. From there the glacier is roughly an hour and a half by car along provincial route RP 11, and the drive itself is part of the show: steppe, then forest, then the first glimpse of ice across the lake. You can rent a car, take a scheduled bus or book a tour that bundles transport with a boat or ice walk. Tours that include a trek generally offer hotel pickup in town.
The glacier is about 80 km from El Calafate via route RP 11, around 1 hour 30 minutes by private vehicle. [8]
The glacier in numbers
It helps to know what you are looking at, because from the balconies the scale is hard to judge. The ice you see is only the snout of a frozen river that stretches far back into the mountains.
- Length: about 30 km from its source to the lake.
- Area: about 250 km².
- Front: around 5 km wide where it meets Lago Argentino.
- Height: the face averages about 74 m above the water.
Perito Moreno is about 30 km long, covers 250 km², and its 5 km-wide front stands on average 74 m above the surface of Lago Argentino. [7]
For decades it was famous as a glacier that was holding steady while others shrank. That has changed. Its northern front has been retreating since 2020, so the glacier you see now is not quite the one in older photos, and it is a fair reason not to keep putting the trip off.
Perito Moreno was long considered roughly stable, but its northern front has been retreating since 2020. [7]
Park entry: what it costs and how to pay
Everyone who enters the park pays an access fee, and it is not included in tour prices. Argentina's National Parks Administration publishes a single schedule for the whole of Los Glaciares, so the same ticket price applies at the Perito Moreno gate and at the El Chaltén entrance. The current rates came into force on 1 June 2026.
Los Glaciares daily pass, in force since 1 June 2026: General ARS 50,000; Argentine nationals ARS 25,000; Santa Cruz provincial residents ARS 8,000; students ARS 15,000. Children aged 0 to 6 enter free. [1]
Most overseas visitors pay the general rate. At late-October exchange rates that works out at roughly US$32, but the fee is set and charged in pesos, so the dollar figure will drift.
At an exchange rate of ARS 1,560 per US dollar (27 October 2026), the ARS 50,000 foreign-visitor fee is roughly US$32. [2]
Two money-saving rules are worth knowing. First, a second visit within 72 hours of your first entry is half price, which suits anyone doing the walkways one day and a trek or El Chaltén the next. Second, if you are staying longer, the park sells multi-day Flexipass tickets.
The second day of visit is discounted 50% if it falls within 72 hours of the first entry. A Los Glaciares Flexipass costs ARS 100,000 for 3 days or ARS 175,500 for 7 days at the general rate. [1]
You can buy tickets in advance through the official National Parks sales portal, or pay at the gate. Bring your passport either way, because it is checked at the ticket office or entrance.
At the Perito Moreno (South Zone) gate, fees can be paid by Visa or Mastercard credit card, debit card, or cash in Argentine pesos. Charges are in pesos only. [2]
Opening hours and timing your day
In the high season, which runs from September to April, the gates open early and you are allowed to stay well into the evening. That long tail is the secret weapon of independent visitors. Tour buses tend to cluster in the middle of the day, so arriving soon after opening or staying into the late afternoon gives you quieter balconies and softer light on the ice.
High season (September to April): park gates open 8:00 to 18:00 and visitors may stay until 20:00. Low season (May to August): 9:00 to 16:00, with visitors allowed to stay until 18:00. [2]
Give the walkways three to four hours if you can. The main view takes an hour, but the real reward is patience: chunks of ice calve off the face without warning, and the best seats for that are the lower balconies, where you hear the crack and the roar a second after you see it.
The walkways: which circuits to do
The heart of the visit is a network of elevated metal walkways directly facing the ice. A free shuttle runs from the car park to the start, which saves you the steep first climb. In total there are about five kilometres of walkways, split into colour-coded circuits.
There are about 5 km of elevated walkways facing the glacier, reached by a free shuttle from the car park. [3]
- Central (Main Balcony), about 600 m: the classic face-on view, with ramps and a lift. Do this first.
- Lower circuit, about 1,100 m: the closest you get to the ice on foot and the best place to watch calving. Plenty of stairs.
- Coast circuit, about 1,117 m: a gentler walk along the shore from the car park towards the north balcony.
- Forest circuit, about 570 m: shaded and quiet, through southern beech forest. Good for a break from the wind.
- Accessible circuit, about 565 m: reaches the first balcony by lift for visitors with reduced mobility.
Circuit lengths are approximately: Central 600 m, Lower 1,100 m, Coast 1,117 m, Forest 570 m and Accessible 565 m. The lower circuits have stairs and are not wheelchair-suitable. [3]
Stay on the walkways. Falling ice can throw up waves and fragments well beyond the face, and the barriers are there for good reason. Dress for wind and sudden showers even on a bright day, because the air coming off the ice is cold.
Boat or ice trek: choosing your add-on
Many visitors are happy with the walkways alone. If you want more, there are two main add-ons, both sold by agencies in El Calafate. The boat and the Minitrekking are operated by Hielo y Aventura.
The first is the Nautical Safari, a short catamaran trip that leaves from the Bajo de las Sombras bay and sails along the southern face. It is the simplest way to grasp how tall the wall is, and it suits anyone who cannot or does not want to walk on ice. There are several departures a day.
The Nautical Safari is operated by Hielo y Aventura, boards at Bajo de las Sombras bay and runs several departures daily. [10]
The Nautical Safari is an optional boat trip of about one hour that passes the glacier's south wall. [3]
The second option is walking on the glacier itself with crampons. This is the experience people remember for years, but it comes with firm age and fitness rules, and it is not cheap. Check the rules before you get attached to the idea.
- Minitrekking: open to ages 8 to 65. About a 9-hour day from town with roughly an hour on the ice. Runs year-round.
- Big Ice: open to ages 18 to 50 only. A 12-hour day with about three hours on the ice and a 12 km route in total. Runs September to April.
- Both treks exclude pregnant travellers and people with knee problems or limb prostheses.
- Neither price includes the park entry fee, which you pay separately.
Minitrekking is limited to ages 8 to 65, takes about 9 hours door to door and includes around an hour on the ice; it is not permitted for pregnant travellers or people with knee conditions. [5]
Big Ice is limited to ages 18 to 50, lasts 12 hours, includes about 3 hours on the glacier as part of a 12 km route, and runs from September to April. Park entry is not included. [4]
Hielo y Aventura's 2025/26 adult price for Minitrekking was ARS 320,000, or ARS 384,000 with transfer from El Calafate. Park entry is extra. [6]
When to go
The glacier is open all year, but the official tourism board recommends September to March, the southern spring and summer, when days are long and boat and trek departures are at their fullest. The shoulder months at either end of that window are a good bet if you want long days with thinner crowds.
Argentina's tourism board names September to March as the best period to visit, though the glacier can be seen year-round. [8]
If you are lucky with timing you may also catch a rupture. The glacier periodically pushes across the lake and seals off the Brazo Rico arm. With no outlet, the water behind the ice dam rises until it bursts through, sometimes spectacularly. It does not keep a timetable: the cycle has ranged from about once a year to less than once a decade, so treat it as a bonus rather than a reason to pick dates.
When the glacier dams the Brazo Rico arm, water there can rise up to 30 m above the main lake before breaking through. Ruptures were recorded in 2004, 2006, 2008, 2012, 2016, 2018 and 2019, among others. [7]
A simple plan that works
- Day 1: arrive in El Calafate and buy your park ticket online for the next day, ticking the two-day option if you plan to return.
- Day 2: early start, walkways first (Central, then Lower), with the Nautical Safari or a trek booked for the same day if you want one.
- Day 3: use the half-price second entry within 72 hours for a quieter return visit or head north to El Chaltén, where the same Los Glaciares fee schedule applies.
- Pack layers, a waterproof shell, gloves, sunglasses and sun cream. On treks, crampons are provided; sturdy boots are your job.
Perito Moreno rewards the visitor who slows down. Arrive early, pick one add-on rather than three, and give the ice the time it needs to perform. It usually does.
Sources & further reading
- 1. Parques Nacionales Argentina: Derechos de acceso (official fee schedule)
- 2. Calafate Tours: Los Glaciares National Park Fees 2026
- 3. Calafate Tours: Perito Moreno Walkways Guide
- 4. Nomades: Big Ice trek details and restrictions
- 5. Nomades: Minitrekking details and restrictions
- 6. Canal 26: Walking on Perito Moreno in 2026, prices and age limits
- 7. Wikipedia: Perito Moreno Glacier
- 8. Argentina.travel (official tourism board): Glaciar Perito Moreno
- 9. Wikipedia: Los Glaciares National Park
- 10. Welcome Argentina: Nautical Safari to the Perito Moreno
