10 Amazing National Parks in Argentina

Los Glaciares National Park

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Visitors to Los Glaciares National Park come to see and trek on the Southern Patagonian Ice Field, the second largest ice field in the Southern Hemisphere. Every two to four years, large crowds gather here to watch chunks of the Perito Moreno Glacier crash into Lago Argentina. The park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, also contains treks to two of the most famous mountains in the country: Mount Fitz Roy and Mount Torre. Home to huemuls (Patagonian deer), condors, black-chested buzzard eagles, rheas, guanacos, and pumas, the park encompasses subarctic forests as well as mammoth mountains. Stay in nearby El Calafate if you want to see the glaciers, or El Chalten is a better base for hiking.

Tierra del Fuego National Park

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Tierra del Fuego translates into “Land of Fire,” so named by Ferdinand Magellan and his men in 1520 whey they saw the bonfires of indigenous tribes in the region. Spread over a vast archipelago, the national park comprises subpolar forests, marine coastline, lakes, lagoons, peat bogs, and snow-capped mountains. Hikers trek its 25 miles of trails, sometimes encountering guanacos, or Fuegian foxes. Two popular trails are the Coastal Path which runs parallel to the Beagle Channel and Milestone XXIV, an easy hike to the border with Chile. Tierra del Fuego is also a birdwatcher’s paradise, full of austral parakeets, sea gulls, kingfishers, condors, king penguins, owls, and fire crown hummingbirds. The city of Ushuaia is only seven and a half miles away, but for those who want to immerse themselves in experiencing the park’s flora and fauna, camping is available.