Trekking to Pliegue Tumbado – El Chalten

Trekking to Pliegue Tumbado
8 hours, moderated difficulty

The trail starts at the National Park Ceferino Fonzo Visitors` Centre, where a small fence indicates two paths: to the left, the trail goes to Los Cóndores and Las Águilas viewpoints, and to the right towards Pliegue Tumbado and Laguna Toro / Paso del Viento. This trail maintains an ascending slope of approximately 1100 metres in total (3,610 miles), until reaching the viewpoint located at about 1500 metres (4,920 feet) above sea level. Due to its height, the absence of trees and the total exposure to the wind, you should go prepared with a windproof jacket and warm clothes since a small snowfall is not uncommon even in the middle of summer.

Having walked for about an hour, the trail crosses a plain called “Pampa De las Carretas”, from where you can appreciate the impressive Mount Huemul, the Viedma lake to the south and the whole imposing Andes to the northwest where Mount Torre and Mount Chaltén stand out. The trail then enters a beautiful forest until reaching an altitude of approximately 1000 metres above sea level, where the landscape changes abruptly: the trees turn to bushes and scrubby vegetation, and among the many stones on the way it is possible to find the remains of marine fossils which are bout 100 million years old. The last part of the trail fades away but it is still marked with yellow sticks until you reach the top of the Pliegue Tumbado -which can be snowed and if this is the case it is not recommended to continue- with an extraordinary panoramic view.