The Calafate
is a small tourist oriented town located in the
southeast of Santa Cruz. This town has the particularity
of being the starting gate for the admiration of
the massive ice blocks called glaciers (The Perito
Moreno).
The Calafate Mountain
and the Argentino Lake limit the town. Only 3000
inhabitants live here. Year after year this small
town receives over fifty thousand visitors. The
main attraction consists on going to the Glaciers
National Park located 80km from here.
The park was founded
in 1937. The extension of this park is 600 thousand
square km. Inside we find the Perito Moreno glacier,
the Fitz Roy and Torres peaks, and fragments of
the continental ices. In 1981 the UNESCO declared
this national park as a monument to human heritage.
Among other animals living
here we find: red foxes, night pumas, wild rabbits,
condors (eagle like predators but with bigger wings)
and the Andes deer. The Andes deer are endangered
species.
Most of the guided trips that go to the Glaciares
National Park start off in Calafate. There are many
boat trips that consist on transportation to glaciers
and guided walks on top of the ice. The town also
provides guided tours to the mountains, horseback
ridding expeditions and camps, a wide variety of
hotels and accommodations, restaurants, tea houses
pubs, etc.
