Laguna de Los Tres is the most famous hike from El Chalten. We did this hike from Rio Electrico and via Piedras Blancas glacier lookout. The more common route is from El CHalten via Laguna Capri. But since we already did Laguna Capri we wanted to try this different route. It was also meant to be marginally shorter and maybe flatter. We drove to the parking lot near Rio Electrico and started the hike along the river valley. The hike is about 22km return.
The first part of the trek is along the river bed. We did not see many people on the hike. The trail was well marked. The views are beautiful.
The trail then turns up and continues in the woods along the valley with ocational views of the mountains in the distance through gaps between the trees.
When we reached the lookout of the Piedras Blancas glacier the mountains in the back were partially covered by clouds. The glacier is a little bit far but a very beautiful site with waterfalls of melting water coming down. There were also some condors flying around but very high up.
The final part of the trek is a very steep ascent gaining about 400m of elevation over 1km. It was the busiest section of the hike partly because it is slow moving partly because there are no trees so you can see more.
Once we reached the top though all the hard work climbing up was worth it. Again we were lucky and clouds parted just enough for us to see Mount Fitz Roy peak. We spent some time at the top hiding among the rocks as it was very windy up there. Had our sandwiches. Saw the fox that it appears frequents the site as some hikers give it food (should not). And just took in the beauty before heading back all the 11km to the parking lot.
