The Huemul Circuit is a 4-day backpacking trip located in the prestigious Los Glaciares National Park right outside of El Chalten, Argentina. THIS IS NOT A BEGINNER BACKPACKING TRIP. It is also very weather dependent! Days 2 & 3 include mountain passes that are IMPASSABLE in high winds. It is so important to understand that the Huemel Circuit will challenge you mentally and physically, and you will need to have strong backcountry and navigation skills to safely complete the trip.
Now that I have given you a fair warning, let’s go over why you would want to do the trek! The Huemul Circuit is an adventure full of big mountain views, glaciers, windy passes, scree fields, Tyrolean traverses, river crossings, backcountry camping, oh and the SOUTHERN PATAGONIAN ICE FIELD! The Southern Patagonian Ice Field is the third largest reserve of freshwater in the world and the Huemul circuit is one of the only ways to get an epic panoramic view of it!
The trek is a 40-mile loop that is usually completed in 4 days. We recently hiked the circuit and found that a lot of information online is outdated and frankly incorrect. We have put together this guide so that you can arrive prepared and safely enjoy the adventure of a lifetime!
Check out our backpacking gear guide for the best gear recs!
** Looking for an epic beginner friendly backpacking trip in Patagonia? Check out the O Circuit in Torres del Paine!
Contents
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When to Hike the Huemul Circuit
Summer season is the opposite in Patagonia, due to it’s location in the southern hemisphere. “High” season is considered November-March, with December-February being the most popular time for trekking. In these summer months, the highs can be anywhere around 70 F (20 C) and lows down to 40 F (5 C). It’s possible to complete the circuit in shoulder season (November/April) but you run the risk of getting unprecedented snow fall.
We went in late March and only had a couple of other parties on the trail with us. There was snow on day 1, and day 2 which was minimal and manageable. The trees were just starting to change colors and it was absolutely stunning!
Huemul Circuit Specs
Total Miles: 40 miles (65 km)
Elevation Gain: 11,085 ft (3378 m)
Route Type: Loop
Start/Finish Location: El Chalten Visitor Center
Technical Section: 2 Tyrolean Traverses (see section “tyrolean traverse”)
Where is the Huemul Circuit
The Huemul Circuit is located in the tiny Argentine mountain town of El Chalten. The nearest airport, and the best way to get to El Chalten is by bus from El Calafate. Buses run daily during high season and the trip is about a 2.5-hour ride. The ranger station (and trailhead) is less than half a mile from the bus stop in El Chalten. The whole town itself is less than 2 miles wide and easily walkable!
Permitting for the Huemul Circuit
A free permit is required in order to hike the Huemul Circuit. You can fill it out here: Huemul Circuit Permit
In recent years, in order to acquire a permit, you would have to go to the visitor center and do a “gear check”. THIS IS NOT THE CASE ANYMORE! You just have to submit the permit online and you are good to go. With that being said, it is still a good idea to go to the visitor center to ask the rangers about updated trail conditions etc. They also have a 10 min video presentation on the Huemul circuit that is full of good information.
Once you finish the trek, you are required to email the ranger station to let them know you made it back safely, otherwise they will send a search party. This is all outlined in the permit.
Daily Breakdown
***The mileage and elevation shown is what we ACTUALLY did, not an average of what is online. We used precise Garmin watches to gather our data.
Huemul Circuit Day 1: El Chalten – Toro Lagoon
10 mi (16 km), 2516 ft (766 m) gain, 308 ft (93 m) loss
Campground: Laguna Toro
Starting at the trailhead, which is just steps away from the visitor center, you will head towards Laguna Toro, all while taking in the incredible views of the Fitz Roy and Cerro Torre! Your goal is to head towards Tunel River Valley and subsequently to Toro Lagoon, where you will be camping for the evening. The trail is well defined and easy to follow, making this day the easiest of all 4 (in my opinion).
Huemul Circuit Day 2: Toro Lagoon – Paso del Viento
8.8 mi (14 km), 3746 ft (1141 m) gain, 2713 ft (826 m) loss
Campground: Paso del Viento Shelter
ROUTE FINDING is the name of the game today! The beginning of the day will start out relatively simple. On the backside of Toro Lagoon, you will scramble up a little waterfall and navigate through the rocky terrain until you get to the first Tyrolean traverse (more details on the Tyrolean traverse below). You can choose to use the traverse to pass River Tunel, or you can pass via foot further up the river, depending on the water levels. You should never bank on the river being passable by foot; be prepared to turn around if you do not bring the proper gear.
Navigating Tunel Glacier
Once you finish the traverse, the real adventure begins… Continue onward until you are parallel to Tunel Glacier. A lot of online resources say to travel ON the glacier, which is exactly what we tried to do at first. While traveling along the glacier, we realized that the point in which you exit the glacier (shown via our gps AND where the ranger station suggests exiting the glacier) was made up of massive, steep boulders that were impassable (we do a lot of rock climbing, for reference). We ended up backtracking and exiting the glacier way earlier than suggested.
Due to the instability of the area (massive talus/scree field) as well as glacial climate changes, I suspect that the terrain changes frequently, therefore making the route founding difficult. This is where your navigation skills and common sense will come in handy! As of March 2022, I would suggest not traveling on the glacier at all. Instead, continue via the scree field parallel to the glacier. It is good to follow the general rule of taking the path of least resistance!
** Most of the cairns are helpful, but there ARE some misleading cairns! Use common sense and proceed with caution.
Paso del Viento
Once you successfully pass the glacier, you will head towards Paso del Viento, which translates to “the windy pass”. Even on a good weather day- it will be windy. Be prepared! Once you crest the top of the pass, a reward will be waiting! At the top you will have an epic panoramic view of the Southern Patagonian Ice Field! Spend as much time as you please (or as the weather allows) before starting the descent to Paso del Viento Shelter.
**Paso del Viento Shelter is NOT a sleep shelter. It is a wind shelter to cook in. There are tent sites on the ground for you to pitch your tent for the night.
Huemul Circuit Day 3: Paso del Viento – Tempanos Bay
9.5 mi (15 km), 2431 ft (741 m) gain, 4442 ft (1353 m) loss
Campground: Bahia de los Tempanos
The first few miles of the trail are quite tranquil! The terrain is flat, and you will be trekking along the enormous Glacier Viedma. Slowly, you will start to climb towards Paso Huemul, following a well-defined trail that winds up the mountain. Again, this is a mountain pass, and it WILL be windy once at the top!
The Descent
Normally, when you get to the top of a mountain, you get to celebrate that the hard work is done, right? Today is not that day; the hard work is, in fact, about to begin. Over the next 2 miles, you will descend 2,300 FEET. Let’s just say that trekking poles are MANDATORY, unless you want to be butt sliding down the mountain face. The descent is slow and grueling.
At one point there is a fixed rope to help aid your descent down a steep section. At the time that we were there, the anchor looked sketchy, at best. My suggestion would be to ASSESS the rope and anchor carefully before using it, and use at your own risk. It is 100% possible to descend this section without the rope.
Once at the bottom of the descent, you will have two options for camping. The first option is Bahia de los Tempanos. It is a little campsite tucked into the trees right off the beach. From the beach, you can still see the edge of Glacier Viedma and you can hear the glacier calving. It was one of the coolest camps we have ever stayed at! The other option is about a mile onward and is called Bahia de los Hornos. The only perk to this campsite is that it makes day 4 one mile shorter.
Huemul Circuit Day 4: Tempanos Bay – El Chalten
15.3 mi (24 km), 2392 ft (729 m) gain, 1890 ft (576 m) loss
The last day of the trek is much less eventful than its preceding days. You will have a bittersweet 15 miles back to El Chalten as you reminisce on the past few epic days! The trail is pretty well marked, but there are a ton of cow trails that can be misleading. It’s a good idea to keep your map on hand for the day. You don’t want to risk getting off trail.
After a while, you will arrive at the second and final Tyrolean traverse. It’s time to harness up and slide across the Rio Tunel for the last time! Sometimes there can be a line of people waiting to go across the traverse, so be prepared to wait your turn. After the traverse, it’s a short walk to the ferry dock where you will officially be done with the Huemul Circuit!
El Chalten is a mere 5 miles away from the boat launch area. You can continue hiking back to town from here, or you can call a taxi to come pick you up at the dock. We read that you can also catch a ride with the bus that drops people at the dock twice a day around 1000 & 1500, but we did not personally do this.
Tyrolean Traverse
Must Have Gear per person
Each traverse is set up with a pulley system. You will attach the belay loop of your harness directly to the pulley via the aluminum locking carabiner. For your backpack/back up system you will use a girth hitch to attach the sling to your belay loop and then have the other end of the sling attached to the steel cord BEHIND your pulley. You will also attach your backpack to the steel carabiner.
The thin cord is only used to attach to the pulley system so that you can bring the pulley back for the next person to go.
SO, what if you are the first group of the day and the pulley is on the other side of the river? There is no one to send it back to you, no way to attach your rope to it… what do you do? If this happens, then you can attach the steel carabiner to your belay loop and directly to the cable. Slide yourself across in this way. This is just as safe but requires a little more manpower. REMEMBER steel goes to steel.
Huemul Circuit Gear Guide
You will want to pack THE USUAL backpacking gear when going on your trip, but there are a few items specific for Patagonia that I want to go over that might not make your normal packing list..
Guylines and heavy-duty stakes: They are a MUST HAVE item for your tent! The winds in Patagonia are no joke, our friend’s tent broke on night one because she didn’t stake the guylines down. Even if the day has been a calm one, STAKE IT DOWN!
Wind Layers: We normally like to bring our lightweight, packable rain/wind layers when backpacking, but for this trip we opted for our heavy duty Gore-Tex layers to help break the wind, and we’re glad we had them.
Chapstick: Another wind related item (are you seeing a trend here), never forget chapstick!
Hiking Boots: We suggest using boots versus trail runners! The terrain is very rocky, and some extra ankle protection is nice to have. We LOVE these Salomon’s in women’s and men’s!
Sleeping Bag: Make sure to have a bag rated for 30 deg F or lower.
TREKKING POLES: Save your knees people, you’ve got a lot of elevation to go up AND down.
Nalgene: We did not carry a water bladder at all! We each had our 1L Nalgene that we refilled when needed in a river/stream.
Pack LINER: You will want a pack COVER too, but a lot of times when the winds are howling, the pack covers will fly into the air and give zero protection from the rain. By having a pack liner, you will ensure that your gear/clothes stay nice and dry
Navigation and Maps
It’s no secret that navigation is the crux of this backpacking trip. Put your mind at ease by arriving prepared and with the right resources! The following is what we personally used and found helpful:
- Garmin inreach satellite gps: This is the OG and best practice, in my opinion. You should conserve the battery and use it only if necessary. This is mostly as an SOS if you are in trouble.
- Alltrails: alltrails is a great resource for this trail specifically! This is what we used the most, and it was super helpful. You will have to pay for alltrails pro, in order to download the offline map. It is $29.99/year, but totally worth it!
- Maps.me: awesome travel resource! This is another offline map you can download (free). It shows the full circuit, and can be helpful to navigate around town as well. We used this subsequently to alltrails.
- Paper Trail Map: best practice is always to have a paper trail map with you. You can purchase one in town.
Helpful Tips for the Huemul Circuit
- You can rent a lot of gear in El Chalten. Depending on demand, you might not be able to get certain items for certain days. It is always best to bring your own.
- There is plentiful water on the trail. It is fresh run off straight from the glacier and safe to drink. Always avoid refilling in areas with a lot of cow poo.
- The mice WILL come out at night, and they are RELENTLESS. Do not leave any food or trash outside of your tent! They will eat through your bag and keep you up all night with their squeaky scratching.
- Fires are forbidden, use your camp stove.
- Spikes don’t normally make the packing list for this trek, but we found them to be VERY helpful. We went in late March and had snow on the descent of Paso del Viento. Without our spikes, it would have been a hell of a lot harder.
- Windguru is going to be the best source of weather updates. Check it before you go and be sure that you have a good weather window for days 2 & 3.
Happy Adventuring!
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