The Perito Moreno glacier is a thick mass of ice located in the department of Lago Argentino, part of Santa Cruz Province, in the Patagonia region of southwest Argentina.
This glacier flows down from the Southern Patagonian Ice Field. As it descends, it reaches the southern arm of Lago Argentino.
The glacier face is 5 km wide, with a height of 60 m above water level.
The glacier is about 80 km from the town of El Calafate, in the region of Patagonia in southwest Argentina. You can reach El Calafate by air and from there go by road to the glacier, or make the journey by a combination of bus and boat.
(Navimag only provides ferry transport on the aforementioned routes and does not provide a transport service between Puerto Natales and the Perito Moreno Glacier).
The flora of the Perito Moreno National Park has three clearly defined sectors: the steppe, a stunted forest consisting mainly of ñirre and lenga, and an old growth forest.
Among the fauna, notable species include the pampas cat, the kodkod or huiña cat, small grey fox, guanaco, puma, mountain cat, red fox, dwarf armadillo or piche, huron, Patagonia hog-nose skunk or zorrino, tucu-tucu rodent, huemul and the southern rabbit-like rodent variously known as the pilquín, chinchillón anaranjado or vizcacha de las sierras.
Among the birds are the hooded grebe, the peregrine falcon, seed snipes, condors, eagles, diuca- finch, flamingos, and several species of wild goose and duck.
In winter it is bitterly cold – minimum temperatures normally drop to –30°C.
During the summer it is temperate – cold, the average temperature is below 0°C and the maximum temperature rarely reaches 15°C.
There is rainfall throughout the year and the wind is very cold, often blowing at more than 100 km/ hour.
