Illustration.
Los Glaciares National Park · about an hour on the ice
Perito Moreno Minitrekking
The short walk on the Perito Moreno glacier, run by Hielo y Aventura: a boat across Brazo Rico, a walk along the shore, crampons and helmets, and about an hour on the ice. Ages 8 to 65.
Port or pickup?
One Walk, Two Ways to Book It
The Minitrekking is the short walk on the Perito Moreno glacier: a boat across Brazo Rico, a walk along the shore, then about an hour on the ice in crampons and a helmet, about three hours of walking in all. Hielo y Aventura runs it and sells it on GetYourGuide as the Mini-Trek: Hike on the Perito Moreno Glacier with crampons, from US$346 a person (checked November 2026), for ages 8 to 65.
The calendar has two options for the same walk. Pick by whether you have a car:
From the port, 4.5 hours
Meet at Puerto Bajo las Sombras, about 71 km by road from El Calafate, and pay the park entrance at the gate on the way. The walkways are not part of this option.
Check dates →With hotel pickup, 10 hours
The bus collects you at your hotel in El Calafate and the day adds the walkways facing the glacier. It was not on sale on 25 or 30 November 2026.
Check dates →Prices, ratings and review counts (GetYourGuide checked November 2026); the option prices from the booking calendar for one adult. Operators price by date and season, so treat the figures as the shape of the market, not a quote.
- 4.9 / 5 57+ Reviews
- About 1 hour On the ice, of about three hours of walking in all
- 8 to 65 The ages Hielo y Aventura accepts on the Minitrekking, without exception
- Free Cancellation
The Experience
What the Minitrekking Includes
The boat, the mountain guides, crampons and helmets. Transport to the park and the walkways come only with the 10-hour option.
Hielo y Aventura S.A's own highlights, inclusions and notes, as listed on GetYourGuide in November 2026.
Highlights
- Hike on the Perito Moreno Glacier with crampons
- Explore crevasses, seracs, and unique turquoise lagoons
- Accompaniment by specialized bilingual guides
- Includes sailing in front of the southern wall of the glacier
- Toast with whiskey and ancient ice
What's Included
- Boat cruise
- Tour guide
- Mountain guide
- Guided hike
- Technical equipment for glacier trekking
- Transfer to the National Park (optional)
- Transfer to the walkways (optional)
Good to know: Physical fitness: MODERATE. · The excursion will not be canceled due to rain. · The excursion start time may be changed for operational reasons. If there is a change in the start time, you will be notified by email. · Pickup is from the front desk of your hotel in El Calafate and starts from 8:30 AM. Don't worry about delays: The pick-up route can take up to 45 minutes, depending on the location of the hotels. This time is included in the activity, so it will not affect or change the itinerary and/or duration of the excursion. · Not suitable for: Children under 8 years, Pregnant women, People with back problems, People with mobility impairments, People with heart problems, Wheelchair users, People with vertigo, People with respiratory issues, People over 65 years, Visually impaired people, People with pre-existing medical conditions, People with recent surgeries, People with low level of fitness, People with motion sickness, Hearing-impaired people · Not Included: National Park entrance ticket, Meal, Personal trekking gear
The Minitrekking, Step by Step
About 4.5 hours from the port, or about 10 with the hotel pickup and the walkways.
Pickup or the Port
With the 10-hour option the bus collects you at your hotel in El Calafate from 8:30 AM. Without it, you meet at Puerto Bajo las Sombras; the walk started at 10:00 AM on the dates we read.
Across Brazo Rico
About 20 minutes by boat across the water in front of the glacier's south wall, to the shore where the mountain guides meet the group.
Shore, Talk, Crampons
A walk along the lake, a short talk on glaciology, then crampons and helmets at the edge of the ice, one guide for every 10 walkers.
About an Hour on the Ice
Crevasses, seracs and small blue lagoons, then the moraine and the forest back: about three hours of walking in all, and the boat to the port.
Photo Gallery
On the Ice and Around It
The south wall from the boat, the shore and the glacier's surface.
Book Your Experience
Check Availability & Prices
Hielo y Aventura's Minitrekking. The from-price is the 4.5-hour option from the Bajo de las Sombras port with no transport; the 10-hour day with hotel pickup is the second option on the calendar. The park entrance is not included. Free cancellation up to 24 hours before.
One Walk, Four Ways to Book It
The Minitrekking as Hielo y Aventura sells it, and as Patagonia Dreams, Gray Line Argentina and Tangol sell it on GetYourGuide: transport, the walkways, the time on the water, the ages and what each from-price buys, with the month it was checked.
| Feature | THIS PAGE Hielo y Aventura | Patagonia Dreams | Gray Line Argentina | Tangol |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| What You Pay | From US$346 per person (4.5 hours from the port, no transport; checked November 2026); the 10-hour day with hotel pickup cost US$412 on 20 January and 27 March 2027 | From US$424 per person (with hotel pickup; the option without transfer cost more; checked November 2026); without transfer US$519 on 20 January and 27 March 2027 | From US$430 per person (checked November 2026); without transfers US$430, with transfers and the walkways US$555 on 8 December 2026 and 20 January 2027 | From US$432 per person (checked November 2026); without transfers US$432, with hotel pickup US$514 on 8 December 2026 and 20 January 2027 |
| Transport from El Calafate | Hotel pickup on the 10-hour option, from 8:30 AM | Hotel pickup in the from-price; the option without transfer meets at the port | Round-trip transfers from your hotel on the option that includes them | Hotel pickup on the 10-hour option only; the from-price option meets at the port |
| The Walkways | With the 10-hour option | Included | A one-hour guided visit on the option with transfers | Not mentioned |
| On the Water | A 20-minute boat ride across Brazo Rico, and the boat back | The crossing and a sail along the glacier's north wall | 40 minutes of navigation in front of the south face | A 20-minute boat ride across Lago Rico |
| Ages | Not for children under 8 or people over 65 | 8 to 65; ages 8 to 18 need a parent's or guardian's written authorization | 8 to 65 inclusive, without exception | 8 to 65 |
| Best For | Booking with the company that runs the walk, from the port or with a pickup | A longer day with a pickup and a second look at the glacier from the water | The walk plus a guided walkways visit, with transfers | Drivers who want the walk from the port and nothing else |
| Check dates | See the day | See the day | See the day |
The Minitrekking on the Perito Moreno glacier
The Day, the Rules and What It Costs
What the walk is, where it starts, what the price leaves out, who can go, what to bring and what walkers say.
What the Minitrekking is
Hielo y Aventura has run the Minitrekking since 1989, and the national park lists it as the concessionaire for walks on the Perito Moreno’s ice. The day on its Mini-Trek goes like this.
A boat takes about 20 minutes across Lake Rico in front of the glacier’s south wall. On the far shore, mountain guides take the group to a lodge with a view of the ice, then along the lake shore to a short talk on glaciology. At the edge of the glacier everyone gets crampons and a helmet, and the group splits so there is one guide for every 10 people. Then comes the part you came for: an approximately one-hour hike over ice that is uneven but firm, past crevasses, seracs, sinkholes and small lagoons of intense blue. The way back crosses the moraine and the forest beside the glacier, about three hours of walking in all, and before the boat there is a hot drink, a souvenir and a toast with whiskey and ancient ice.
Hielo y Aventura puts the whole walk at about 3.5 km and the ages at 8 to 65, without exception. For a longer walk, Hielo y Aventura also runs Big Ice.
Where it starts
Puerto Bajo las Sombras is on Ruta Provincial 11 inside Los Glaciares National Park, 71.1 km by road from the centre of El Calafate, about 1 h 20 min by car on our routing. On the way you pass the park gate. With or without transfer compares the drive and the pickup.
What the price leaves out
The from-price buys the walk from the port. Three things are extra:
- The park entrance. The Administración de Parques Nacionales’ general rate for Los Glaciares is ARS 50,000 a day from 1 June 2026; at the Perito Moreno gate you pay by card or in cash in Argentine pesos, or buy online beforehand (APN tariffs, read November 2026). The APN has no separate rate for foreign visitors; on our reading of its categories, anyone without an Argentine ID pays the general rate.
- Transport and the walkways, unless you take the 10-hour option, which cost US$412 on the dates we read.
- Food. No meal is included and none is sold on the walk.
On its own site Hielo y Aventura charges ARS 420,000 per adult for the Minitrekking, or ARS 500,000 with its transfer (rates in force from 1 November 2026, park entrance not included). The Minitrekking price puts every way of paying side by side.
Who can go
Ages 8 to 65 only. Hielo y Aventura also excludes anyone with a body mass index of 30 or more, pregnant women, people with a heart or circulation history and people with breathing conditions such as asthma, and the guide may turn away on the day anyone who does not meet the requirements. The fitness level is moderate. Is the Minitrekking hard? has the full rules and what reviewers found.
What to bring
Crampons and helmets are provided. Bring hiking shoes, warm and waterproof layers, gloves, sunglasses, sunscreen, a daypack, your own food and drink, and cash. What to wear on the Minitrekking goes through it layer by layer.
What walkers say
The Mini-Trek has 57 reviews on GetYourGuide, the oldest from 26 April 2026, and we read every one on 8 November 2026. 53 give five stars and 2 give two stars. The one low review with text (25 July 2026) found the price very high and the day rushed, and says the reviewer’s guide did not answer questions. The five-star reviews talk mostly about the guides and the organisation; one (3 November 2026) calls the walk on the ice the highlight of the trip, and another (29 October 2026) found that a group run in both English and Spanish did not take longer for it.
Whether it is worth the money depends on what you want from the glacier. Is the Minitrekking worth it? weighs it against the walkways and the boat, and the Minitrekking hour by hour follows the day from the pickup to the drink at the end.
Book the Minitrekking
Hielo y Aventura's short walk on the Perito Moreno glacier: the boat across Brazo Rico, crampons and helmets, and about an hour on the ice. The park entrance is not included; free cancellation up to 24 hours before. Starting from US$346 per person (4.5 hours from the port, no transport; checked November 2026).
Check datesAround El Calafate
More from El Calafate with Open Dates
Boats in front of the glacier, the walkways and day trips from El Calafate with live availability. What each includes and its cancellation terms show before you book.
Perito Moreno Minitrekking: Questions
What the Minitrekking is, how long it takes, the price, the park fee, the age and weight rules, how hard it is, the gear, the season and food.
Hielo y Aventura's short guided walk on the Perito Moreno glacier. A boat crosses Brazo Rico in front of the glacier's south wall; on the far shore mountain guides walk the group along the lake, fit crampons and helmets, and lead an approximately one-hour hike on the ice, about three hours of walking in all. Hielo y Aventura holds the national park's concession for walks on the ice and sells the walk on GetYourGuide as the Mini-Trek.
About 4.5 hours from the port, or about 10 hours with the hotel pickup. The walk itself is about three hours, about one of them on the ice. The 10-hour day adds the bus from El Calafate and back and the walkways facing the glacier. See the Minitrekking hour by hour.
From US$346 a person on GetYourGuide (checked November 2026) for the 4.5-hour option from the port. The 10-hour option with a hotel pickup cost US$412 on 20 January and 27 March 2027. On its own site Hielo y Aventura charges ARS 420,000 per adult, or ARS 500,000 with its transfer (rates from 1 November 2026). See the Minitrekking price.
No. The Administración de Parques Nacionales' general rate for Los Glaciares is ARS 50,000 a day from 1 June 2026, paid at the gate by card or in cash in Argentine pesos, or online beforehand (APN tariffs, read November 2026). The APN has no separate line for foreign visitors; on our reading of its categories, anyone without an Argentine ID pays the general rate.
Ages 8 to 65, without exception, and no one with a body mass index of 30 or more. Hielo y Aventura prints no weight in kilograms: the body mass index (weight in kilos divided by the square of height in metres) is the test. Pregnant women and people with heart or breathing conditions are also excluded. See is the Minitrekking hard.
No, for most people within the limits. The fitness level is moderate, and Hielo y Aventura's website gives 'Physical Demand: Medium'. The ice is uneven but firm, you walk it in crampons with a guide for every 10 people, and Hielo y Aventura puts the whole walk at about 3.5 km. Some reviewers found it easier than they expected.
Crampons and helmets are provided; the shoes are yours. Bring hiking shoes, warm and waterproof layers, gloves, sunglasses and sunscreen. See what to wear on the Minitrekking.
Yes. Hielo y Aventura lists the Minitrekking as available year-round on its 2026/27 rates page. It is not cancelled for rain; it goes ahead whenever safety conditions allow.
No. Meals are excluded and food is not sold on the walk, so bring your own from El Calafate. Before the boat back there is a hot drink and a souvenir.
No. The national park names Hielo y Aventura as the concessionaire for walks on the Perito Moreno's ice, and every Minitrekking is a guided walk. You can book it straight from the company that runs it, or from sellers that add transport. See with or without transfer.
If you want to stand on the glacier, yes: it is the shortest and easiest way onto the ice. If seeing the glacier is enough, the walkways show its front from many angles for the park entrance and a ride there. See is the Minitrekking worth it.
Still have questions? Email us at info@peritomorenominitrekking.com