After yesterdays long walk and not much sleep we decided to have a lazy day. Plan was to eat, rest, explore town and if there was enough energy to walk to waterfalls Chorrillo Del Salto.
Lazy day
As mentioned above our previous day was busy, full of amazing views but also lot of walking up and down the steep slopes. Situation with our hostel-mates was still the same, they went to bed early just to wake up whole house around midnight. At least morning was quiet and we were able to stay in beds little longer.
Once we managed to wake up and finish morning hygiene routine we went out to find something for breakfast. Decision was easy – go to panaderia and get full bag of facturas (little delicious pastries). Next to the panaderia is a small book store (called Marcopolo) which we also explored. Tana got very interested in one of the books. It looked funny with simple Spanish, perfect for someone who is learning the language.
We ate our breakfast on small benches in front of the bakery which offered beautiful views at far-away mountains and nearby playground for kids. No kids were present at the time. When done we went to explore the town little more. It’s always useful to know what is where. On top of our list were restaurants with affordable food, pubs with beer and laundry place. We found all of them.
Time to get out to Chorrillo Del Salto
Our extensive map research told us that one of the shortest walks we can do today is to Chorrillo Del Salto waterfalls. It was little over 4km on level ground. We couldn’t wish for more.
Even though it was four in the afternoon it was still very hot. With minimum equipment we were on the way. We were heading north as yesterday but rather than turning to Sender al Fitz Roy we followed main road little longer. Once we got out of town we had a nice view at small valley of the Las Vueltas river. Water had blue/grey colour similar to other glacier rivers. That valley must be properly flooded during spring thaws.
Somewhere in the middle of walk, we had an option to turn into the small forest to make the walk more interesting. We were crossing few smaller streams which were full of water vegetation. It was moving, almost magically, in the current. We would have stayed and enjoyed it longer if there were not so many mosquitos.
The Waterfall
Once we got to the place we had to find our spot with a view among all the people already present. Obviously we weren’t the only ones having a lazy day with short walk. I’d say it’s quite a popular place.
Our detour was short and interesting but we had to continue to the waterfall. It actually didn’t take much time. When we joined main road again it was only half a kilometer footpath.
Waterfall is not too big but looks very nice. Water cut it’s way through the rock wall which makes good looking background for falling water. It was getting darker quickly because Sun was already behind the rock. I think it would be better to visit the place in the morning. It faces east so there would be more light.
Anyway, we took few pictures, sat down a little and ate some empanadas. I tried to make some “artistic” photos with longer exposure but it didn’t end well at all. Tana did much better job with her phone camera.
Return back from Chorrillo
It was half past five when we started our way back. Even though it was a short walk views were nice. Actually it was better on the way back with softer and warmer sunlight. It took us less than 40 minutes to get back to town.
Our first stop was in Domo Blanco for sweet ice cream treat. After that we looked for place to eat and ended up in same restaurant as before with burger and free peanuts.
Summary
| Start | El Chaltén |
| Destination | Chorrillo Del Salto |
| Length | 9km (return) |
| Altitude gain | minimal |