  Los Glaciares National Park, Argentina
Los Glaciares National Park, or Parque Nacional Los Glaciares, is a national park in Patagonia, Argentina. The national park was created in 1937, and remains the second largest in Argentina. It was inscribed as a World Heritage Site during the 5th session of the World Heritage Committee, which met in Sydney, Australia, on 26-30 October, 1981. The heritage site covers an area of 445,900 hectares in Santa Cruz Province.
The name Los Glaciares refer to the 47 large glaciers fed by a giant ice cap, the largest ice cap outside Antarctica and Greenland. 13 of these glaciers flows towards the Atlantic Ocean.
What to See in Los Glaciares National Park
Los Glaciares has panoramic landscapes of exceptional natural beauty. This ranges from towering mountain peaks to glacial lakes. Among them is Lake Argentino, which is the largest lake in Argentina. It covers an area of 1,466 sq km and extends for 160 km. Three glaciars converge to deposit their effluvia into the lake, creating thunderous splashes as chunks of ice drop into the icy waters of the lake.
Los Glaciares National Park, Argentina
Author: Heretiq (Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 2.5)
Icebergs, Los Glaciares National Park, Argentina
Author: Marianocecowski (Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 3.0)
Perito Moreno Glacier, Los Glaciares National Park, Argentina
Author: Christof Berger (Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 3.0)
Wildlife
The wildlife in Los Glaciares National Park includes ñandúes, guanaco, cougar and the endangered gray fox. The guanaco population has also declined dramatically. There are also 1000 species of birds in the park, including condors and eagles.
Location
World Heritage Site Inscription Details
Location: S 50 0 0 W 73 14 57.984 in Santa Cruz, Argentina
Inscription Year: 1981
Type of Site: Natural
Inscription Criteria: VII, VIII
Visiting this Site
Your base for visiting this World Heritage Site is Buenos Aires, the capital of Argentina. You should find your accommodation in Buenos Aires, and then get your hotel to help you make arrangements for visiting the sights in Argentina. I recommend that you base yourself in Buenos Aires rather than a smaller Argentine city, as you will have more options here. There will be plenty of tour packages to choose from, according to the amount of time you have in your hands.
Here's a comprehensive list of Hotels in Buenos Aires with online booking facilities. Booking is provided by HostelBookers, so there is no booking fee involved.
Tour of the Perito Moreno Glacier
There is a full day tour of the Perito Moreno Glacier that you may want to join.
Find out more
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Getting there
Fly in to El Calafate and then take Route A6 for 80 km due west. For more details, visit www.losglaciares.com.
Book Hotel Rooms in Argentina and Worldwide
Click here also for a full list of hotels in Argentina or hotels worldwide. If you prefer budget accommodation in hostels, guesthouses or inns, check out hostels worldwide for budget accommodation providers with online booking.
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