Grand Patagonia with Alejandro Capelli

Day 1—Participants arrive in El Calafate, Argentina (airport code FTE). El Calafate is a small town, with a population of 30.000 people, and has all the services that you might need. We will have an introductory meeting, to describe the program, locations and activities. 

Day 2—We travel by private bus to Los Glaciares National Park, to enjoy the world-famous Perito Moreno Glacier, with it´s  inmense wall of ice arriving up to Lake Argentino, gives chances to see impressive ice-calvings. We’ll spend the afternoon hoping to catch giants blocks of ice calving off the glacier. And, if the weather helps, sunset could bring incredible colors.  

 Perito Moreno glacier.

Day 3 through Day 6—On Day 3 we transfer via private bus to El Chaltén, Argentina. After arriving in the late morning, we check into our hotel. We stay in El Chaltén, a small mountain village within the National Park that has all the services,  for several days (4nights), visiting stunning locations with scenic views of Fitz Roy, Cerro Torre, and other attractions including waterfalls, glacial rivers and a deep desert canyon.  Most of the locations are accesible by bus, and short walks. We will also hike up to Laguna Capri, a 2 hours walk to cover a distance of 5 kms and a gain of elevation of 400mts (each way).

Mt. Fitz Roy, El Chaltén.

Mt. Torre, from a viewpoint outside the village of El Chaltén. 

FROM EL CHALTÉN, ARGENTINA, TO CHILE…

Day 7 through Day 10—After the morning shoot in Chalten on Day 7, we travel to Torres del Paine in Chile. Around 7 hours of bus from El Chaltén to Torres del Paine National Park, including a border crossing to get into Chile. We’ll be shooting stunning sceneries, like Los Cuernos (the Horns) an iconic rock formation of Paine National Park. During our stay in the park (4 nights), we will explore different locations, mainly early in the morning and during dusk. 

Los Cuernos (The Horns). Torres del Paine National Park. 

Day 11- After the sunrise, we transfer back to El Calafate, Argentina.

Day 12—Participants depart on domestic and international flights.

SOME RECOMMENDATIONS…

While most shooting locations can be reached by road, we will do some hiking. Hikes will typically be easy to moderate, and will be less than a mile one way, but a few hikes may involve some moderate elevation gain, longer distances (3 miles one way) and require travel over rocky terrain. Decent physical fitness will certainly facilitate your enjoyment of this workshop. 

Patagonian wheather could be unpredictable, strong winds, rain, snow, low temperatures (few degrees below freezing point + wind), so warm cloths, long underwear, waterproof jacket, pants and hiking boots/shoes are very important to keep you dry and warm under those conditions. 

Included:  

double occupancy lodging, with breakfast (single supplement); private transportation ; entrance fees, specialized local guides.

Not Included:  

 Airfare to and from Calafate (airport code FTE); any applicable visa fees and local airport taxes, lunches and dinners. 

If you need more information, reduce or add days and locations, please get in contact with us.

Alejandro was raised in the city of Buenos Aires,  spending weekends and summer holidays outside the city, in the countryside, practicing all sorts of sports and enjoying horseback riding in the pampas. He finished his Degree in Tourism, and with his wife Fernanda, they did a two month volunteering in the rainforest of Misiones, as Nature Guides. There, is where the passion for nature and birdwatching started, but their plans were in Patagonia. They moved to El Calafate in 2003, and since then, that is their hometown, and where Lucia, their daughter, was born in 2008. Alejandro is a Professional Tour Guide of Los Glaciares National Park and Santa Cruz Province with a deep passion for birds, nature and photography. With his family, they enjoy nature, hiking and camping as much as possible. He teaches  Geography of Argentina and Patagonia in the local Institute of Tourism for professional guides. Also, he is one of the main Coordinators of the local Birdwatching Club, from where they organize educational tours and birdwatching introductory courses  for the guides and the community, seasonal censuses and cleaning days along the wetlands of El Calafate. Alejandro is a member of an Association of Nature Photographers of Argentina (Afona)  and participated in different exhibitions with his photographs. He also published a book for the Municipality of El Calafate, with his photographs of landscape and native wildlife.