TRAVEL. PATAGONIA
Why the Perito Moreno Glacier is the Most Amazing Thing I’ve Ever Seen
The ‘White Giant’ was mesmerising
The Perito Moreno glacier — also known as the ‘White Giant’ — is on the edge of the world. Any more south and the next stop is Antarctica.
To get there, you need to go to El Calafate, deep into the depths of the endless grasslands of Patagonia.
The town has a picture-perfect feel about it. Surrounded by mountains and adorned with beautiful pine log cabins on every corner — the town wouldn’t be amiss as a ski resort in the Alps.
But no one goes to El Calafate to ski (there is no ski resort!). The reason you go to El Calafate is for the magnificent Perito Moreno glacier.
Like nothing I’ve ever seen
It’s known as the White Giant because the face of the glacier looks like a colossal, impenetrable wall. Standing at 74m high and 5km wide, it is a structure of epic proportions.
Think ‘The Wall’ from Game of Thrones, and you get the idea of the scale of this natural wonder.
As we drove alongside Lake Argentino towards the glacier, from a distance, it looks like a giant slab of ice. But its setting, sitting between two mountains…
