This bright town has a view of the beautiful northern part of Parque Nacional Los Glaciares. The world-class paths that start right here are hiked by thousands of people every summer. El Chaltén was founded in 1985 to beat Chile to the land claim. 

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It is still a frontier town, though it is a strange one with lots of building going on all the time, hippie values, and packs of roaming dogs. More and more regular tourists come every year to see what all the fuss is about. But from May to September, most hotels and services close, and there aren’t many ways to get around.