Esmeralda Lagoon Trek

The excursion starts from our office at Roca 136 around 2:30 PM, with a bus ride to the Tierra Mayor Valley, the starting point of a medium-difficulty hike to visit the Esmeralda lagoon. The difficulty of the hiking activity is given mostly by the type of terrain, and not so much by the presence of steep slopes. In fact, the inclination of the trail is very smooth until you get closer to the lagoon, where it becomes a bit more demanding for a short distance. This walk will take us through a forest and then through a peat bog, which can be very wet. Only if the guide considers it necessary, he or she will offer you rain boots (Wellies) to ford some swampy areas. In any case, we recommend wearing the adequate footwear for this tour.

The lagoon is at the foot of the Ojo de Albino glacier, between Cerro Bonete and Cordón Toribio. The emerald green waters blend with the copper red peat bogs, and also with the ocher, green and brown of the mountains that enclose it, while the white of the glacier creates a visual feast of a chromatic amplitude difficult to find in many other areas around the world. During the return walk, we will continue exploring the forest crossed by rivers and streams, before enjoying an ideal dinner: snacks, and lentil stew with a nice Patagonian red wine in a charming cabin overlooking the Tierra Mayor valley. The connoisseurs of the area say that it is the place indicated to wait for the slow and magical sunset. The return to Ushuaia is estimated around 10 PM.