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El Calafate Day Trip: La Leona Petrified Forest
4.7
18 Ratings
El Calafate
Embark on a fascinating day trip from El Calafate to La Leona Petrified Forest. Explore a lunar landscape filled with petrified logs and dinosaur fossils, learn about the area’s geological features, and visit the historic Hotel La Leona. Enjoy stunning views and comfortable transportation throughout the journey.
Embark on a fascinating day trip from El Calafate to La Leona Petrified Forest. Explore a lunar landscape filled with petrified logs and dinosaur fossils, learn about the area’s geological features, and visit the historic Hotel La Leona. Enjoy stunning views and comfortable transportation throughout the journey.
Duration:
8 hours
Cancellation:
24 hours
Highlights
- El Calafate - After hotel pickup in El Calafate, travel with your guide by air-conditioned coach for an approx. 21-mile (33-km) drive along Route 40, immersing yourself in the stunning scenery that unfolds before you.
- Lago Argentino - Admire Argentino Lake, Santa Cruz and La Leona rivers, and sweeping views of the impressive Andes mountains,…
- El Calafate - After hotel pickup in El Calafate, travel with your guide by air-conditioned coach for an approx. 21-mile (33-km) drive along Route 40, immersing yourself in the stunning scenery that unfolds before you.
- Lago Argentino - Admire Argentino Lake, Santa Cruz and La Leona rivers, and sweeping views of the impressive Andes mountains, including the snow-blown jagged peaks of Fitz Roy, the highest mountain in Los Glaciares National Park.
- Parador La Leona - We will make a stop of approximately 15 minutes in the Hotel La Leona, important historical site, where we can stock up and explore its small museum. We will continue our way along the south of Lake Viedma to the edge of Cerro Los Hornos to reach the Estancia Santa Teresita.
- La Leona Petrified Forest - Here we will get off the vehicle to start our walk. We will trek through the depression of the land where we will find petrified logs that lie on the surface, some of up to 1.20 meters in diameter! We can also see fossil remains of different types of dinosaurs that inhabited the place. The duration of the trekking is 3 hours (time for trekking depends on weather conditions).
- El Calafate - Walk back to the starting point and return to El Calafate by bus, making a stop in La Leona before being dropped off at your hotel.
What's Included
- Hotel pickup and drop-off
- Professional guide
- In-vehicle air conditioning
- Bottled water and lunch
- Hotel pickup and drop-off
- Professional guide
- In-vehicle air conditioning
- Bottled water and lunch
What's Not Included
- Gratuities
- Gratuities
Additional Information
Embark on an unforgettable day trip from El Calafate to the mesmerizing La Leona Petrified Forest. Stroll through a dreamlike, lunar-esque terrain dotted with ancient petrified logs and dinosaur fossils. With an expert guide, uncover the area’s remarkable geological marvels on a relaxed hike. Before your journey, visit the historic Hotel La Leona, rich…
Embark on an unforgettable day trip from El Calafate to the mesmerizing La Leona Petrified Forest. Stroll through a dreamlike, lunar-esque terrain dotted with ancient petrified logs and dinosaur fossils. With an expert guide, uncover the area’s remarkable geological marvels on a relaxed hike. Before your journey, visit the historic Hotel La Leona, rich with captivating stories. Enjoy the comfort of an air-conditioned coach as you travel between sites, taking in breathtaking views of Argentino Lake, the Santa Cruz and La Leona rivers, and the stunning Mt. Fitz Roy.
- Minimum age is 6 years
- Not recommended for participants with back problems, heart complaints or other serious medical conditions
- It is recommended that you bring sunblock and wear comfortable clothes and shoes
- Seasonal tour operating October to April
- A minimum of 2 people per booking is required
- IMPORTANT: If you wish to cancel your tour, please note that no refund will be granted from the 24th of December to the 02nd of January. All sales are final between those dates.
Location
El Calafate
The pick up transfer is only from selected centrally located hotels. If your hotel is outside the geographic area, we will confirm you the closest meeting point. Indicate the name and address of your hotel.
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Customer Ratings
4.7
(18 Ratings)
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Carol_g
Apr 29, 2024
Magical experience - Outstanding views! The long journey was made bearable by the excellent driver of our car. In addition he drew our attention to a variety of wildlife we had never seen before.
Review provided by Viator
Joe
Jan 14, 2023
Amazing scenic hike of a natural wonder not far from Calafate - Amazing and seemingly underrated day trek. I don’t understand how this isn’t a more popular trek for people staying in El Calafate. We absolutely loved the hike - around 3 hours in total, and not too far from town. The petrified forest is an amazing canyon with fossils and petrified wood. A true geological wonder that doesn’t get enough attention. Leo was a fantastic guide and I would highly recommend this!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
111andyk
Jan 8, 2023
Incredible Adventure - This was an amazing day. The less populated side of the Patagonian adventure is not one to be missed. The petrified trees and dinosaur bones in the midst of the barren yet magnificent landscape left us with the feeling being in a true adventure. I traveled with my wife and kids (7, 9) and all had a great time. The trek was easy for all to complete. Leonardo (guide) and driver were exceptional pair. Both were very knowledgeable, friendly and helpful. Highly recommended. Drive time was about 1:15 one way from el Calafate.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Daniel_k
Mar 12, 2022
Very interesting place to... - Very interesting place to visit. The trip was amazing, Recommend it to all.
Thee tour operator nice and professional.
Review provided by Viator
Helene
Jan 6, 2020
Completely different than the rest of our trip - time well spent - We were both happy we decided to go on this tour. The landscape is something else and the fact that I got to physically hold a piece of wood which was now stone still is one of my vivied memories of nearly three weeks in different parts of Argentina. The guides were informative and very friendly!
Review provided by Viator
Geoffreyr509
Oct 31, 2019
Fascinating petrified remains! - Great walk through a wild landscape of "badlands", with wonderful remnants of trees and dinosaur bones. Great guide who was knowledgeable and very informative.
Review provided by Viator
Mr_trip_tripper
Feb 16, 2019
Lovely easy walk, good guide, really interesting geology - Nice way to spend the day - highly recommended . The walk itself is about 2 hours and is very easy (it’s not 7 miles - more like 3). Fascinating fossilised trees , interesting and beautiful scenery. Nice coffee stop on the way there and back. The driving itself probably takes 2 hours there and 2 hours back
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Jackhunter2018
Feb 6, 2019
Neat Place... - This place was cool albeit pretty barren. We saw Guanaco and fought a stiff wind to get around the track. The hike isn't for the faint of heart or those afraid off heights. Reminded me a lot of the badlands of South Dakota USA.
Having said that, our guides Rosy and Edwardo where the best. Bright and knowledgeable. Edwardo watch my wife like a how to make sure she was safe at all times and guarded her closely in the more challenging areas. So nice to meet thoughtful young people working hard to better themselves and their world. Rosy, Edwardo, we love you guys.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Chun
Mar 3, 2017
Drastic landscape change of... - <p>Drastic landscape change of excursions done in the past few days where El Calafate is not just a Glacier tourist spot. The hike was easy for us but for people with walking inconvinience, we recommend that you opt this out. Once again, to visit anything marvellous in El Calafate, you have to spend some time to travel get there. At least, we stopped by Butch Cassidy's hideout. The guide was very informative and knowleadgable about the place especially the Petrified Forest, with the dinosaur bones and etc.</p>
Review provided by Viator
Sneeuverskrik
May 5, 2024
Cancelled - The excursion, scheduled for 30 April 2024, didn't take place due to lack of numbers. I'm disappointed, but at least I was advised timeously and refunded promptly. From a traveller's point of view though, it begs the question: given how overcrowded some tours are (e.g Todos Los Glaciares, with a different tour operator), can't operators sometimes take a loss when their overheads aren't covered?
Review provided by Tripadvisor
