Patagonia, Argentina · March 2025
Cerro Huemul Circuit
73.4 KM · 3 DAYS · 2,460 M
3 days from El Chaltén over Paso Huemul and Paso del Viento.
Watch the film 36:31 · 187K viewsAt a glance
- Where
- Patagonia, Argentina
- Distance
- 73.4 km (45.6 miles)
- Days
- 3 days
- Climbing
- About 8,070 ft (2,460 m) up and 8,000 ft (2,440 m) down
- Season
- Roughly November to March. I walked March 6 to 8, 2025
- Difficulty
- Two cable crossings with a harness, steep loose climbs, moraine and wind. The park says mountaineering experience is essential
- When I went
- March 2025
Elevation, start to finish: highest 4,640 ft (1,414 m), lowest 830 ft (252 m).
My GPS recording on a relief map. The numbers are where each day starts. The GPX files come with the guide.
Everything I made about it
The film
Photos
The Lago Viedma shore at Bahía de los Témpanos, the end of Day 1. 
Me above the Glaciar Viedma, just past Paso Huemul, Day 2. 
The Glaciar Túnel at dawn, Day 3.
The guide · 49-page PDF + GPX files · 2027 season edition
Do it yourself
3 days from El Chaltén over Paso Huemul and Paso del Viento.
- All three days
- My GPX files
- The cable crossings
- Registration and rules
- Guide or no guide
Free sample
Try Day 2 free
The whole Day 2, Paso Huemul and Paso del Viento page from the guide as a PDF, plus my camping packing list: the 42 things I carry, with a note on each. Both come by email. You'll also get my emails about new guides and trips, a few a year.
Music in this film
- 10-21 (In Memory of a Friendship)Alaskan Tapes · Musicbed
- 8:22pm (ft Gollden)Sun Rain · Musicbed
- AmberMadron · Musicbed
- Aries (ft Gollden)Sun Rain · Musicbed
- BranchesYoung Collective · Musicbed
- CanopyAlaskan Tapes · Musicbed
- I Saw You In A DreamBenjamin Gustafsson · Musicbed
- Lost Time feat. Arbor LaneCathedral · Musicbed
- Pages (Kilometre Club Rework)Sun Rain · Musicbed
- Release (ft Gollden)Sun Rain · Musicbed
- Soul Glow feat. LunathGhostnaut · Musicbed
- StillMadron · Musicbed
- To BreatheBenjamin Gustafsson · Musicbed
- TreadMadron · Musicbed
- White Pine WalkAlaskan Tapes · Musicbed
- yuzuEzzy · Musicbed
What I'd take now
My current kit
The Americas and New Zealand bundle
This guide is in The Americas and New Zealand Hiking Guide Pack: 36 guides for $39. Or all 62 guides for $59.
Short answers
- How long is the Huemul Circuit?
- My loop from El Chaltén was 45.6 miles (73.4 km) on my GPS, with about 8,070 ft of climbing, in three days in March 2025. The park plans it as four days and gives about 65 km.
- Is the Huemul Circuit open in 2026?
- After a wildfire near the lower Río Túnel crossing in January 2026, the park allowed only Laguna Toro to Paso del Viento and back from January 17, 2026. As of September 2026 I found no announcement that the full loop had reopened. Ask at the park's visitor center in El Chaltén before you go.
- Do you need a guide for the Huemul Circuit?
- No park rule requires one. The park says mountaineering experience is essential and that you must be self-sufficient. You need a harness and carabiners for the two cable crossings; if nobody in your group has done a Tyrolean traverse, hire a guide or learn it first.
- Do you need to register for the Huemul Circuit?
- Yes. Registration with Los Glaciares National Park is free and online, one form per person, every trip. You also need a park entry ticket for the El Chaltén trails (ARS 50,000 a day for foreigners from June 1, 2026), card only.
- What gear do you need for the Tyrolean traverses?
- The park lists a harness, two locking carabiners and a safety line for each person, and a steel carabiner and 35 m of thin cord for the group. Never clip an aluminum carabiner straight onto the steel cable.
- Where do you camp on the Huemul Circuit?
- The park's registration form lists three camps: Laguna Toro, Paso del Viento (by the refugio) and Bahía de los Témpanos / Cabo de Hornos. Camping at Paso Huemul isn't allowed. I camped at Bahía de los Témpanos and in a small clearing east of Paso del Viento.
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