Perito Moreno National Park

Perito Moreno National Park is located in southern Argentina as one of the parks protecting the larger Patagonia area. The national park area covers an area of 489.69 square miles (1,268.30 sq km). It lies in Argentina along the border of Chile.

This is one of the earliest national parks in Argentina and was named in honor of Francisco Moreno who was the renowned explorer of the region. The park is situated at 2,952.8 feet (900 m) above sea level.

Ironically, the Perito Moreno Glacier is not located here in this national park. It is located in the neighboring Los Glaciares National Park.

There are two chains of mountains running across the park area. One range running east to west and the other runs north to south. The crossing ranges create a type of amphitheater landscape.

Heros Hill, locally known as cerro Heros, is the tallest summit in the park reaching a height of 9,087.9 feet (2,770 m). Overlooking the park from just outside the park boundaries is the summit of Monte San Lorenzo, locally known as cerro San Lorenzo, which reaches a height of 12,162 feet (3,707 m).

The national park is home to 24 species of mammals. The guanaco is one of the more common which is what attracts the cougars which sees the guanaco as one of its favorite prey. Other animal species include dwarf armadillo, ferret, fox, south Andean deer, and tuco-tuco.

There are around 115 species of birds with falcon and eagle predators being some of the most exciting. Flamingo, Andean goose, and hooded grebe are some of the other bird species.

Photos

Perito Moreno National Park Photo Gallery

Highlights

The landscape of Perito Moreno National Park is what people enjoy when visiting the area. The stunning steppes and majestic landscapes are the highlights.  This is not the place to see Perito Moreno Glacier, which is located in a different national park as noted above.

Perito Moreno National Park Trails

Perito Moreno is not known for campsites nor park development.  It is a park that preserves and celebrates the natural wilderness of the area. The majority of people who visit the park are in hopes of more solitude than what occurs in some of the neighboring national parks of the larger Patagonia area.  There are no camping sites within the borders of the national park. It is remote wilderness and the only camping is from backpacking in.

Ascent of Leon Hill

Sightseeing condors is one of the highlights of this trail. The trail runs around 4 hours round trip.

Belgrano Peninsula Trail

This trail goes between Lake Belgrano and the Belgrano Peninsula. Depending on the pace it takes between an hour or two.

Mie Hill Trail

This is a trek up the Mie Hill. It is advisable to make the ascent up the mountain during good weather. Check-in with the ranger station for insights before making the ascent.

Lake Burmeister Trail

This trail is a two-day excursion that meanders along the waters of the lake and through beech forests.

Lake Volcan Trail

The trail extends across a distance of 5 km and travels along the eastern and southern coasts of Lake Belgrano.

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