TRAVERSE Issue 35 - April 2023 | Page 52

TRAVERSE 52
many refugios , refuge for hikers on the numerous trails .
Our ride circumnavigated the park offering amazing views at every turn , a problem when trying to stay within the bounds of the track , numerous stops were a must to take in what is one of UNESCO ’ s beautiful biosphere reserves .
Leaving the park , it was hard to imagine an area could be bettered for it ’ s environmental beauty and as we crossed into Argentina the following day it became apparent that nature does it ’ s finest work in this part of the world as we discovered Parque Nacional Los Glaciares , the Glaciers National Park .
Argentina ’ s largest national park was established in 1937 gaining international recognition 41 years later when the United Nations gave it UNESCO World Heritage accreditation . The park seems out of place , an almost Himalayan or polar feel amongst the dry , arid steppe on one side and the subpolar forest on the other . Giant peaks cradle slow moving rivers of ice .
It ’ s this ice that has formed the landscape and offers its name to the park . The Glaciers National Park is home to a giant ice cap , the largest outside of Iceland , Greenland and Antarctica . Forty seven glaciers all
TRAVERSE 52