Laguna Capri or Laguna de los Tres?
Laguna Capri or Laguna de los Tres with one day in El Chaltén: 4 km and 1:45 each way with 350 m of climb, against 10 km and about 5 hours with 750 m and a very steep last section, on the park's figures.
Pick Laguna Capri if you want the Fitz Roy view across a lake without the hardest part of the trail; pick Laguna de los Tres if you are fit, have a full day and want the closest view. On the park’s North Zone leaflet, Capri is 4 km and 1:45 one way from the trailhead with 350 m of climb. Laguna de los Tres, on the same trail, is 10 km and about 5 hours one way with 750 m, and the last section is “very steep” and dangerous in wind and rain. If you are coming from El Calafate for the day, Capri also fits the clock far better.
Side by side
| Laguna Capri | Laguna de los Tres | |
|---|---|---|
| One way from the trailhead (park leaflet) | 4 km, 1:45 | 10 km, about 5 hours |
| Height column (park leaflet) | 350 m | 750 m |
| Whole walk (park activities page / tourism office) | 3:30 there and back (tourism office) | 25 km, 8 to 9 hours (APN) |
| Level | Medium (tourism office) | Medium-high (APN), high (tourism office) |
| The view | Fitz Roy across the lake | The nearest view of the Fitz Roy range |
| Hard part | The first steep kilometre | A very steep last climb above the Poincenot camp |
Sources: park North Zone trail leaflet (English edition, 2024), APN activities page and the El Chaltén tourism office (page from 2016), read November 2026.
What you give up at Capri
Distance from the mountain. Fitz Roy is about 9 km from Laguna Capri in a straight line; at Laguna de los Tres you sit at its foot, under its glacier. You also give up the sense of having done the big one. What you keep: the skyline, a lake in front of it, and an afternoon to spare.
What you take on at Laguna de los Tres
A long day and the steep last section. The leaflet’s own warning for it is plain, the tourism office describes the final hour as a climb, and the guided days that go there split the group so that anyone who stops can wait at or return to Laguna Capri. In other words, Capri is the fallback built into the bigger hike.
With a day trip from El Calafate
From El Calafate, El Chaltén is about 220 km away on a paved road (APN). A Capri day fits that comfortably: Info de Ushuaia’s picnic hike is about 13 hours door to door with about five on the trail and at the lake. A Laguna de los Tres day from El Calafate is a much longer, harder day built around a 6:00 AM pickup.
The calendar is Info de Ushuaia’s picnic hike to Laguna Capri, from US$130 a person (checked November 2026), free cancellation up to 24 hours before.
The choice, by who you are
El Chaltén: Capri Hike with Guide and Patagonian Picnic from El Calafate
The guided picnic day: transport, a nature guide, about 8 km on foot and an hour at the lake. Minimum age 12, not over 70.
Check dates →Chalten full day Trekking - Laguna de los Tres Experience
Azul Latina Travel's guided day: pickup at 6:00 AM, two guides, a Laguna Capri option for anyone who stops. At least two per booking; non-refundable.
See the hike →From El Chaltén/Calafate: Laguna de los Tres Guided Trek
On Patagonia Adventures' guided trek from the Río Eléctrico bridge, with a second guide from eight hikers for a Capri alternative. No reviews yet.
See the trek →Prices, ratings and review counts from the listings (GetYourGuide checked November 2026). Operators price by date and season, so treat the figures as the shape of the market, not a quote.
Around El Chaltén
More Days Out in El Chaltén with Open Dates
Hikes and day trips in the north of the park with live availability. What each includes and its cancellation terms show before you book.
Laguna Capri, Guided, from El Calafate
Info de Ushuaia's picnic hike: about 8 km, moderate, an hour at the lake facing Fitz Roy, about 13 hours door to door. Minimum age 12; the park entrance is extra.
Check dates