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Cerro Castillo

Kiwis call the Tongariro Crossing the worlds best one day walk.  I've only done half the crossing but the half I didn't do would have to be very special for the Tongariro Crossing to surpass the climb to the Mirador Cerro Castillo.


The full Cerro Castillo Circuit is a 3 or 4 day trek.  We did an abbreviated version that climbs up from Villa Cerro Castillo to the Cerro Castillo Glacier lake.  It's 7km each way from the trailhead or 8km from the village where we started.  The total climb was around 1000m.  It was an expensive walk - about $55 for the three of us but well worth the money spent.

Our only regret was that a few clouds obscured the mountain top when we arrived at the glacier lake overlook for our half hour lunch break before turning around, however considering the very still conditions and lack of rain (always an issue in Patagonia), we couldn't really complain.

On the way down we did an extra 1km detour to see some nice cascades.  All up about a 6 1/2 hour journey covering about 18km.

Some pictures...
Sam and Elise crossing one of the scree slopes high on the mountain

The bluest lake I've ever seen below the hanging glacier

Inconsiderate hikers blocking the scenery


The valley of the Ibanez River

A view of a bit of the range over the forest
Sam earned 2 ice creams for this hike. And an early night for all.






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