El Calafate: the glacier that advances

One of the few glaciers in the world still in balance or slight advance rather than retreat, Perito Moreno is located not far from this small Patagonian town.

A car or tourist bus takes you to Perito Moreno glacier, one of the few still advancing.

The Perito Moreno Glacier, roughly five kilometers wide, overlooks panoramic walkways where you can observe enormous blocks of ice breaking off and falling into the lake below.

In the Los Glaciares National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage site, dozens of smaller glaciers descend from the Andes toward the glacial lakes of the region.

Returning toward the town, the Laguna Nimez Nature Reserve hosts southern flamingos and other migratory bird species right at the edges of town.

As evening approaches, a local restaurant offers slowly grilled Patagonian lamb, a specialty of the region for generations.

Perito Moreno advances an average of about two meters per day, periodically forming a natural ice dam that, when it collapses, generates a spectacle audible from great distances.

Unlike most glaciers worldwide, in evident retreat due to climate change, Perito Moreno remains one of the few still in relative mass equilibrium in recent decades.