La Leona Petrified Forest

It is oriented to all people who enjoy outdoor activities and adventure, willing to discover new places. Medium physical aptitude is required since the tour includes approximately 3 hours of discontinuous hiking in irregular terrain. We leave from El Calafate, traveling 33 km along provincial route Nº 5 to the east and then 67 km to the north along national route Nº 40. During this trip you can see Lake Argentino, the Santa Cruz River, the La Leona River and its beautiful valley, with a panoramic view of the Andes Mountain Range, including Mount Fitz Roy. We stop for about 15 minutes at Hotel La Leona (historical site) and continue 10 km west, following the southern shore of Lake Viedma, until we reach the slopes of Cerro Los Hornos (Estancia Santa Teresita), where we arrive around 12:00 noon. We look for the first time at the huge depression in the terrain where the petrified trunks are and begin our exploration walk among the fossils. Halfway through the hike we stop for lunch with a snack included. Throughout the walk we will see many petrified trunks lying on the surface, some with a diameter of 1.20 meters, testimony of ancient times where the climate was very different from today and allowed the support of an abundant and large flora. Occasionally fossil remains of different types of dinosaurs are uncovered. This property is protected from the wind by the Cerro Los Hornos and because it is also a natural depression in the terrain. Being in a steppe area, it is very dry and the weather conditions in general are very pleasant. We start our return at 15:00 hs. Approximately with a new stop at the "Parador" Hotel La Leona and we arrive to Calafate around 17:00 hs.