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The Calafate is situated in the
southeast of the province of Santa Cruz at about 3,000 kilometres
from the city of Buenos Aires.
It is 185 metres above sea level. It is called “The City
of Glaciers” due to its proximity to the various glaciers,
of which the Perito Moreno is the most well-known, also considered
Natural Heritage of Mankind by the UNESCO.
It is named after a Patagonian thorny shrub that bears yellow
flowers in the spring and purple fruit in the summer. According
to tradition, whoever eats the fruit of the Calafate always
returns to the Patagonia.
As it is the urban population closest to the Los Glaciares National
Park –around 78 kilometres- all accommodation and facilities
for tourism are concentrated in this small southern village.
The average maximum temperature is 19ºC and the average
minimum in winter is -2ºC (below zero). It always gets
cooler as night approaches. The longest summer day lasts 21
hours, with the sun rising at 5.30 a.m. and setting at 11 p.m.
Calafate is in the middle of the Patagonian steppe, which accounts
for the lack of humidity and the wide temperature range. It
hardly rains, which is an advantage when planning a vacation
in this wonderful place but a disadvantage to the vegetation,
since the lack of water and the strong winds are a setback to
the growth of plants and trees. The landscape is arid, rocky
and mountainous, marking a chromatic contrast with the turquoise
blue waters of the lakes that come from the glaciers and that,
due to the remaining mineral sediments –the glacier milk-
achieve this exceptional shade of blue.
A tour of the area will reveal the native fauna in its natural
habitat, with species such as guanacos, ñandúes
or choike (South American ostrich), red and grey foxes, pumas,
ferrets, hare and skunk. Among birds, the majestic condor, the
eagles and the falcons stand out while water birds such as flamingos,
cauquenes, black neck swans and wild duck can be sighted and
photographed to perfection in nautical safaris specially organized
for this purpose.
On reaching the area of Los Glaciares National Park, only 35
kilometres away, the landscape starts to change its shades of
colour and wooded formations of ñires, lengas, notros
and guindos can be seen together with flora and fauna characteristic
of areas nearing water sources...
Solares del Sur is located at about 2 kilometres from
the tourist centre of El Calafate, which allows visitors to
move about very easily since the complex provides for all their
needs. However, if necessary, taxis are available by request
24 hours a day, which will go downtown at a very low cost.
Being a short distance from the tourist centre, Solares makes
it possible to enjoy an excellent view of the Argentino Lake
and the Redonda Bay from all the units of the complex. |
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