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El Calafate is a little village in Patagonia, Argentina. It is situated in the southern border of Lake Argentino, in the southwest part of the Santa Cruz Province, about 320 km Northwest from Rio Gallegos. Its name comes from a little bush with yellow flowers very common in Patagonia, with dark blue berries: the calafate (Berberis buxifolia); the word comes from the word "calafate", which is Spanish for "Caulk".
El Calafate is an important tourist destination as the hub to visit different parts of the Los Glaciares National Park, including the Perito Moreno Glacier (one of the most visited in the world) and the Cerro Chalten and Cerro Torres. |
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The history of El Calafate began in the first decades of the twentieth century.Originally, it was just a place of shelter for wool traders.
It was officially founded in 1927 by the Government of Argentina to promote an increase in its population. But it was not until the creation of the national park that the little village, already with electrical power, started to grow slowly, and better roads were built to reach it. |
