Argentine Patagonia's three primary elopement bases, El Chaltén, El Calafate, and Ushuaia, are far enough apart that you cannot combine all three in a single day but close enough that a ten-day trip can do all three properly. Each has specific locations worth understanding before you decide which to prioritise.

Laguna de los Tres

The glacial lake directly below the Fitz Roy summit is the most sought-after viewpoint in Argentine Patagonia. The trail from El Chaltén is twenty-two kilometres round trip with significant elevation gain. Couples who do it arrive at the lakeside in a physical state that shows in portraits, and the Fitz Roy massif reflected in the still water at sunrise is one of the most extraordinary single compositions in South American elopement photography. The trail requires an early start and a full day; the hike back typically takes as long as the ascent.

Couple at a glacial lake in Argentine Patagonia during their elopement with the snow-dusted granite spires of the Fitz Roy massif reflected in the water — Laguna de los Tres: the twenty-two kilometre round-trip trail, the sunrise at the lake, and the Fitz Roy massif reflected in the glacial water below it

Laguna Torre and Cerro Torre

The Laguna Torre trail offers a different granite profile. Cerro Torre is a single vertical needle of rock, covered in rime ice, rising from its own glacial lake. The trail is about eighteen kilometres round trip and somewhat less demanding than Laguna de los Tres. For couples who want the Argentine Patagonia granite experience with a single, more photogenic silhouette than the Fitz Roy massif, Cerro Torre is the choice.

Couple during their elopement in Argentine Patagonia with the single vertical granite needle of Cerro Torre rising from the glacial lake behind them — Laguna Torre: Cerro Torre's single vertical granite needle above its glacial lake is one of the most dramatic single mountain forms in South American elopement photography

Perito Moreno Glacier Boardwalks

Los Glaciares National Park has constructed a network of boardwalks that put visitors directly in front of Perito Moreno's face at multiple elevations. The lower boardwalks bring couples to eye level with the glacier's waterline, where the calving happens. The upper boardwalks give the full glacier profile and its relationship to Lake Argentino. For an elopement photograph, the combination of the ice wall, the turquoise water, and the mountains behind the glacier creates a background that is technically simple but visually overwhelming.

Couple in elopement attire on the boardwalk viewing platform in front of Perito Moreno Glacier with the massive ice face and turquoise lake behind them — The Perito Moreno boardwalks: couples at eye level with a glacier face that is seventy metres high and still growing. The calving events happen multiple times per day.

Tierra del Fuego National Park

Tierra del Fuego National Park, twenty minutes west of Ushuaia, offers a completely different visual character from the rest of Argentine Patagonia. Beech forest, mountain lakes, and the Beagle Channel with the Chilean peaks on the far shore. The Lapataia Bay, where Route 3 officially ends, is one of the most emotionally resonant elopement locations I have photographed: a calm bay, lenga beech forest, and the knowledge that there is no road further south from this point.

Arman

Destination Wedding Photographer

Vancouver · Medellín · Worldwide