El Calafate City Sightseeing Tour Including Walichu Caves

El Calafate, Argentina

3 hours (approx.)
Pickup offered
Group discounts
Mobile ticket
Offered in: English

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Overview

Most tours overlook the gems of El Calafate in favor of natural wonders, but there's plenty to see and do in the town itself. Tour El Calafate and the Walichu Caves' ancient art on this coach tour that reveals the history and unique geological features of this region. Visit the banks of Lago Argentino to view the rock paintings in Walichu Caves, which date back 4,000 years. Enjoy an informative tour of Old Town Calafate, including the El Calafate Historical Interpretation Center.

Transportation by vehicle helps you see more in less time
Enjoy a panoramic sightseeing tour of El Calafate old town, with its 20th-century settler buildings
Skip the hassle of booking separate activities: Everything is taken care of
Visit off-the-beaten-path places that most travelers miss

What's Included

Hotel pickup and drop-off
Air-conditioned vehicle
Professional guide
Punta Walichu fee

Food and drinks
Gratuities

Meeting and Pickup

You can head directly to the meeting point, or request pickup

Pickup points

Select a pickup point

Pickup details

The pick up transfer is only from selected centrally located hotels. If your hotel is outside the geographic area, we will confirm you the closest meeting point. Indicate the name and address of your hotel.

Meeting point

El Calafate, El Calafate, Province of Santa Cruz, Patagonia
Departure Point: Centrally located El Calafate hotels.

End point

This activity ends back at the meeting point.

Itinerary

After pickup at your hotel in central El Calafate, relax and enjoy the views during your trip in an air-conditioned minivan or coach. During the 30-minute ride to the Walichu Caves through seemingly untouched wilderness, get an orientation to the region from your guide.

Arrive at Walichu Caves on the shore of the pale blue Lago Argentino. Walk down the forest trail to the caves, where you will see ancient rock paintings of animals and humans, as well as some recreations. Learn from your local guide about the Paleolithic times when they were painted and hear about the pre-Tehuelche hunter-gatherer peoples who made them.

Board the bus back to El Calafate for a sightseeing tour of the old town. Pass the churches, homes and other landmarks built by the town's first settlers as your guide tells you about what early life was like for them. Drive on to Laguna Nimez, a bird preserve where you will be provided with binoculars. Walk along the water to admire swans, flamingos and other species.

Move on to the El Calafate Historical Interpretation Center, where you learn about the area's geology, history and local wildlife. End your 3-hour journey with drop-off at your El Calafate hotel.

El Calafate (Pass By)

Walichu Caves

1 hour • Admission Ticket Included

Lago Argentino

1 hour • Admission Ticket Free

El Calafate Historical Interpretation Center

1 hour • Admission Ticket Included

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Not wheelchair accessible
Most travelers can participate

IMPORTANT: If you wish to cancel your tour, please note that no refund will be granted from the 24th of December to the 02nd of January. All sales are final between those dates.
This tour/activity will have a maximum of 30 travelers

Supplied by

Cancellation Policy

You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.

Traveler Photos

Gallery picture 1 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 2 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 3 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 4 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 5 (from a traveler's review)

Reviews

4.1

based on 17 reviews

Total reviews and rating from Viator & Tripadvisor

We perform checks on reviews

Great little tour, squeeze it in

Gary_P, Apr 2026

That's a nice little tour of El Calafate, see a few things that you normally wouldn't see, probably even do. The guide, so bad I totally having a slip of the mind, was the greatest. Probably the best guide I had in awhile. Very knowledgeable, very inclusive, and the first time switching back and fourth from English to spanish I could follow.

Interesting Tour to El Calafate Caves and Museum

GregLynch, Feb 2026

The Walichu Caves were very interesting. Our guide Santino, was very friendly and informative and fluent in both English and Spanish The museum was also very informative and well presented. The hydroponic farm was interesting and the food at the end was a very pleasant and unexpected surprise. The tour guide informed us a bit about El Calafate but could have provided a more information about El Calafate as we drove through. The main problem was that we were told the evening before in a message via Viator that our pick-up time was 3pm not 5pm as we had booked, without out any explanation or apology, which disrupted our other plans significantly!

Nothing exciting about this . The...

BalmatiUsha_J, Mar 2018

Nothing exciting about this . The cave you have to interpret yourself , a lot of assumptions were made . The city tour you can do on your own .

Response from Host, Jun 2020

We regret that the tour did not meet your expectations.The tour includes a tour guide who explain the most important highlights. For us, travelling alone is not the same as being accompanied by a professional local guide who knows the city and can explain our culture, history, flavours and passions. We regret that the tour did not meet your expectations. Kind regards, Tangol

This was an okay tour. The Walichu...

MITALI S, Sep 2017

This was an okay tour. The Walichu caves were interesting, but the museum was not great. You can walk through the city of El Calafate on your own as it is fairly small. Walichu caves are not walking distance.

Response from Host, Oct 2020

Dear Mitali Thank you very much for your comments! This is one of our low impact tours, the landscapes are very beautiful and it is a nice way to spend the day in El Calafate. We hope to see you again!

Wonderful! We were so happy to have...

Anne B, Jun 2017

Wonderful! We were so happy to have our guide. Really most of the tour was for Spanish speakers. She explained that her English wasn't too good and that wasn't true! her English was GREAT! She explained in detail the history of the region. You go over to the lake which is this fabulous color of blue and the landscape is totally surreal. You then go over to this ancient cave dwellings -- absolutely fascinating. Well worth it. It doesn't take all day, either so its just a nice day excursion. We also visited a museum which included some more history of the area. Its a nice alternative to going to the Los Glaciares Park.