Base Spegazzini and the Refuge

Base Spegazzini is the landing on Solo Patagonia’s all glaciers cruise: a pier, a refuge and short paths and walkways on the shore opposite the Spegazzini Glacier, which the national park describes as the highest in Los Glaciares. It is the reason to choose this cruise over one that only looks at the glaciers from the deck. Solo Patagonia’s cruise is from US$285 a person (checked November 2026), and the landing is in every option.

Free cancellation runs until 24 hours before.

Where the base is

The base sits at the end of the Spegazzini channel, one of the arms of Lago Argentino that open off Brazo Norte. The boats reach it after the Upsala channel, passing the hanging Seco, Heim Sur and Peineta glaciers on the way in.

What was built there

The landing exists because the original one could not be used. When the park administration granted Solo Patagonia its concession for the north, Upsala and Spegazzini arms in 2014, the plan was a landing at Bahia Onelli. The restriction on navigation in the Upsala arm, extended in 2017 as far as the mouth of the Onelli channel, made that impossible, and Decree 46/2019 authorised building at the Spegazzini arm instead: a pier of up to 80 metres, a refuge and viewpoint of up to 850 square metres, and three paths, through the forest (350 m), along the lake (290 m) and up the hillside (650 m).

On Solo Patagonia’s pages the refuge opened in 2019, and walkways added since run 350 metres along the lake shore to the Agostini viewpoint, facing the glacier. The base is built to be accessible, with ramps, a floating dock, adapted toilets on the boats and in the refuge, and accessible trails and viewpoints.

Eating at the refuge

Food is not in the entry ticket. The boats have a cafeteria, and Solo Patagonia sells a regional refuge menu as an extra, ARS 65,000 on its own page: an empanada, guanaco goulash and a chocolate mousse with a drink in the classic version, with coeliac and vegetarian versions too. In the Captains Club cabin all meals are included. Captain’s Club or premium deck goes through the dearer cabin.

The glacier opposite

The park administration’s activities page calls Spegazzini the highest glacier in the park. Tour sellers print a height for its front, but we found no measurement behind their figure, and the national tourism site gives a different one, so we leave it out. What a study does show is that the front barely moved for a quarter of a century: Sakakibara and Sugiyama (2014) measured changes of only a couple of metres a year between 1984 and 2011, in the class they call “changed little”, while the Upsala to the north retreated by kilometres.

Check dates for the Spegazzini landing

Before you go ashore

• The park fee is not in the price. Buy the general-rate day ticket (ARS 50,000 from June 2026) online or at the Punta Bandera gate before you board.
• How long ashore is set by the day’s timetable; the boat is back at the pier at 16:00 from September to March.
• Other cruises that land at the Spegazzini base: Gray Line Argentina's Upsala Channel Glaciers Cruise, from US$417 with hotel pickup (checked November 2026), and Howlanders' Todo Glaciares on Viator. Cruceros Marpatag’s day sees Spegazzini from the water and lands at Puesto Las Vacas instead.