Los Glaciares and the tourist village named El Chaltn after passing through El Calafate.  Here are the four villages/towns/cities of the region- Many of the travellers I met had included southern Patagonian in their itinerary but hiking was clearly not a primary reason for their travels; rather, they were on their way to Ushuaia from Buenos Aires and were stopping on the way.  Their plans included a day or two in TDP and then a couple of days in El Chaltn walking a trail or two to Fitz Roy. Without tents or more rugged boots or trekking poles or rain pants, they wanted to see what they could. TDP's refugios help make that possible, as do the hostals of  El Chaltn. I will also admit to not understanding why some were there at all- they were looking  in the wrong place for a party vibe you associate with beaches and cities! Check out this recent thread in Lonely Planet's  Thorntree Forum for a sample of this. GETTING TO THE TRAILHEAD: I landed in Punta Arenas at 7 p.m., having left Toronto just before midnight the day before.  With my castellano (a term often used in South America to  refer to the Spanish language)  definitely a work in progress,  I was able to find out about and get a seat on the bus heading to Puerto Natales from downtown Punta Arenas and stoppiing at the airport. (Click here for a map of the route.) stray dog napping outside the airport at