Fitz Roy, Argentina

Also known as the smoking mountain, Fitz Roy is a towering spine of rock and ice and is a hiker’s dream. The jagged granite spires of the Fitz Roy massif pierce the Patagonian sky, often shrouded in cloud — earning it the Tehuelche name Chaltén, meaning “smoking mountain.”

The approach through lenga beech forest opens suddenly onto views of the Torres, reflected in a glacial tarn — one of the most dramatic mountain reveals on earth.

El Chaltén, the small Argentine village at the trailhead, is a perfectly charming base — warm empanadas, cold Patagonian wind, and trails that lead straight into one of the planet’s wildest landscapes.