Cordillera with no crowds
Outside the Aconcagua circuit: Sosneado valleys, hanging glaciers and almost no one else on the trail.
Trek · Valley of Tears
The valley where they survived.
3 days from the Sosneado hot springs to the site of the 1972 Fairchild crash.
The Valley of Tears is where, on 13 October 1972, the Uruguayan Air Force Fairchild carrying the Old Christians rugby team came down. The memorial, the iron cross and pieces of the fuselage are still there, in a mountain amphitheatre above 3,500 m.
Access is from the Sosneado hot springs, in the Malargüe department, with two approach days up the Atuel river valley and its tributaries. This is not Aconcagua Park: it's open cordillera, with access permits and logistics of our own.
It's a demanding trek for its distance and altitude, but with no technical difficulty. You walk light with the cargo on mules and camp in the valley. We run it with small groups and with the respect the place deserves: above all, it is a site of remembrance.
No Park permit
You don't enter Aconcagua Provincial Park. We handle the relevant access permits.
Cargo on mules
You walk with a day pack: camp equipment and food are carried by the mules and the muleteers.
In detail
A site of remembrance
The memorial, the cross and the fuselage remains are visited with a guide and under the guidelines of respect the place calls for.
- 3
- Days
- 3.600 M
- Max altitude
- +1.400 m
- Cumulative gain
Day by day
Itinerary
The itinerary is a reference. The mountain sets the pace: reserve days exist to wait for the good-weather window, not to pad the calendar.
Days: 3Max altitude: 3.600 MCumulative gain: +1.400 m
- Day 12.600 M
Malargüe → Sosneado hot springs → first camp
Transfer by high-clearance vehicle to the Sosneado hot springs, meeting the muleteers and the first trekking day up the valley. Camp by the river.
- Day 23.600 M
Camp → Valley of Tears → camp
A long climbing day to the crash site. Visit to the memorial and the fuselage remains. Back to camp.
- Day 32.200 M
Camp → Sosneado hot springs → Malargüe
Descent down the valley to the hot springs and transfer back. End of the trek.
What's included
- Certified guide with knowledge of the site and its history
- Transfer from Malargüe to the Sosneado hot springs, round trip
- Management of the necessary access permits
- Mules and muleteers for equipment transport
- Camp equipment (tents, kitchen, dining tent)
- All meals during the trek
- Treated drinking water at camp and on route
- First-aid kit and satellite communications
- Prior briefing with the full route detail
What's not included
- Transfers to Malargüe
- Accommodation and meals in Malargüe
- Medical and personal accident insurance
- Personal trekking gear and sleeping bag
- Staff gratuities and personal expenses
The Park permit and the medical & rescue insurance are mandatory and contracted separately. We handle the paperwork for you at no extra charge.
On the ground
What now?
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