Who Can Walk on the Perito Moreno Glacier?

Anyone aged 8 to 65 in reasonable health can do the Mini-Trek, the short walk on the Perito Moreno glacier; Big Ice takes only ages 18 to 50 in good shape. Hielo y Aventura, which runs both, applies the ages without exception and also turns away anyone with a body mass index of 30 or more, pregnant women and people with heart or breathing conditions. If you are inside those limits, the walk to book is its Mini-Trek, from US$346 a person (checked November 2026) for the 4.5-hour option from the port.

We are not doctors, and nothing here is medical advice. If you are unsure, write to the operator before you book: it decides.

The ages

Ages as of the GetYourGuide check (checked November 2026).

Hielo y Aventura’s own pages say “without exception” for the Minitrekking ages and “ONLY. No exceptions.” for Big Ice. For its own Minitrekking2 it prints 12 to 60, wider than the band on Howlanders' Minitrekking 2, so ask Howlanders if you are 12 to 16 or 56 to 60.

The health rules

Hielo y Aventura lists who may not take part in its walks on the ice. In short, from its Spanish page:

• people with obesity, which it defines with the World Health Organization as a body mass index (weight in kilos divided by the square of height in metres) of 30 or more;
• pregnant women;
• people with a physical or mental disability that affects attention, walking or coordination;
• people with a heart or circulation history, such as stents, a bypass, a pacemaker, anticoagulants or stage 3 varicose veins;
• people with respiratory disease such as COPD, asthma or emphysema.

It prints no weight or height limit in kilograms or centimetres; the body mass index is the test. Its terms add that the guide may refuse anyone who does not meet the requirements on the day, and that counts as a no-show.

The GetYourGuide listings add their own lists. The Mini-Trek is not suitable for people with back problems, mobility impairments, heart problems, vertigo, respiratory issues, visual or hearing impairments, recent surgeries, pre-existing medical conditions, motion sickness or a low level of fitness. Big Ice adds that after booking a medical form arrives by email, and that not completing it may disqualify you. One reviewer of Patagonia Dreams’ Mini-Trek day (28 August 2026) was asked about a past condition weeks ahead and got no clear answer until the day before, so send anything relevant early.

How hard each walk is

Hielo y Aventura rates the Minitrekking “Physical Demand: Medium” and Big Ice “High”. On the Mini-Trek you walk about three hours in all, about one of them on the ice, on a surface that is uneven but firm, with one guide for every 10 people.

Some reviewers found the Mini-Trek easier than they expected. Of Patagonia Dreams’ Mini-Trek day, one (November 2024) wrote of “very safe trails” and a “very easy hike with minimal difficulty”, and another (November 2025, in Polish) compared it to a walk in the park on a fenced-off stretch with prepared steps and handrails. That suits a first-timer and may disappoint a mountaineer.

Big Ice is a different matter. At least three of its reviewers (December 2025, February and March 2026) put the whole day at 14 to 15 km of walking, and one of them (19 December 2025, one star) had rain, wind, a fast pace and “difficult and VERY unstable terrain” before the ice. Another (November 2025) found the climb to the ice “quite difficult” and wished for Big Ice’s three hours on the glacier without it.

If the limits rule you out

Over 65, or under 8, there is still a way to the ice wall. Hielo y Aventura’s Blue Safari is a walk beside the glacier, not on it: the boat across the Rico Arm, an easy 1.5 km trail along the beach and through woodland to the south wall, where you can touch the ice. It is for ages 6 to 70, from US$117 (checked November 2026). The walkways facing the glacier’s front need only the park entrance and a way to get there.

For everyone inside the limits, the Mini-Trek is the walk to start with.

Check Mini-Trek dates