Overview: A jour­ney to the roof of South Amer­i­ca is no mean feat — along the way you will encounter chal­leng­ing con­di­tions, be test­ed by extreme alti­tude and face the per­ils of moth­er nature — all of which com­bine to make reach­ing the top of Mount Aconcagua a for­mi­da­ble endeav­or. 

Yet, with prop­er plan­ning and train­ing, stand­ing on the roof of South Amer­i­ca is achiev­able — with know­ing and being pre­pared for what lies ahead being a sig­nif­i­cant fac­tor in suc­cess­ful­ly and safe­ly reach­ing the summit.A key part of this is being famil­iar with the three main routes to the top of Mount Aconcagua:

• Nor­mal Route (North­west Ridge): The most com­mon and least tech­ni­cal path.

• Pol­ish Tra­verse: A longer, more scenic route that approach­es from the east and merges with the Nor­mal Route.

• Pol­ish Glac­i­er Route: A high­ly tech­ni­cal ice-and-snow climb suit­able only for expe­ri­enced alpin­ists.

So to make your path to the sum­mit of Mount Aconcagua as easy as pos­si­ble, we’ve round­ed out a short guide for each of these three routes, begin­ning with the the most pop­u­lar nor­mal route below:

Mount Aconcagua: The Normal Route — Trekking Guide:

The Nor­mal Route is the most pop­u­lar and least tech­ni­cal way to sum­mit Mount Aconcagua, mak­ing it the ide­al choice for trekkers and high-alti­tude hik­ers aim­ing for their first 7,000-meter peak. While it doesn’t require advanced moun­taineer­ing skills, it demands sol­id phys­i­cal con­di­tion­ing, men­tal grit, and good acclima­ti­za­tion. The route typ­i­cal­ly takes between 16 to 20 days, allow­ing for essen­tial rest and acclima­ti­za­tion stops along the way. With a mix of rugged ter­rain, vast Andean land­scapes, and windswept high camps, it offers a chal­leng­ing but acces­si­ble path to the sum­mit — and the detailed day-by-day break­down below walks you through exact­ly what to expect on this epic jour­ney:

Day 1: Arrival in Men­doza (746 m / 2,448 ft)

Your Aconcagua adven­ture begins in Men­doza, Argentina—a sun-drenched city known for its wine and vibrant street life. Before you even glimpse the moun­tain, you’ll be immersed in the local ener­gy as you check into your hotel, vis­it the per­mit office, and start sort­ing out final gear logis­tics. This day is most­ly admin­is­tra­tive but also a gen­tle men­tal warm-up for what lies ahead. Enjoy one last steak din­ner and glass of Malbec—you won’t have any­thing close to this lux­u­ry for a while.

Day 2: Dri­ve to Pen­i­tentes / Las Cuevas (2,580 m / 8,465 ft)

After break­fast, you hit the road on a scenic dri­ve through the Andes towards Pen­i­tentes, a small out­post that serves as a stag­ing ground for Aconcagua climbers. The tran­si­tion from city to high moun­tain land­scape is dramatic—vineyards give way to jagged peaks and desert plateaus. Once in Pen­i­tentes, you’ll check into a lodge, final­ize mule loads, and go over your plan with your guide. At this point, the antic­i­pa­tion becomes very real—gear is checked, repacked, and dou­ble-checked again.

Day 3: Hike to Con­flu­en­cia Camp (3,400 m / 11,155 ft)

You begin your hike by enter­ing Hor­cones Val­ley, where a ranger checks per­mits. The trail to Con­flu­en­cia is not dif­fi­cult, but the dry, dusty ter­rain and sun expo­sure make it feel more stren­u­ous. After 3–4 hours, you arrive at your first base camp, where domed tents and med­ical staff await. The camp is sur­round­ed by tow­er­ing red cliffs and the ever-impos­ing pres­ence of the Andes. This is your first taste of camp life—sleeping in tents, fil­ter­ing water, and adapt­ing to a high-alti­tude rou­tine.

Day 4: Acclima­ti­za­tion Hike to Plaza Fran­cia (4,000 m / 13,123 ft)

This day is all about acclima­ti­za­tion. You’ll leave most of your gear behind and take a light pack up to Plaza Fran­cia, the base of the impos­ing South Face of Aconcagua. This steep out-and-back hike is your first real test at alti­tude, and the views of the glac­i­er-cov­ered wall are unfor­get­table. Expect to feel your heart pound­ing faster than usu­al. The return to Con­flu­en­cia feels eas­i­er, and you’ll be grate­ful for a hot meal and rest. This day plays a cru­cial role in your suc­cess high­er up.

Day 5: Trek to Plaza de Mulas Base Camp (4,370 m / 14,337 ft)

Today is long—roughly 7 to 10 hours of hik­ing up a des­o­late, Mar­t­ian-like val­ley called Playa Ancha. The lack of shade and high alti­tude make every step feel like a slog, espe­cial­ly the final ascent known as the “Cues­ta Bra­va” or “Tough Slope.” When you final­ly reach Plaza de Mulas, the largest base camp in the south­ern hemi­sphere, the sense of accom­plish­ment is huge. Your tents will be ready, and hot soup is often wait­ing for you. This is your home for the next sev­er­al days.

Day 6: Rest Day at Plaza de Mulas

Your body needs this. Accli­ma­tiz­ing at over 4,000 meters is no joke. You’ll like­ly spend the day sleep­ing in, hydrat­ing aggres­sive­ly, and let­ting your body catch up to the alti­tude. Some climbers do a short walk or yoga ses­sion, while oth­ers get med­ical checks from the camp doc­tors. The views here are stunning—you’ll see Mount Cuer­no and glac­i­ers glit­ter­ing in the sun. Social­iz­ing with oth­er climbers and jour­nal­ing the jour­ney so far are great ways to pass the time.

Day 7: Acclima­ti­za­tion Hike to Cer­ro Bonete (5,000 m / 16,404 ft)

This climb to near­by Cer­ro Bonete offers a stun­ning view­point and a great phys­i­o­log­i­cal ben­e­fit. You’ll gain almost 700 meters and descend in the same day, which stim­u­lates red blood cell pro­duc­tion. The hike is scenic, with sweep­ing views back down to Plaza de Mulas and across the sprawl­ing Andes. This is also a con­fi­dence booster—standing at 5,000 meters and feel­ing strong bodes well for what’s ahead. Back at base camp, you’ll feel more pre­pared than ever.

Day 8: Car­ry Gear to Camp 1 (Cana­da Camp – 5,050 m / 16,564 ft)

Today you shoul­der a heavy pack and make your way up to Camp 1. The goal is to stash gear and accli­ma­tize, not to sleep there yet. The route winds through steep scree slopes and loose rocks, and you’ll feel the alti­tude with every step. After caching your gear, you descend back to Plaza de Mulas. This “car­ry high, sleep low” strat­e­gy is cru­cial to your suc­cess and health on Aconcagua. Expect to be tired but sat­is­fied by day’s end.

Day 9: Move to Camp 1 (Cana­da Camp)

Now ful­ly accli­ma­tized, you return to Camp 1 with the rest of your gear and set­tle in for the night. The sense of progress is motivating—you’re now sleep­ing high­er than most Euro­pean peaks. The camp sits on a rocky slope with views stretch­ing across the Andes. Despite the cold, the feel­ing of being in the thick of the moun­tain is exhil­a­rat­ing. Hydra­tion and calo­rie intake become even more impor­tant at this stage, so hot soup and snacks are essen­tial.

Day 10: Move to Camp 2 (Nido de Cón­dores – 5,570 m / 18,274 ft)

The trek to Camp 2 is chal­leng­ing, both men­tal­ly and phys­i­cal­ly. The route is exposed to wind and sun, and the ter­rain gets more severe. Nido de Cón­dores, or “Condor’s Nest,” offers panoram­ic views and a haunt­ing sense of vast­ness. Here, you’ll begin to feel the true remote­ness of the high Andes. Most climbers feel some fatigue at this point, so mov­ing slow­ly, breath­ing deeply, and tak­ing breaks are essen­tial. Camp set­up becomes more minimalist—survival-oriented.

Day 11: Rest Day at Camp 2

This rest day is cru­cial before push­ing high­er. By now, the alti­tude makes every­thing harder—from putting on boots to boil­ing water. Your team might go for a short walk, but the main focus is rest and men­tal prepa­ra­tion. You’ll check weath­er fore­casts, review sum­mit day plans, and dou­ble-check your sum­mit pack. It’s a qui­et, intro­spec­tive day, filled with antic­i­pa­tion and a bit of anx­i­ety.

Day 12: Move to Camp 3 (Col­era – 5,970 m / 19,586 ft)

This is the final camp before the sum­mit. Col­era sits exposed on a high ridge, often bat­tered by wind. The climb up is steep and slow, but the goal feels close. You’ll be sleep­ing at near­ly 6,000 meters tonight, so every­thing needs to be ready for sum­mit day—water bot­tles prepped, head­lamp bat­ter­ies checked, lay­ers orga­nized. There’s a sense of cama­raderie as climbers from all over the world qui­et­ly share space on the edge of the roof of the Amer­i­c­as.

Day 13: Sum­mit Day (6,961 m / 22,838 ft)

The biggest day of the expe­di­tion begins around 3–5 a.m. in freez­ing tem­per­a­tures. You climb slow­ly, head­lamps pierc­ing the dark­ness, up through steep switch­backs to the Inde­pen­den­cia Hut. From there, the route tra­vers­es the long, exposed tra­verse called the “Trav­es­ía” and then ascends the noto­ri­ous “Canale­ta,” a loose scree slope that seems to go on for­ev­er. Every step is exhaust­ing, but even­tu­al­ly you crest the final ridge—and there it is. The sum­mit of Aconcagua. The view stretch­es from Chile to Argenti­na. Ela­tion, exhaus­tion, and awe flood your sens­es. After 20–30 min­utes at the top, you begin the long, care­ful descent back to Camp 3.

Day 14–15: Descend to Base Camp and Return to Men­doza

You descend rapid­ly over the next two days—back to Nido, then Plaza de Mulas, and final­ly all the way to the trail­head. It’s amaz­ing how quick­ly your body recov­ers once you start los­ing alti­tude. By the time you return to Men­doza, show­ered and rest­ed, the enor­mi­ty of what you’ve just accom­plished begins to sink in. You sum­mit­ed the high­est moun­tain out­side of Asia, test­ed your lim­its, and came back stronger.

Mount Aconcagua: The Polish Traverse Route — Trekking Guide:

The Pol­ish Tra­verse is a spec­tac­u­lar alter­na­tive to the Nor­mal Route, offer­ing a more remote and scenic jour­ney to the sum­mit of Aconcagua. Start­ing from the Vacas Val­ley and tra­vers­ing across to join the Nor­mal Route near the sum­mit, it offers a grad­ual acclima­ti­za­tion pro­file and qui­eter trails. This route is ide­al for trekkers seek­ing a slight­ly more chal­leng­ing, adven­tur­ous expe­ri­ence with­out the steep tech­ni­cal demands of the Pol­ish Glac­i­er Direct. It gen­er­al­ly takes between 16 to 20 days, depend­ing on acclima­ti­za­tion and weath­er con­di­tions, and is known for its raw nat­ur­al beau­ty, soli­tude, and panoram­ic views of the Andes. What makes the Pol­ish Tra­verse espe­cial­ly appeal­ing is its smooth acclima­ti­za­tion pro­gres­sion, which improves sum­mit suc­cess rates, and the stun­ning diver­si­ty of ter­rain you’ll encounter.

Day 1: Men­doza (746 m / 2,448 ft)
Arrive in Men­doza, a vibrant Argen­tin­ian city nes­tled in wine coun­try. Spend the day get­ting per­mits sort­ed, check­ing gear, and meet­ing your expe­di­tion team. There’s an excite­ment in the air as climbers from all over the world gath­er with one goal in mind. Don’t under­es­ti­mate how impor­tant a good night’s sleep and some hearty Argen­tine food are before the jour­ney begins.

Day 2: Dri­ve to Pun­ta de Vacas (2,400 m / 7,874 ft) and Trek to Pam­pa de Leñas (2,950 m / 9,678 ft)
After a scenic dri­ve into the Andes, the trek kicks off with a grad­ual walk through the dry and col­or­ful Vacas Val­ley. It’s a warm-up day that intro­duces the vast­ness of the ter­rain ahead. You’ll meet mules car­ry­ing sup­plies and set up your first camp in Pam­pa de Leñas beside a wide riv­er under clear skies. The sense of remote­ness begins to sink in.

Day 3: Trek to Casa de Piedra (3,240 m / 10,630 ft)
You con­tin­ue deep­er into the val­ley, cross­ing arid plains and wind­ing through riverbeds. The icon­ic south­east face of Aconcagua final­ly reveals itself in dra­mat­ic fash­ion as you approach Casa de Piedra. It’s a hum­bling view—glaciers hang­ing off the mountain’s flanks, and your first real look at the sum­mit. Camp is set with antic­i­pa­tion build­ing.

Day 4: Trek to Plaza Argenti­na Base Camp (4,200 m / 13,780 ft)
This is the longest and most demand­ing day so far. You cross the Vacas Riv­er and make a steady, often windy ascent to Plaza Argenti­na, your main base camp for the com­ing days. It’s a dra­mat­ic tran­si­tion from dusty val­leys to the alpine world. At camp, you’ll set up for sev­er­al nights, rest, and begin your seri­ous acclima­ti­za­tion process.

Day 5: Rest and Acclima­ti­za­tion at Plaza Argenti­na
A well-earned rest day is vital for your body to adjust. You’ll spend time hydrat­ing, eat­ing, sort­ing gear, and doing short hikes around base camp. It’s a good chance to jour­nal, snap some pho­tos, and get to know your fel­low climbers. Base camp life has its rhythm—between check­ing oxy­gen sat­u­ra­tion lev­els and watch­ing the play of light on the glac­i­er above.\

Day 6: Car­ry Gear to Camp 1 (4,950 m / 16,240 ft), Return to Base Camp
With light packs, you do a gear car­ry to Camp 1, fol­low­ing a rocky path and cross­ing scree slopes. It’s a taste of what’s ahead—thinner air and heav­ier breathing—but the return to base camp feels lux­u­ri­ous with warm food and prop­er tents. This climb-high, sleep-low strat­e­gy helps immense­ly with acclima­ti­za­tion.

Day 7: Rest Day at Plaza Argenti­na
Anoth­er rest day lets your body catch up. You’ll feel the alti­tude now—perhaps a slight headache or breathlessness—but this is nor­mal. Rest, drink lots of flu­ids, and men­tal­ly pre­pare for mov­ing high­er. Watch­ing the stars come out over the Andes is surreal—cold, clear, and utter­ly vast.

Day 8: Move to Camp 1 (4,950 m / 16,240 ft)
You make your way back to Camp 1 with full packs. The route is famil­iar but hard­er with more weight. The land­scape becomes more barren—just rock, ice, and wind. Set­ting up camp at this alti­tude is a task in itself. But the sun­set glow on the peaks around makes it feel worth every step.

Day 9: Car­ry to Camp 2 (Gua­na­cos Camp, 5,500 m / 18,045 ft), Return to Camp 1
This sec­tion intro­duces steep­er scree and relent­less switch­backs. You cache food and fuel at Camp 2, then descend back to Camp 1. Despite the alti­tude, your body is start­ing to adapt. It’s a phys­i­cal­ly tough day, but spir­its are high with sum­mit day draw­ing near­er.

Day 10: Move to Camp 2 (Gua­na­cos Camp)
Ascend­ing again with full packs is slow­er and heav­ier. You feel the alti­tude in every step. Camp 2 is exposed and stark—just a clus­ter of tents under the wide sky. The views are immense. You’re now above the cloud line, and every­thing feels clos­er to the edge of the world.

Day 11: Rest Day at Camp 2
This day is essen­tial. At over 5,500 meters, the body needs time to adjust. Hydra­tion, sleep, and men­tal prepa­ra­tion become the main activ­i­ties. You eat high-calo­rie meals and spend time inside your tent, lis­ten­ing to the wind howl­ing like a freight train. You’re in the alpine zone now.

Day 12: Move to Camp 3 (Col­era Camp, 5,970 m / 19,586 ft)
This is a short but steep push to your high camp, where the Pol­ish Tra­verse joins the Nor­mal Route. It’s a dra­mat­ic ridge­line spot, often windy, perched with panoram­ic views over the Andes. You feel both awe and anxiety—this is your final camp before the sum­mit.

Day 13: Sum­mit Day (6,961 m / 22,838 ft)
You start in the dark, around 4 AM, lay­ered in every­thing you’ve got. The ascent fol­lows the same route as the Nor­mal Route from this point, zigzag­ging up to the Inde­pen­den­cia Hut and then the long tra­verse to the Canale­ta. The air is razor thin, and every step feels mon­u­men­tal. The final push up the Canale­ta is steep and slow, but the moment you reach the summit—the roof of the Americas—is unfor­get­table. Tears, cheers, pho­tos, and the vast­ness of Argenti­na spread below. Then comes the equal­ly gru­el­ing descent back to Camp 3.

Day 14: Descend to Plaza de Mulas Base Camp (4,300 m / 14,108 ft)
You descend via the Nor­mal Route, tak­ing the long, dusty trail past Berlin and Nido de Cón­dores camps, even­tu­al­ly drop­ping into Plaza de Mulas. It’s a long, painful day on tired legs, but the thick­er air at base camp is a gift. You’re met with cheers, warm drinks, and a huge sense of relief.

Day 15: Trek out to Hor­cones and Return to Men­doza
A final walk out the Hor­cones Val­ley is your vic­to­ry lap. You fol­low a wide, dusty trail sur­round­ed by stark, sur­re­al land­scapes. At the road­head, vehi­cles wait to take you back to Men­doza, where cold drinks, hot show­ers, and a soft bed await.

Mount Aconcagua: The Polish Glacier Route — Trekking Guide:

The Pol­ish Glac­i­er Route is the most tech­ni­cal­ly demand­ing and remote of Aconcagua’s three main ascent routes. Unlike the Nor­mal Route or the Pol­ish Tra­verse, this path leads straight up the icy face of the Pol­ish Glac­i­er, requir­ing moun­taineer­ing expe­ri­ence, prop­er gear, and a high tol­er­ance for cold, alti­tude, and expo­sure. It’s not for the faint of heart, but for those with the skill and the spir­it, it offers an unfor­get­table and sel­dom-trav­eled route up South Amer­i­ca’s high­est peak. This is Aconcagua at its wildest, and most reward­ing.

Most climbers begin by fol­low­ing the Pol­ish Tra­verse for the first sev­er­al days to accli­ma­tize and estab­lish base camps before veer­ing off the stan­dard tra­verse and climb­ing the glac­i­er itself. Expect soli­tude, rugged beau­ty, and a very real sense of adven­ture. The route is typ­i­cal­ly com­plet­ed in 17 to 21 days, depend­ing on weath­er, acclima­ti­za­tion needs, and glac­i­er con­di­tions.

Day 1: Men­doza (746 m / 2,448 ft)
The adven­ture begins in the city of Men­doza. After sort­ing out your per­mit at the Aconcagua Provin­cial Park office and doing some final gear checks, the rest of the day is spent prepar­ing logis­tics, grab­bing fresh food, and mak­ing any last-minute tweaks to your load­out. Men­doza has great energy—sunny, wine-scent­ed air and busy sidewalks—but there’s a qui­et buzz of nerves, too. Tomor­row, the moun­tain calls.

Day 2: Men­doza to Pen­i­tentes (2,580 m / 8,465 ft)
A long dri­ve winds west through the dusty plains and foothills of the Andes. By the time you reach Pen­i­tentes, the moun­tains loom impres­sive­ly. It’s a good place to dou­ble-check equip­ment and hand off gear to the mules who will car­ry loads to Base Camp. The night is usu­al­ly spent in a basic lodge, with moun­tain air already bit­ing cool­er than Men­doza.

Day 3: Pen­i­tentes to Pam­pa de Leñas (2,950 m / 9,678 ft)
After reg­is­ter­ing with park rangers at Hor­cones, the trekking begins. The land­scape is vast, dry, and dra­mat­ic. The trail fol­lows the Relin­chos and Vacas Rivers through dusty val­leys under a blaz­ing sun. By late after­noon, you reach Pam­pa de Leñas—your first camp­site. Mules unload, tents go up, and a group din­ner marks the begin­ning of the real moun­tain life.

Day 4: Pam­pa de Leñas to Casa de Piedra (3,240 m / 10,630 ft)
A longer but rel­a­tive­ly gen­tle hike con­tin­ues deep­er into the Vacas Val­ley. You’ll cross rivers, pass graz­ing gua­na­cos, and catch your first glimpse of Aconcagua’s east­ern face—your objec­tive. It’s hum­bling. At Casa de Piedra, you can see the Pol­ish Glac­i­er shim­mer­ing high above. Excite­ment and a hint of appre­hen­sion kick in.

Day 5: Casa de Piedra to Plaza Argenti­na Base Camp (4,200 m / 13,780 ft)
This day involves a steep gain in alti­tude and effort as you climb up the Relin­chos Val­ley. The trail steep­ens con­sid­er­ably, with loose scree and expo­sure to wind and sun. Even­tu­al­ly, you crest into Plaza Argentina—your base for the com­ing acclima­ti­za­tion peri­od and the base of the Pol­ish Glac­i­er route. The camp is bustling but small­er and qui­eter than Plaza de Mulas on the Nor­mal Route.

Day 6–8: Acclima­ti­za­tion Days at Plaza Argenti­na
These days are crit­i­cal. You’ll take light hikes up sur­round­ing ridges, fer­ry gear to high­er camps, and rest between exer­tions. The air is thin­ner, and headaches, loss of appetite, and fatigue become part of dai­ly life. Every­one feels the ele­va­tion in some way. But the views—of icy faces, blue skies, and swirling clouds—make it all worth­while.

Day 9: Plaza Argenti­na to Camp 1 (5,000 m / 16,404 ft)
You start to climb in earnest. The trail from Base Camp is steep and filled with loose rock, but man­age­able. Camp 1 is on a rocky plat­form with incred­i­ble views back down the val­ley. You’ll like­ly sleep light and lis­ten to the wind whis­tle through your tent guy lines.’

Day 10: Rest or Car­ry to Camp 2 (5,500 m / 18,045 ft)
Depend­ing on your acclima­ti­za­tion, today can be a rest day or a gear-car­ry up to Camp 2, which sits beneath the impos­ing face of the glac­i­er. The goal is to pre­pare your body and mind for the tougher days ahead.

Day 11: Camp 1 to Camp 2
Now you’ve got alti­tude, expo­sure, and fatigue work­ing against you. Every step up to Camp 2 is slow­er, and the wind seems to have more bite. The snow and ice fields come into view as you climb high­er onto the glacier’s flanks.

Day 12: Camp 2 to Camp Col­era (5,970 m / 19,586 ft)
Though some climbers estab­lish a sep­a­rate Pol­ish Glac­i­er high camp, many make the tra­verse across the upper moun­tain to Camp Col­era. This high camp is shared with climbers from the Nor­mal and Tra­verse routes. From here, the glac­i­er route diverges steeply upward. You spend the after­noon prepar­ing ropes, gear, and men­tal­ly review­ing your climb.

Day 13: Sum­mit Day (6,962 m / 22,841 ft)
An alpine start under star­ry skies. The ascent of the Pol­ish Glac­i­er is steep and com­mit­ting. You’ll move as a rope team, nav­i­gat­ing icy slopes and crevass­es. Ice axes, cram­pons, and tech­ni­cal climb­ing skills are essen­tial. It’s bru­tal­ly cold and the air feels razor-thin. Hours pass in slow, grind­ing motion. The final stretch joins the Nor­mal Route near the sum­mit ridge. And final­ly, the summit—a flat, rocky plateau with a met­al cross—comes into view. The world opens beneath you, and it’s utter­ly hum­bling.

Day 14–17: Descent and Return
Most climbers descend via the Nor­mal Route, spend­ing a night at Camp Col­era and then Plaza de Mulas. The descent is faster but equal­ly demand­ing on tired legs and aching backs. From Plaza de Mulas, it’s a long hike to Hor­cones and a return to Pen­i­tentes and Men­doza. Clean clothes, cold drinks, and a real bed await—but so does a new sense of accom­plish­ment. The glac­i­er route takes every­thing you’ve got, and it gives back more than you expect.