Ushuaia: What to see in the southernmost city in the world
Ushuaia is the southernmost city in the world, gate to visit the mythical Cape Horn and the white continent of Antarctica, and place to enjoy the national park, the Train of the End of the World, and know more about beginnings of this unique city in the world. Ushuaia is also a great place to enjoy boat navigations along the Beagle Channel and discover sealife and the incredible Les Ecleireurs Lighthouse; or adventure activities like trekkings or trips in kayak and canoes. Or visit any of the typical patagonian estancias and taste the unique Patagonic Lamb. Well, it`s a place full of activities to do and enjoy. It`s a list of some of them:
Tierra del Fuego National Park
Tierra del Fuego National Parks is a very natural place located only 12 Km from the city of Ushuaia. Tierra del Fuego National Park was created in 1960, and with a total of of 69.000 hectares it is the only park in Argentina combining marine, wood and mountain environments with the shape of a marine coast, lakes , lagoons, peatbogs and great forests dominated by lenga, guindo and ñire . These environments form a peculiar scenery with the purest air. The area is great to enjoy different trekkings to enjoy the local flora and the surrounding landscape. There are mammals species such as guanaco, huillín and fuegian foxes which are exclusive in the area. There is a wide variety of birds. Some of them are the black – browed albatrosses; the flying steamer duck; oystercatchers and seagulls. For that, it`s a great place for birdwatching activities. Around forests and its surroundings there are austral parakeets, woodpeckers, thorn-tailed rayadito.
Again, it`s a wonderfu place to enjoy trekking activities. Some of the best circuits and areas are: Zaratiegui Bay, Acigami Lake (also called Lake Roca) and Lapataia Bay. These are the chosen sites by thousands of tourists who visit it year after year. Do not miss “concheros” (shelly deposits) which are the vivid archeological evidence of humans thousands of years ago.
Another great attraction in the park is the Train of the End of the World, the southernmost railroad in the world. You can take a ride to know more about the beginnings of the history in Ushuaia and the national park.
The Train of the End of the World
A great attraction is the called Ferrocarril Austral Fueguino, better known as the Train of the End of the World. This train is combined with the visit to the Tierra del Fuego National Park and it`s the southernmost railway it he world. Let me go back in time, and explain a bit of history first. After forty years without functioning, in 1994 the incredible End of the World Train took again part of the old route that made the prisoners train , which left from the prison of Ushuaia, located in the center of the city, towards the slope of the Susana Mountain with the objective of obtaining different materials, basically wood and stones, for the construction of the same one. The train station is located only eight km from the city of Ushuaia, and our guides and guards will invite you to relive the last seven km of the journey. On board the train you can listen to the history of the prisoners who came daily to cut wood to this area, and enjoy magnificent landscapes, composed of the zigzagging Pipo River, the Macarena waterfall, the tree cemetery and the majestic lenga forest. In this way you will visit an inaccessible part of the Tierra del Fuego National Park, where you will be able to enjoy this experience aboard a vintage railroad, with its steam locomotives and elegant cars that have large windows and an individual audio system, which offers the possibility of listening to history in seven different languages, in order not only to appreciate the nature that surrounds you, but also to know a very important part of the history of Ushuaia.
The Beagle Channel
Another great attraction in the area is the mythical Beagle Channel. It`s a strait in Tierra del Fuego Archipelago, and separates the larger main island of Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego from various smaller islands including the islands of Picton, Lennox and Nueva; Navarino; Hoste; Londonderry; and Stewart. The channel’s eastern area forms part of the border between Chile and Argentina and the western area is entirely within Chile. There are many boat navigations to enjoy the Beagle Channel and the attractions you can find during the navigation. Some of them are the Bird`s Island, the Sea Lion`s Island, Les Eclaireurs Lighthouse and the penguin colony of Martillo Island. There are many options, with one of them you can disembark and walk among penguins, or arrive to the islands in canoes. Some options include the visit to a typical estancia in the area called Harberton, where you can enjoy a typical lunch and know more about the beginnins of the history in Ushuaia.
Fagnano and Escondido Lakes
There are some great excursions to the heart of the island of Tierra del Fuego. We start our drive along the route nacional number 3, that starts in Buenos Aires and cross several provices including Buenos Aires, Río Negro, Chubut , Santa Cruz and Tierra del Fuego to end in Bahia Lapataia in the Tierra del Fuego National Park after 3.045 km. We arrive to the Garibaldi Pass, one of the most interesting points on the tour, great to take unique photos. The Garibaldi Pass is a highlight in this visit, standing at 450 meters above sea level. At this point, we traveled along 60 kilometers when Lake Escondido surprised us in the middle of the mountain range and at the foot of the Garibaldi. You will enjoy the beauty of this water body and the surrounding landscape. Then, we continue to the west, enjoying the unique flora and very pure air of the area, until arrive to the Fagnano Lake. This lake, with 100 kilometers of length, is the largest lake in Tierra del Fuego. It is also an excellent spot for fly fishing and great place to enoy nature.
There are some great activities to visit the area in 4WD vehicles, lile the Lakes Off Road. Take a look to our activities available for more information. During the trip, a stop is made in the valley of Tierra Mayor, to enjoy a unique Patagonian Lamb.
Trekking to Laguna Esmeralda
For trekking lovers, Ushuaia and Tierra del Fuego offers many options. One of them is the trekking to the Esmeralda Lagoon (Trekking to Laguna Esmeralda). It`s a 5 to 6 hour trekking, with moderated difficulty. To arrive, you have to take the national route 3 towards north, to move away from the Beagle Channel and discover one of the main valleys of the island. Once there we begin the walk through a peat area until we reach a forest of lenga trees, up a stream that leads us to the Esmeralda lagoon, nestled between mountains. It`s a unique lanscape and a great experience.
Museo Maritimo y del Presidio (The Prision)
In the city, there is a must-see place, because it`s linked to the beginnings of the city. It`s the visit to the Museo Maritimo y del Presidio de Ushuaia. The Maritime Museum of Ushuaia is located in the building of the former Prison of Ushuaia. The building of the prison, which was closed down in 1947, was declared a National Historic Monument by the National Congress in April 1997. Nowadays, the Argentine Navy and the Maritime Museum of Ushuaia are recovering its facilities for visitors. You will find there, a collection of photos, and elements of the ships that navigated the area and also about the activity made by the aborigins that lived in the area.
The Museo of the Prison of Ushuaia, or Museo del Presidio de Ushuaia is in the same building so you can make the visit too. The most dangerous convicted the country lost its name a number. Through the gates of the Historic Pavilion it is to step back in time. Some achieved great notoriety as the serial killer Mateo Banks who was called “the mystic”, Cayetano Santos Godino sadly known as “petiso orejudo (big-eared shorty)” and anarchist Simon Radowitsky.
Indoors, severe discipline imposed. Those who had good behavior work performed outside the building as logging in forests to arriving on the train from the city center. Through workshops, prisoners covered all the needs of the emerging city. They built the roads, bridges and public buildings and in the prison ran the first printing press, the telephone, electricity, among other essential services.
Cruises to Cape Horn and southern fjords and glaciers
Ushuaia is located in the shores of the Beagle Channel, and it`s the gate to visit the amazing southern fjords in Patagonia. There are great cruises departing from Ushuaia every week visiting this remote and incredible places in the planet. The Australis Cruises departing from Ushuaia make several stops including places sush as Wulaia Bay, the mythical Cape Horn, Pia and Garibaldi Glaciers, Agostini Sound, Glacier Aguila and Glacier Condor, the penguin Colony of Magdalena Island, and more. It`s an amazing experience, and it`s useful to connect Argentina and Chile. You can arrive to Ushuaia and take the Australis Cruise to arrive to Punta Arenas and continue visiting for example Torres del Paine National Park. Take a look to our tour section to see many options of tours including the Australis Cruise.
Cape Horn, called Cabo de Hornos in spanish, is the southernmost headland of the Tierra del Fuego archipelago of southern Chile, and is located on the small Hornos Island. Although not the most southerly point of South America (which are the Diego Ramírez Islands), Cape Horn marks the northern boundary of the Drake Passage and marks where the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans meet. A great disembarkation is included during your trip aboard the Australis Cruise, and it`s no doubt, an unforgettable experience.
Cruises to Antarctica
And of course, Ushuaia is also the gate to the incredible white continent of Antactica. There are many cruises departing from Ushuaia to Antarctica every year, from November/December to February. These are 10 to 12 day cruises, some of them including disembarkations and also camping activities in the ice. Take a look to our cruises area to check cruises available to visit the incredible Antarctica.
