« ARGENTINA • Discover Argentina • Ushuaia

Discover Magical Ushuaia

Tourist attractions near Ushuaia include the Tierra del Fuego National Park and Lapataia Bay. The park can be reached by highway, or via the End of the World Train from Ushuaia. The city has a museum of Yamana, English, and Argentine settlement, including its years as a prison colony. Wildlife attractions include local birds, penguins, seals, and orcas.

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» Beagle Channel

The frigid Beagle Channel provides a watery highway for the world's southernmost city, Ushuaia, en route to the icy Antarctic. The strait separates Argentina's Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego, to the north, from remote Chilean islands like Nueva, Picton and Navarino to the south of the channel. Boat cruises cast off from Ushuaia to visit the lighthouse and islands that are home to penguin and sea lion colonies in the strait. In summer, boats sail across the Channel to Puerto Williams in Chile …

» End of the World Museum

Celebrate your visit to the world's southernmost city by exploring the Museo del Fin del Mundo. The museum focuses on Ushuaia's natural and indigenous history, including a menagerie of stuffed animals and the tools used to hunt them. The collection is displayed in a series of interconnecting rooms, starting off with travelers and ethnography, including mementos of past visitors such as the shipwrecked figurehead of the HMS Duchess of Albany, which came to grief off the coast of Tierra del Fuego in 1893 …

» End of the World Train (Tren del Fin del Mundo)

For the ultimate end of the world adventure, ride the world's southernmost train to the Tierra del Fuego National Park. The one-hour narrow-gauge journey leaves from outside Ushuaia, following the 100-year route of the historic Convict Train. The route crosses the Pip River across a wooden bridge, past the Macarena Waterfall and a reconstruction of a Yamanas Indian campsite. Once inside the national park, the train passes beech forests, peat bogs and reminders of the timber-felling worksites …

» Estancia Harberton

Overlooking the icy waters of the Beagle Channel, Estancia Harberton offers a glimpse into the history and wildlife of Argentina's far-flung Tierra del Fuego. The oldest estancia (farm) in this part of the world, the still-working property dates back to 1887 and was established by English missionary Thomas Bridges. Bridges founded the Anglican Mission at Ushuaia in 1870. Today, the estancia remains in the hands of Bridges' descendants, and it was declared an Argentine National Historical Monument in 1999 …

» Fuegian Andes

The Fuegian Andes, which cross the entire Tierra Del Fuego Archipelago, are the southernmost chain of the Andes Mountains. Although quite small compared to other areas of South America's mountain chain, its tallest peaks still look quite formidable because they rise straight out of the ocean to heights just over 2,500 meters. Lago Escondido and Lago Fagnano are two popular summer destinations in the region, especially for keen sport fishermen as both lakes support tremendous populations of Rainbow and brown trout …

» Garibaldi Pass (Paso Garibaldi)

Garibaldi Pass, located on Tierra del Fuego, is the only paved route across the Fuegian Andes. Surprisingly enough, it's also the highest point on Argentina's Ruta Nacional 3. The views from the summit are stunning; to the north, the massive Lago Fagnano stretches 98 km west, across the Magallanes-Fagnano Fault and into Chile, and to the south, the often-missed Lago Escondido reveals its picture-perfect location surrounded by mountains. The mountain pass also marks an abrupt transition in Tierra Del Fuego's Geography …

» Lago Roca

Completely surrounded by the Guanaco and Piramides Mountain Ranges, both sub ranges of the Andes, Lago Roca is a stunning emerald-green lake protected by Argentina's Tierra Del Fuego National Park. The Lago Roca hostel and campground is the easiest starting point to explore this section of the national park. Fishing is popular on the lake, while several trails lead around the lake and into the surrounding mountains. The Cerro Guanaco Trail is a steep climb to a mountain summit. The views from the top are massive …

» Lake Escondido

Lago Escondido, which translates to Hidden Lake, is surrounded by the Fuegian Andes just north of Ushuaia, Argentina. Many tourists choose to visit on a day-trip from Ushuaia; however, Hosteria Petral provides a lakeside basecamp for anybody interested in taking advantage of its status as a popular sport-fishing destination. Brown and Rainbow trout can be caught in the lake itself, while brook trout are most often landed near stream inlets or around the many beaver dams that surround the lake …

» Lake Fagnano

Lake Fagnano sits directly above the Magallanes-Fagnano Fault, which marks the boundary between the Scotia and South American tectonic plates. The 98km long lake also sits upon the Chile/Argentina border; however, the majority of the lake belongs to Argentina. It's also the largest lake on Tierra del Fuego. Lake Fagnano is surrounded by virgin Patagonian forest but there is still a striking landscape change between the south and north shores. The south is marked by the steep Fuegian Andes, while the northern shore is much gentler …

» Lapataia Bay

Lapataia Bay is where Argentina's RN 3 road ends, a road that is a continuation of the Pan-American Highway, which stretches all the way to Alaska. Roadies are always stopping to pose next to the sign here in Lapataia Bay, and it's worth thinking about how far they've come to get there! According to the sign, the distance between this spot and Alaska is a whopping 11,090 miles (17,848 kilometers). Most visitors don't take the land route to Lapataia Bay, however, and instead fly into Argentina …

» Les Eclaireurs Lighthouse

The Les Eclaireurs Lighthouse marks the dangerous rocks at the entrance to Ushuaia Bay in the Beagle Channel. Locals often wrongfully call this the Lighthouse at the End of the World, which is technically incorrect because the lighthouse Jules Verne made famous in his novel lies further east, but it's oddly accurate, too; it's the last mainland reference most sailors see on their way to Antarctica. Located just five miles from Ushuaia, Les Eclaireurs Lighthouse is a common destination for short tourist sailing trips …

» Martial Glacier

The Martial Glacier sits high above Ushuaia, but it's still only a few kilometers away. It's open year-round, too, but the different seasons do bring about a striking change of scenery. In the summer, the chairlift that runs from the end of Martial Glacier Road to the glacier itself is little more than a sightseer's ticket to the alpine environment, where several hiking trails lead either across the glacier ice or into the nearby mountains. The black gorge trail offers stunning views of the Beagle Channel, while it's also possible to skip the chairlift ride down and slowly descend with panorama-views of Ushuaia …

» Old Prison of Ushuaia

The Old Prison of Ushuaia isn't just a museum. It's four walls hold the history of Ushuaia, as its inmates literally built the city streets and public buildings. It had Tierra del Fuego's first printing press, telephone, and electricity, too. For the most part, its inmates were a surly bunch, made up of serial offenders that Buenos Aires police wanted to ship out and never see again. There were also political prisoners, sent to the end of the world where their ideals would be ignored. But rumors also claim that Carlos Gardel - the most prominent voice in Tango - also spent a stretch in this bleak outpost …

» Penguin Island

Known as Penguin Island, Isla Yecapasela is colonized by cute flocks of Magellanic and gentoo penguins. A working nature reserve, the Yecapasela Reserve was created on the island (also known as Isla Martillo) and surrounding islets by Estancia Harberton in the 1970s. The island was formerly home to the estancia's cattle and sheep, and since their removal in the 1960s the penguin numbers have soared. Sharing the islands with cormorants, the penguin colonies are flourishing in this safe environment …

» Tierra del Fuego National Park

Running north from the Beagle Channel, the Tierra del Fuego National Park offers visitors the chance to follow easy walking trails along scenic rivers and bays. The park's forests of beech are home to coastal birds such as cormorants and albatross. Argentina's only coastal national park protects the southernmost stretch of Andean-Patagonian forest, ideal for hiking, climbing and outdoor water sports. Bring a kayak to sail from remote beaches, and your binoculars to spot otters, beavers, petrels and condors …

» Ushuaia Cruise Port

Founded as a penal colony, Ushuaia is the southernmost town in the world. This rustic town is also the jumping off point for cruising to Antarctica or exploring the Tierra del Fuego ('Land of Fire'). As such, it is a major tourist destination for Argentinians and foreigners alike. Chances are, you will be visiting Ushuaia to explore the surrounding mountains, forests or lakes. Tierra del Fuego National Park, about 10 miles outside of Ushuaia, is one of the largest nature reserves in the world …

» Ushuaia Maritime Museum

The Ushuaia Maritime museum shows off much of Tierra Del Fuego's impressive maritime history with few original artifacts. The majority of the displays include scale models of tall ships and merchant vessels that first plied these waters, maps and charts used by early explorers, including Ferdinand Magellan, Francis Drake, Thomas Cavendish and Oliver van Noort, and the first voyage of the HMS Beagle. Outside, a replica of the San Juan de Salvamento lighthouse stands alongside a decaying example of canoes used by the island's American Indian populations …

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