Things to do in Tierra Del Fuego
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Kaupé
For an out-of-body seafood experience, head to this candlelit house. Chef Ernesto Vivian employs the freshest of everything and service is nothing less than impeccable. We can’t leak our faves, since the chef protests that customers always repeat the order! Service is attentive, the wine list extensive and the views of the bay, well, we doubt you’ll bother to notice them. Reservations advised.
reviewed
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Compañía de Guías de Patagonia
Full-day treks with climbing and ice-hiking on Glaciar Vinciguerra (AR$175) and two-day high-mountain treks to Cerro Alvear (AR$520) with glacier camping.
reviewed
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La Nueva Colonial
Enough reason to delay your departure, chef Cesar’s outstanding pastas (we recommend the sorrentinos with pesto) are divine creations, served up with fresh foccacia bread and a bottle of red. And if you don’t like it, it’s free (but a hard argument to make). He also prepares massive pepper steaks, salads and generous-sized desserts.
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Chez Manu
If you are headed to Glaciar Martial, don’t miss this gem on the way. Chef Emmanuel puts a French touch on fresh local ingredients such as Fuegian lamb or mixed plates of cold fruits de mer. The three-course set lunch is the best deal. Views are a welcome bonus. It’s 2km from town.
reviewed
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Museo de la Ciudad
In a restored galpón (sheepshearing shed), the Museo de la Ciudad has impressive exhibits, from logging to military displays, postal communications to cartography, indigenous artifacts to yet another milodón, an extinct giant sloth.
reviewed
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La Rueda
Good tenedor libre (all-you-can-eat buffet) offers a variety of salads alongside tasty parrillada grilled over coals in the window. Ordering a drink is mandatory with the buffet, which includes dessert.
reviewed
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El Rincón de Julio
Dive into this ambient wood shack with seven tables for the best parilla in town. It’s in front of the YPF service station.
reviewed
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Fishing
You know a place takes fishing seriously when the tourism board posts a trout map online. Hollywood stars, heads of state and former US presidents all flock to the desolate stretch of the island around Río Grande in search of the perfect day of angling. Usually they are in luck.
In 1933 pioneer John Goodall stocked the rivers around Río Grande with brown, rainbow and brook trout. Fish populated the rivers and, like the region's sheep stations, the sport-fishing industry took off. European brown trout ventured out to sea, returning to these rivers to spawn. Over the decades this back-and-forth migration has fostered one of the world's best sea-run trout-fishing areas, wit…
reviewed
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Ushuaia To Santiago
23 days (ex Ushuaia)
by Intrepid
Travel to Tierra del Fuego to spot sea lions, Visit Ushuaia, the world's southernmost city, Hike through stunning Torres del Paine National Park, Watch the crea…Not LP reviewed
from USD$1,495 -
Parque Nacional Tierra del Fuego
West of Ushuaia by 12km, Parque Nacional Tierra del Fuego, Argentina’s first coastal national park, extends 630 sq km from the Beagle Channel in the south to beyond Lago Fagnano (also known as Lago Kami) in the north. However, only a couple of thousand hectares along the southern edge of the park are open to the public, with a miniscule system of short, easy trails that are designed more for day-tripping families than backpacking trekkers. The rest of the park is protected as a reserva estricta (strictly off-limits zone). Despite this, a few scenic hikes along the bays and rivers, or through dense native forests of evergreen coihue, canelo and deciduous lenga, are worth…
reviewed
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Museo Marítimo & Museo del Presidio
When convicts were moved from Isla de los Estados (Staten Island) to Ushuaia in 1906, they began building the national prison, which was finished in 1920. The spokelike halls of single cells were designed to house 380, but in the prison’s most active period held up to 800. It closed as a jail in 1947 and now houses the Museo Marítimo & Museo del Presidio. It’s a fine port of call on a blustery day. Halls showing penal life are intriguing, but the informative plaques are only in Spanish. Two of the more illustrious inmates were author Ricardo Rojasand and Russian anarchist Simón Radowitzky.
reviewed
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Senda Costera
This 8km (four-hour) trek leads west from Bahía Ensenada along the coastline. Keep an eye out for old middens (archaeologically important mounds of shells left by Yaghan inhabitants), now covered in grass. The trail meets RN 3 a short way east of the park administration (guardería) center at Lapataia. From here it is 1.2km further to Senda Hito XXIV.
It might be tempting to roll up the cuffs and go clamming, but be aware that occasional red tides (marea roja) contaminate mollusks (such as clams and mussels) along the shore of the Beagle Channel.
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El Tren del Fin de Mundo
The most touristy and, beyond jogging, the slowest way to the park, El Tren del Fin de Mundo originally carted prisoners to work camps. It departs (sans convicts) from the Estación del Fin de Mundo, 8km west of Ushuaia (taxis AR$30 one way), three or four times daily in summer and once or twice daily in winter. The one-hour, scenic narrow-gauge train ride comes with historical explanations in English and Spanish. Reserve in January and February, when cruise-ship tours take over. If you are not a train fanatic, take it one way and return via minibus.
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Senda Hito XXIV
From Camping Lago Roca, a flat 10km (four-hour) round-trip trek leads around Lago Roca's forested northeast shore to Hito XXIV - that number is veinticuatro in Spanish - the boundary post that marks the Argentina-Chile frontier. It is illegal to cross the frontier, which is patrolled regularly.
From the same trailhead you can reach Cerro Guanaco (973m) via the steep and difficult 8km trail of the same name; it's a long uphill haul but the views are excellent.
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Club Andino Ushuaia
The Club Andino Ushuaia sells a map and bilingual trekking, mountaineering and mountain-biking guidebook with rough maps and plenty of trail description. The club occasionally organizes hikes and can recommend hiking guides. Unguided trekkers are strongly encouraged to register with the club or the tourist office before heading out – and check in after a safe return. In an emergency, contact the Civil Guard ([tel] 103, 22108).
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Senda Pampa Alta
The low heights of Pampa Alta (around 315m) grant long views across the Beagle Channel to Isla Navarino and Isla Hoste. RN 3 meets the trailhead 1.5km west of the Río Pipo and Bahía Ensenada road turn-offs (3km from the entrance gate). The 5km round-trip trail first climbs a hill, passing a beaver dam along the way. Enjoy the impressive views at the lookout. A quick 300m further leads to a trail paralleling the Río Pipo and some waterfalls.
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Short Walks
After running 3242km from Buenos Aires, RN 3 reaches its terminus at on the shores of Bahía Lapataia. From here, trails Mirador Lapataia (500m), with excellent views, and Senda Del Turbal (400m) lead through winding lenga forest further into the bay. Other short walks include the self-guided nature trail Senda Laguna Negra (950m), through peat bogs, and the Senda Castorera (400m), showcasing massive beaver dams, now abandoned, on a few small ponds.
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Glaciar Martial
A good hike from downtown leads up to Glaciar Martial, where you can enjoy views of Ushuaia and the Beagle Channel; in fact, the views are possibly more impressive than the actual glacier. Catch a taxi up the hill or, if you're up for an all-day hike, follow San Martín west and keep ascending as it zigzags (there are many hiker shortcuts) to the ski run. At this point, either take the Aerosilla chairlift or walk another two hours into town.
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Estancia María Behety
Much of Tierra del Fuego was once the sprawling backyard of wool baron José Menéndez. His second and most-treasured venture was La Segunda Argentina, totaling 1500 sq km. Later renamed Estancia María Behety after his wife, it’s still a working ranch, 17km west of Río Grande via RC-c. Besides boasting the world’s largest shearing shed, it is considered a highly exclusive lodge, catering mainly to tour groups and elite anglers.
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Parque Nacional del Tierra del Fuego
Extending 63,000 hectares (155,676 acres) from the Beagle Channel in the south to beyond Lago Fagnano/Kami in the north, only a couple of thousand hectares of this park are open to the public: a miniscule system of short, easy trails along the rivers or through dense native forests. Plenty of birdlife graces the park, especially along the coastal zone. Keep an eye out for albatross, terns, oystercatchers and orange-billed steamer ducks.
reviewed
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Museo del Fin del Mundo
Built in 1903 for the territorial governor Manuel Fernández Valdés, this building was a branch of the Banco de la Nación up until 1978 when it was transformed into the Museo del Fin del Mundo. Exhibits on Fuegian natural history, stuffed bird life, aboriginal life and the early penal colonies, and replicas of an early general store and bank, are of moderate interest.
reviewed
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Mundo Yamaná
More an experience than museum, the modest Mundo Yamaná explores Fueguinos’ attempts to bring the Yaghan (Yamaná) culture to life. Some of the expertly detailed dioramas (details in English and Spanish) are based on accessible bays and inlets of the Parque Nacional Tierra del Fuego; coming here before hiking in the park will give you new bearings.
reviewed
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Santiago To Ushuaia
23 days (ex Santiago)
by Intrepid
Discover the spirit of cosmopolitan Santiago, Travel through the heart of Chile's wine country, Enjoy action-packed fun in Pucon, Camp in the wilds of the Chile…Not LP reviewed
from USD$1,495 -
Ushuaia To Cuzco
54 days (ex Ushuaia)
by Intrepid
Trek through Argentina and Chile's glacial scenery, Admire the crystal waters of Lake Titicaca, Tantalise the tastebuds at an Argentine barbecue, Wander through…Not LP reviewed
from USD$3,375 -
Shackleton Odyssey
20 days (Ushuaia)
A voyage to South Georgia and the Antarctic Peninsula with an optional alpine crossing of South Georgia.
Not LP reviewed
from USD$10,500
