Ushuaia

Fin del Mundo

Ushuaia, the southernmost city

The city of Ushuaia is at the tip of South America on the south coast of Isla Grande, the largest island of the Tierra del Fuego archipelago in Patagonia.

Isla Grande, half of which belongs to Chile, is separated from the rest of the continent by the Strait of Magellan. Ushuaia’s isolation is reinforced by the barriers of the Andes inland, and the ocean stretching to Antarctica.

All that isolation, however, is part of the appeal. Surrounded by raw nature, whipped by winds from the South Pole, you can feel the fragility, and wonder of life in a place that will stay always in your memory.

Activities

My favorite hikes

Parque Nacional Tierra Del Fuego

Tierra del Fuego National Park was created in 1960 and has a surface of 68.909 hectares of Patagonian forests. Located at 12 kilometers west of Ushuaia, it is the only national park in Argentina with a coastline. Inside the park you can hike multiple trails that vary in length and difficulty. The HITO XXIV Trail takes you close to the border with Chile. The park also has visitors center, restaurant and a gift shop.

Distance

Routes between 0.5 km and 8 km

Elevation gain

Varies between (almost) flat to 960 meters depending on the route

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Glaciar Vinciguerra

The trip starts at a gate located at the bottom of the Andorra Valley, about 8 kilometers from the center of Ushuaia. You have to go through a large peat bog, and walk along the left bank of a stream called Arroyo Grande. Once you cross the bridge you will enter the forest, where the path starts to ascend. When you reach the end of the forest, you will see the last stretch of the trail: a rocky slope that leads to the Laguna de los Témpanos.

Distance

12 km round trip

Elevation gain

630 meters

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Laguna Esmeralda

At the start of the trail the dominant vegetation is the lenga forest, a native tree of the area. Walk through a sector with foliage and peat bogs, until you reach a high mountain environment, around 600 meters above sea level. Once you reach the lagoon, appreciate the majestic environment of forest and snow-capped peaks that surround it. The greenish color of its waters is due to the sediment coming from the Ojo del Albino Glacier.