Ushuaia
The southernmost city in the world, wedged between the last peaks of the Andes and the Beagle Channel: at the end of route 3, the 'fin del mundo' sign isn't a marketing line, it's geography.
Suggested stay — 3 nights
Ushuaia has to be earned: after the Strait of Magellan by ferry and a double crossing of the Chilean border (Tierra del Fuego is shared between the two countries), route 3 literally ends in Tierra del Fuego national park, at Lapataia Bay — 3,079 km from Buenos Aires, says the sign. The park unrolls peat bogs, wind-beaten lenga forests and coastal trails facing the Chilean mountains; the Senda Costera, 8 km along the Beagle, is the finest introduction to the end of the world.
From the port, cruises on the Beagle Channel pass sea lions, Magellanic cormorants and the Les Éclaireurs lighthouse — the 'lighthouse at the end of the world' of the popular imagination, if not of Verne's novel. On foot, Laguna Esmeralda (9 km return through the peat bogs, mud guaranteed, turquoise lagoon as reward) and the Martial glacier round out the stay; at the table, centolla, the Beagle's royal king crab, single-handedly justifies the town's gastronomic reputation.
Don't miss
- Tierra del Fuego national park and the Senda Costera to Lapataia Bay
- A cruise on the Beagle Channel out to the Les Éclaireurs lighthouse
- Laguna Esmeralda, muddy and turquoise, the best day hike
- A centolla by the port at day's end, when the boats come in
Our tips on the ground
- If you arrive by road from the mainland, prepare the double border crossing: nothing fresh (fruit, meat, honey) gets through the Chilean side, and the rental car needs written authorisation to leave the country — request it weeks ahead.
- Laguna Esmeralda is done in waterproof boots or paid for in soaked socks: the peat bogs show no mercy to city trainers, even in fine weather.
- Book the centolla table and the Beagle cruises on arrival: in January-February the Antarctic cruise ships disgorge their passengers and everything sells out within hours.
Our flagship guide — €29
Guide available“Argentina Self-Drive”, the complete edition, is out
10 chapters: day-by-day itineraries, driving and transport, a costed budget and checklists — the same method as our Namibia guide.
The guide is currently written in French — an English edition is in the works.
Before you go
Readers' questions about Ushuaia
Should you reach Ushuaia by car or by plane?
By plane, for most trips: the road from El Calafate means two long days, a ferry and four border posts, for scenery that is real but austere. Daily flights from Buenos Aires and El Calafate are affordable, and you rent another car locally for the national park and surroundings. The road version is for those who love the journey for the journey's sake.
Which season for Ushuaia?
November to March for the 17-hour days, clear trails and regular sailings; March-April adds the red and gold of the lengas, an underrated spectacle. The austral winter (June-September) turns the town into a ski resort (Cerro Castor, a reliable season) — a different trip, magnificent too, but one that doesn't combine with trekking Patagonia.