Ushuaia

Billed as the world's southernmost city, with penguins and sea lions in the Beagle Channel; also the departure port for Antarctic cruises.

Ushuaia is the capital of Argentina's Tierra del Fuego Province, at about 54.8°S, and is often called the 'City at the End of the World.' Built at the foot of the Martial Mountains and facing the Beagle Channel, it is the departure port for most of the world's Antarctic cruises. There are four areas to explore. First, the town itself, with the Maritime and Prison Museum, the End of the World Museum and the Yámana Museum, plus the 'End of the World' sign at the harbor, postcards to mail and king crab to eat. Second, Beagle Channel cruises, to Les Éclaireurs Lighthouse, Sea Lion Island and Cormorant Island, with full-day routes going to Martillo Island to see penguins and visit Estancia Harberton. Third, Tierra del Fuego National Park, about 12 km to the west, which you can enter on the End of the World Train, reach Lapataia Bay at the end of Route 3, or explore on the coastal trail. Fourth, hikes and mountains nearby, such as Martial Glacier, Laguna Esmeralda and Laguna de los Témpanos, with day trips to Lago Escondido and Lago Fagnano to the northeast. Seasons: November–March is summer, with days of well over ten hours and temperatures of 5–15°C, suited to cruises and hiking; penguins are on the island from about October to March. June–September is winter, with skiing and dog sledding but short daylight. It is windy and changeable all year, with rain or snow possible at any time, so bring a windproof, waterproof jacket. Getting there: Ushuaia International Airport is about 10 minutes from the city center, with flights to Buenos Aires (about 3.5 hours) and El Calafate. The town is walkable; to reach attractions, use minibuses, taxis or tours. Recommended stay: 3–4 days; if you're going to Antarctica, leave a buffer day before and after the cruise. Penguin landing spots and peak-season last-minute Antarctic cabins should be booked early.

Top sights

• Beagle Channel – A strait named after HMS Beagle, the ship that carried Darwin. Boat trips pass Sea Lion Island, Cormorant Island and the red-and-white 'Lig…
• Tierra del Fuego National Park – Argentina's southernmost national park, where Route 3 ends at Lapataia Bay. Lakes, peat bogs, bays and snowy peaks come together here, earn…
• Isla Martillo Penguin Colony – A penguin island in the Beagle Channel where thousands of Magellanic and gentoo penguins breed, one of the few places in South America wher…
• Maritime and Prison Museum – Converted from a radial stone prison completed in 1920, with its original cells preserved. The museum tells the stories of prisoners, polar…
• Laguna Esmeralda – Ushuaia's most popular half-day hike, crossing forest and peat bog to an emerald lake at the foot of a glacier, about 4.5 km one way.
• Ushuaia – Known as the “city at the end of the world,” the southernmost city, backed by snowy mountains and facing the Beagle Channel, and the cruise…
• End of the World Train – A narrow-gauge steam train following the railway once used by convicts to haul timber, running from the western station into Tierra del Fue…
• Martial Glacier – A cirque glacier on Martial Mountain behind the city. From the foot of the mountain it takes 1.5 to 2 hours to reach the glacier, with view…
• Estancia Harberton – The first sheep estancia in Tierra del Fuego, founded in 1886, with the descendants' wooden houses, a sheep-shearing shed and a marine mamm…
• Les Eclaireurs Lighthouse – A red-and-white striped lighthouse on a small rocky island in the Beagle Channel, known as the “lighthouse at the end of the world” and Ush…
• End of the World Museum – A small museum in an old seaside bank building, displaying Tierra del Fuego's Indigenous peoples, early settlers, shipwreck figureheads and…
• Lapataia Bay (End of Route 3) – A bay inside Tierra del Fuego National Park where Argentina's Route 3 ends, with a road sign reading “17,848 km to Alaska.”
• Cerro Castor Ski Resort – One of the world's southernmost ski resorts, with a long snow season, good snow quality, and chairlift views of glaciers and valleys.
• Lago Escondido – A forest lake seen from the Garibaldi Pass on Route 3, and a classic stop on the Ushuaia Lake District day tour.
• Laguna de los Témpanos & Vinciguerra Glacier – A demanding day hike north of Ushuaia that crosses forest and peat bog to a high mountain lake where ice floes drift beneath a glacier.
• Yámana Museum – A small museum on the Yámana, the Indigenous people of Tierra del Fuego, where models and pictures show how they fished from canoes along t…
• Puerto Almanza – A small fishing village on the Beagle Channel known for freshly caught king crab and mussels, with Chile's Navarino Island just across the…
• Tierra Mayor Valley – A glacial valley near Cerro Castor offering dog-sled rides, snowshoeing and cross-country skiing in winter, and horseback riding in summer.
• Lago Fagnano – Tierra del Fuego's largest lake, about 100 km long and spanning Argentina and Chile, with Tolhuin, a small town on its east shore, as the t…

Where to eat

• Kalma Restó – A small restaurant founded in 2009 by Chef Jorge Monopoli, focusing on "environmental cuisine" using Fuegian ingredient…
• El Viejo Marino – A simple, no-frills king crab spot by the port, run by a fisherman family with crabs taken fresh from the tank; long li…
• Kaupé – A family-run seafood restaurant on the hillside overlooking Ushuaia Bay, specializing in king crab, Patagonian toothfis…
• Bodegón Fueguino – An affordable tavern on San Martín Avenue specializing in lamb served with various sauces; considered budget-friendly f…

Itineraries

• Classic Argentina: Waterfalls, Glaciers & the End of the World – Connect Buenos Aires, Iguazu, the glaciers, Fitz Roy, and Ushuaia using domestic flights.
• Tierra del Fuego, Glaciers & Torres del Paine Cross-Border Route – From Ushuaia through El Calafate to Torres del Paine, linking the three most classic sections of Southern Patagonia.