I’ve been in Ushuaia for three full days and the surrounding environment is breathtaking. The city is build around the Bay of Ushuaia and opens up to the Beagle Canal. At the other side the city is enclosed in beautiful mountain ranges. It is the capital of the Tierra del Fuego region and claims to be the most southern city in the world.
Ushuaia started as a very remote location for a prison for criminals and political prisoners. This prison was known for its very harsh treatment of the inmates and was closed down in 1947. One of the attractions is the rebuild railroad that was used to supply wood to the prison and the citizens of Ushuaia.
We stayed in Ushuaia for three full days to see the area and enjoy the landscape.
Day 1: Walking up to the Glacier Martial
The first full day in Ushuaia we’ve decided to start exploring the area with a walking route up the mountain to the Glacier Martial. This started with a route through the city to the road leading up the mountain. From there we could leave the road for a walking trail that followed river Gorge. This trail lead through the woods around Ushuaia and was filled with felled trees by glacier movement. The meltwater had cut a very deep trail through the rocks with lots of pretty waterfalls. The path was filled with dead trees, dead wood and going up the mountain pretty steep terrain. The path was really fun to traverse and the peaceful views of the waterfalls was really serene. Luckily the more difficult parts were prepared with wooden steps and a very pretty bridge dedicated to the sportsman Juan Carlos Salgado.
After the path we landed on the skiing area of Ushuaia. But since it is summer there was no snow and so no piste. Even the sun started shining, and it was actually getting pretty hot up on the mountain. We ordered a well-deserved coffee and after resting a bit we climbed the ski-slope. The road was steep before but here it really started to climb. We were at about 400 meter height and the view behind us was getting better by the minute. And we encountered the first patch of permanent snow. Still pretty far from the actual glacier we stood before a fork in the road. Going the easy or the hard route up the mountain. We decided to go up on the hard path and then return on the easier path. We soon went above the tree-line and were walking through a very pretty landscape filled with ice-patches, streams of meltwater and rocky ground. But we realised we’ve made a huge mistake. The harder path wasn’t just a bit more difficult, it went straight up with loose rocks. The climb was very hard, and we needed to take several breaks to catch our breath. But eventually we reached the viewpoint and the scenery was breathtaking. You could see all the way over Ushuaia, the bay and the Beagle Canal.
We walked back down using the easy route… this was still quite a walk with a fierce sun burning on our head. Our legs were pudding and after a quick stop at the ski-area for coffee and something to eat we took a cab down. We had pizza left-over from the day before and ate that while chilling in the hotel lounge with a view over the bay. Some well deserved rest.
Day 2: Train Del Fin Del Mondo and the Beagle Canal
The old prisoner train in Ushuaia is world-famous as the most southern railway in the world. It starts a bit outside Ushuaia and ends after about 7km in the National Park of the Del Fuego area. The train-ride is very touristy but the area it drives through is very pretty. Wide inhospitable landscapes with wild horses. During the train-ride they present the history of the prison area. It was clearly a hell on earth for the inmates, luckily it was closed in 1947.
For lack of time we turned around at the end of the train ride and turned back to the station. We needed to be on-time for the boarding of the Beagle Canal Tour. The Beagle Canal is the river between Argentina and Chili passing by Ushuaia. This canal ends in the ocean where the Pacific- and the Atlantic Ocean meet. The tour is a boat-trip on a catamaran through the Beagle Canal with a short stop at islands where birds, sea-lions and penguins live.
From the canal there is a great view of the mountains around the canal on both the Argentina and Chili side. This tour was the first place I’ve encountered real penguins. Staying on the deck while flying through the canal was a great adventure. Seeing the scenery fly by while having wind blowing all around you was very cool.
Day 3: Laguna Margot and meeting the group
The journey to Antarctica will be with a group of fellow travelers from Belgium and the Netherlands and a travel guide. For the last day in Ushuaia before boarding for Antarctica we met with a part of the group and set out for a walk to Laguna Margot. This is glacier lake a bit up the mountains. We met up in the city center and took a bus to the start of the route. From there we had a hike through forest and wide glacier fields until we reached the lake. There was a very clear and nicely flowing glacier stream that we followed until we reached the lake. The lake in between all the mountains was a great sight. The water was very clear and calm. If the water didn’t come from recently melted ice it would have been fantastic to jump in and swim for a bit.
We walked back and after a bit of a break we met up with the rest of the group for a nice dinner to meet everyone. Only one more night of sleep before the great journey to Antarctica begins. From our hotel we’ve had a great view on the docks, but we haven’t been able to spot our boat yet…