Ushuaia

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Introduction

Ushuaia

© All Rights Reserved Aninha

Ushuaia is located in the Argentinian province of Tierra del Fuego and is the world's most southern city. It has about 64,000 inhabitants that live on the edge of the world. And the city has a distinctive end of the world feeling which for most travellers is reason enough to come here. There are however much more things to do and see in and especially around Ushuaia. The city is backed by the Martial Moutains to the north and the famous Beagle Channel to the south. It is also the most popular starting point for trips to Antarctica.

Neighbourhoods

Sights and Activities

Much of the sights and activities are actually located outside Ushuaia and most of them can be done on a daytrip from the city. Note that some of them are not possible from June to September.

• The city itself is worth a nice walk and there are few good museums, like the one about the historical settlement of Ushuaia, including the time it was a prison colony.

Tierra del Fuego, beaver dam

© All Rights Reserved Gitan Jean

• Tierra del Fuego National Park is located west and northwest of Ushuaia, stretching from the Beagle Channel north along the Chilean border. The park is famous for great hiking and the scenery contains waterfalls, mountains, glaciers, forests and lakes. You can also witness some of the park's fauna, like foxes, beavers and guanacos (family of the llama).
• The park can be reached by the Train at the end of the world (Tren el Fin del Mundo), which runs from the outskirts of Ushuaia for about 5 km.
• In winter you can go skiing at the Mount Castor Ski Resort.
• There are daily bus/boat tours to Estancia Harberton, east of the city, where the Bridges family used to live during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Nearby is a museum about the natural history of the region.
• Another popular daytrip is a boat tour on the Beagle Channel, which enables you to see Ushuaia from a distance and to add you can also see numerous aquatic birds, seals and sealions. With some luck, penguins and orca's may be spotted as well!
• Finally, you can go even further away and hop on a cruise to Antarctica or if you haven't got the time or money to the Falkland Islands or Cape Horn.

Seals Beagle Channel

© All Rights Reserved Flav-Greg

Events and Festivals

Weather

Most people don't come to Ushuaia for the climate, although they do hope that the weather will be fine. The best chances for fine weather are in summer, which lasts from November trought March. Daytime temperatures are averaging between 12 and 14 degrees Celsius, while nights are rather chilly with 2 to 5 degrees Celsius. Lucky travellers will experience temperatures of 20 degrees or a bit more, but these days are pretty scarce.
Winters last from May to September when temperatures are between 3 and 7 degrees Celsius during the day and a few degrees below zero at night with sometimes temperatures dropping to -10 degrees although it rarely gets colder.
Precipitation is quite evenly distributed throughout the year with around 40 mm a month, though summers tend to be somewhat wetter compared to winters, when some precipitation comes in the form of snow.

Getting There

By Plane

Most people arrive in Ushuaia by plane at the Ushuaia International Airport. Destinations include Buenos Aires, Punta Arenas and Santiago de Chile, as well as Comodoro Rivadavia, Rio Gallegos and El Calafate.

By Train

By Car

If you have a rental car, you can travel to Ushuaia yourself. Part of the route is unsealed through but in relatively good condition and normally passable by a regular 2wd car.

By Bus

Several cities are connected with Ushuaia by bus. There are daily services with Tecni Austral to Rio Grande (4 hours), except Sunday. They have further connections to Punta Arenas in Chile on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, taking around 11 hours. On weekdays, connections are possible to Rio Gallegos as well (12 hours total).
Lider has 6-8 services a day by minivan to Tolhuin (2,5 hour) and Rio Grande (4 hours).
Transportes Pasarela runs roundtrip shuttle buses to Lago Esmeralda and Lago Escondido, and you can stay overnight (camping) if you let them know.

By Boat

Most of the boat tours are luxurious cruises to Antarctica, the Falklands, South Georgia, Cape Horn or Punta Arenas. Still, it is also possible to get a seat on a chartered boat to Puerto Williams, across the Beagle Channel and on Chilean grounds.

Getting Around

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By Public Transport

By Foot

By Bike

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