Ushuaia is widely promoted as the southernmost city in the world — the place where the Pan-American Highway ends, where mainland South America runs out, and where the next significant landfall southwards is Antarctica. The setting is extraordinary. The city is squeezed between the jagged peaks of the Martial Range and the dark waters of the Beagle Channel, named after the British ship that carried Charles Darwin through these waters in 1833. From its harbour, cruise ships set out for Cape Horn, the islands of Tierra del Fuego, and the Antarctic Peninsula. For travellers reaching this corner of South America by land, Ushuaia represents the natural end of a Patagonian journey — and the start of some of the most rewarding nature trips in Argentina.
Tierra del Fuego National Park
Just outside the city, Tierra del Fuego National Park protects a stretch of sub-Antarctic forest, glacial lakes, and tundra running down to the Beagle Channel. Hiking trails through southern beech forest and along the coast lead to viewpoints over Bahía Lapataia — officially the end of National Route 3, the southernmost road on the continent. The park supports a remarkable cast of wildlife: Andean condors overhead, foxes and beavers (the latter an introduced species that has reshaped the forest), and a long list of seabirds along the shoreline. A short ride on the End of the World Train (Tren del Fin del Mundo) — a narrow-gauge steam railway that once carried prisoners from the old Ushuaia prison to gather timber — takes visitors through the southern edge of the park.
The Beagle Channel
A boat trip along the Beagle Channel is one of the unmissable Ushuaia experiences. The route runs east of the city past rocky islets crowded with South American sea lions, fur seals, and several species of cormorant. The Les Éclaireurs lighthouse — often described, slightly incorrectly, as "the lighthouse at the end of the world" — marks the turnaround point. Penguin colonies on Isla Martillo can also be visited on longer crossings, particularly in the summer breeding months. The channel is the watershed between the Atlantic and Pacific, and the water is genuinely cold even at the height of summer.
The town
Ushuaia itself is a working port town, with a frontier feel rather than a polished one. The main street, Avenida San Martín, is lined with restaurants serving Tierra del Fuego king crab (centolla) and lamb, alongside shops selling Antarctic outerwear and woollens. The Museo Marítimo y del Presidio is housed in the old prison whose inmates effectively built the town, and gives a sharp sense of how recent Ushuaia's history is — the city only began to grow in the late 19th century. The hilltop above town offers some of the best views, particularly at sunset, when the light catches the snow on the Martial peaks and the colourful corrugated-iron rooftops below.
Visiting with Undiscovered Destinations
Ushuaia is visited on Days 13–15 of our 16-day Argentina and Chile Glaciers and Peaks of Patagonia tour, after a journey south from Perito Moreno Glacier and a crossing of the Strait of Magellan. The tour spends time exploring Tierra del Fuego National Park and includes a Beagle Channel boat trip, before the journey concludes in this southernmost city of the world. The tour is priced from £5,690 per person with guaranteed departures from just two travellers and a maximum of 12 in any group. See our Argentina destination page for all available tour options.
