Ushuaia is considered the southernmost city in the world, capital of Tierra del Fuego. Founded in 1884, it was for a long time a penal colony and then a naval base. In the 20th century, tourism in particular allowed the city to grow to over 67,000 inhabitants in 2015. It is especially a good base for visiting the surrounding area.

01. The penitentiary

The penitentiary was in operation from 1896 to 1947 and housed both murderers and political prisoners. Their labour, more or less forced, was used to build the city and the infrastructure of Tierra del Fuego. Today, the 380 cells present a variety of exhibits, some of them are preserved in the state in which they were last occupied.

02. Lighthouse of the End Of The World

In one of the courtyards of the penitentiary open to visitors, there is also the first Lighthouse of the End Of The World (1884) rebuilt from its remains, around which Jules Verne imagined a whole novel. The real lighthouse is 285 kilometres, 177 miles, from Ushuaia and also serves as a refuge in case of shipwreck with a supply of food and wood, while waiting for help.

03. Monument to ancient peoples and pioneers

Indigenous people and isolated pioneers often experienced hard times, to which the monument pays tribute. The wings of the gull recall the shape of the primitive huts. The fate of the original populations, the Yámanas of the coast and the Selknams of the interior, was tragic; they were decimated by contagious diseases at the end of the 19th century.

04. Church of Mercy

Its tall yellow steeple catches the eye when looking out over the harbour area. The church was built by convicts, as were many of the early buildings in Ushuaia. The church is at the centre of a complex occupying the whole block. The parish has always accompanied the inhabitants in their daily life, for example with the school.

05. Corrugated iron houses

In the early days of Ushuaia, the houses were built of wood, covered with corrugated iron, roof and facades. In the first streets parallel to the shore, pioneer houses can still be found, often painted in bright colours. This blue house celebrates the arrival of the first inhabitant, Augusto Lasserre, in 1884.

06. Parque Nacional Tierra del Fuego

The park was created in 1960 to protect a large part of Tierra del Fuego, shared with Chile. The park covers 63,000 hectares of which 2,000 are accessible to the public, with several hundred thousand visitors coming each year. It is where the Pan-American Highway ends, started 25,000 kilometres, 15,000 miles further north.

07. Cruise to Antarctica

Antarctica is becoming an increasingly popular destination. The cruise can either be part of a South American tour with Ushuaia as one of the stops, or the ships leave directly from Ushuaia. It may be worthwhile to come to Ushuaia and wait for a last minute offer from the agencies.

08. Excursion to the Beagle Channel

There are several companies competing for the market of excursions on the Beagle Channel, the narrow passage between the two oceans. The main interest is to observe several colonies of animals like the Imperial Cormorant, the Sea Lion and of course the penguins. The latter are further away, not all boats visit them, and their presence is seasonal (more).

09. Isla Martillo

The only penguin colony near Ushuaia is located on this island. Every year, several thousand pairs gather here. The number of visits is deliberately limited. In order not to disturb the penguins on their nesting grounds, land visits are limited to four groups of twenty people per day, strictly without any interaction (more).

10. Estancia Harberton

The estancia was established by the Anglican missionary Thomas Bridges in 1886, who was then leading a mission to the remaining indigenous Yamanas, who had been cruelly decimated by European contact. In gratitude, Argentina offered him the 20,000 hectares that make up the estate. It is still occupied by the descendants of Thomas Bridges (more).

Travel to Argentina

Argentina is the eighth largest country in the world, so there is plenty of space for the traveller. Inevitably size brings diversity, from the Atlantic coast to the peaks of the Andes, from the tropical heatwaves of the north to the polar chills of Tierra del Fuego.

Buenos Aires: Top 10

BA in a shorter form, a city of 48 districts. The city has a distinctly European feel to it, in its architecture and cultural references. However, there is an exoticism brought by the distance, where everything had to be adapted and reinterpreted.

Soho, Buenos Aires’ chic quarter

Soho is the neighbourhood for strolling, shopping and drinking. Many foreign residents have settled here for varying lengths of time, creating a cosmopolitan atmosphere where travellers can easily find their place.

San Antonio de Areco

About 110 kilometres, 70 miles, northwest of Buenos Aires. This small, ancient and prosperous town of 23,000 inhabitants is renowned for having preserved its ancestral rural traditions, particularly those of the Gauchos, the cowboys of the Pampa plains.

Ushuaia : Top 10

The southernmost city in the world, capital of Tierra del Fuego. Founded in 1884, it was for a long time a penal colony and then a naval base. With the development of tourosme, it is above all a good base for visiting the surrounding area.

Parque Nacional Tierra del Fuego

Tierra del Fuego is an archipelago at the southernmost tip of South America, the Parque Nacional Tierra del Fuego protects the southernmost tip of Argentina.

Estancia Harberton

This was the first estancia to be established in Tierra del Fuego on the Argentine side, created by the Anglican missionary Thomas Bridges. The house was sent from England in pieces and assembled on site.

Meeting with the penguins of Tierra del Fuego

Near Ushuaia, thousands of pairs of penguins meet each summer for breeding before heading off to warmer waters to feed during the Austral winter. Several species live together in the same breeding area.