Tierra del Fuego's main town is Ushuaia, the southernmost city in the world. Originally used as a penal colony from 1902-1947, travelers now use the city as a jumping-off point for trips to Antarctica or sailing trips around the Cape Horn.
Situated on the Beagle Channel and surrounded by the Martial Mountains, this city offers a unique landscape of mountains, sea, glaciers and woods. Colorful man-made structures are picturesque against the silhouette of the Andes.
In winter, when snow changes the landscape of Ushuaia and temperatures drop to 1ºC/34 ºF, there are several winter sports centers.
Summer, when the temperature reaches 13ºC/56ºF, is ideal for adventure tourism activities such as hiking, horseback riding, biking and sport fishing.
The Maritime Museum in Ushuaia features scale models of famous ships such as Darwin's Beagle and Amundsen's Fram. The museum is housed in the infamous former military prison.
Address: Museo Maritimo, Yaganes y Gobernador Paz (Ex Presidio), Ushuaia, Tierra del Fuego 9410, Argentina
Hours:
April 1 to September 30: 10am-8pm
October 1 to March 31: 9am-8pm
Always closed on: New Year's Day (January 1), Christmas - Christian (December 25)
Tips: Prices are reduced for nationals and Tierra del Fuego residents.
The Military Prison in Ushuaia displays mannequins and cut-outs which are placed in the cells of Ushuaia's most famous prison that was in use 1902-1947. Information on the penal railway is included.
A gate along the prison wall of the Military Prison in Ushuaia.
A hallway of the Military Prison in Ushuaia.
Address: Museo Maritimo, Yaganes y Gobernador Paz (Ex Presidio), Ushuaia, Tierra del Fuego 9410, Argentina
Hours:
April 1 to September 30: 10am-8pm
October 1 to March 31: 9am-8pm
Tips: Reduced admission cost for locals and nationals.
Ferrocarril Austral Fuegino is an elegant, antique collection of heated train carriages, pulled by a steam locomotive.
Leaving from the Fin del Mundo station, 8km/5mi west of Ushuaia, the train travels through the Tierra del Fuego National Park as far as Canadon de Toro during a two-hour round trip.
Address: Ferrocarril Austral Fuegino, Ushuaia, Tierra del Fuego 9410, Argentina
Every summer many cruise-ships arrive at Ushuaia's harbor with people wanting to experience land's end. Polar ships stop here too, before reaching the Antarctica.
Exhibits on the area's natural history, aboriginal life, and the early penal colonies are overseen by an informed, enthusiastic staff at the End of the World Museum in Ushuaia. The city has restored the original façade of this unusual block construction, dating from 1903.
Address: Museo Territorial Fin Del Mundo, Avenida Maipú173, Ushuaia, Tierra del Fuego 9410, Argentina
The land founded by pioneer and missionary Thomas Bridges as Estancia Harberton, includes a native botanical garden, the farm's wool shed, carpentry shop, boathouse, a museum of marine mammal bones and the family cemetery.
A boat can be taken to a nearby penguin rookery.
Address: Estancia Harberton, Ushuaia, Tierra del Fuego 9410, Argentina
Hours:
April 15 to October 15: 10am-7pm
Always closed on: New Year's Day (January 1), Christmas - Christian (December 25), Easter - Christian
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Tierra del Fuego National Park
Military Prison, Ushuaia
Military Prison, Ushuaia
Tierra del Fuego National Park, Ushuaia
Beagle Channel, Ushuaia
Ushuaia
