The arrival and/or departure points from which to begin the journey of the Tierra dl Fuego can be Punta Arenas (Chile) or Ushuaia (Argentina). In the past I had problems with Aerolinas Argentinas because the price of the airline ticket varied in an amazing way or the flight was even cancelled at the last minute.
Lately Latam, the Brazilian airline, has established a direct flight between Sao Paulo and Ushuaia, as well as Punta Arenas, and the same company allows to travel between various European airports and Santiago de Chile passing through Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo. Another option is to make a stop-over in Buenos Aires using other airlines such as Aerolineas Argentinas and take the flight to Ushuaia from Aeroparque airport. Practically the options to get to Ushuaia or Punta Arenas are several and will be the starting point for the elaboration of a program shared by the group. I think you will have understood that the airline tickets to and from Ushuaia or Punta Arenas are not included. The plus side is that you can arrange your arrival and return flight with stops in South America where they are most convenient for you as Rio de Janeiro or Santiago de Chile. Nevertheless the date of arrival and the departing town (Punta Arenas or Ushuaia) cannot be chosen on individual basis but subject to a collective vote.
The price of the tour will not include the costs of the hotel and lunches. Everyone will have to provide for their own personal expenses. The flexibility is necessary otherwise the price of the tour would be stratospheric.
I hope that this initiative will be successful and that it will be for those who will join it a beautiful experience
Undoubtedly Ushuaia represents the most important attraction of Tierra del Fuego. Ushuaia has the right papers for a stay of a few days and it is really the last city of the southern hemisphere before arriving in Antarctica. Recently the Chilean government has changed the status of Puerto Williams that lies on the other side of the Beagle Canal, from "village" to city but remains a military base. First of all the National Park of Tierra del Fuego: only a small part is accessible to the public but allows you to know the fauna and flora of this corner of the planet; a cruise to the Beagle Channel to see seals and penguins up close; trekking along the coast passing through the Estancia Tunel to the Rio Encajonado; climb up the high mountain to the beautiful Laguna Esmeralda, a small lake of glacial origin. To the west a spectacular dirt road leads to the historic Estancia Harberton: a beautiful exploration of the mountains and the coast east of Ushuaia. During the summer there is a daily ferry to Puerto Navarino, Chile after which a bus runs along the coast for 50 km to Puerto Williams where it is conditio sinequanon to spend the night.
The word means "like a heart" in the Selk'nam language. It is located on National Route 3 (RN3), and is the only town between the cities of Ushuaia (about 103 kilometers to the south) and Río Grande (about 133 kilometers to the north) on this road.
Panadería La Unión is a bakery located near Tolhuin that has become famous in Argentina. Most buses to Ushuaia stop here so passengers can rest, have a coffee and eat local produce. The walls are lined with signed photographs of celebrities, mostly Argentinians, who have come here over the decades.
An Atlantic coastal city with such a strong wind that it is not pleasant to walk along the straight roads of this industrial center of Tierra del Fuego. Except for making purchases is not worth staying more than a few hours
In the project commissioned by the provincial government twenty years ago, I reviewed 62 estancias (farms specializing in sheep farming) in the Argentinian part of the Tierra del Fuego. Almost half were in a state of neglect, recently some of them have converted to agritourism, some continue the traditional sheep farming. One or two days stay in an estancia is a must
Yehuin Lake is glacial in origin and has a crescent shape, as well as being parallel to Lake Chepelmut. It contains some islands inside and several fjords. Its waters flow into Lake Fagnano through a smaller river, tributary of the Claro River, which drains into the Fagnano, then the Yehuin belongs to the Pacific Ocean basin.
The lake is of extraordinarily transparent waters and is very frequented by fans of sport fishing and trekking. On its shores rises the Shenolsh Mountain, from which you can enjoy an exceptional view of the surrounding landscape to the north of the lake.
Also known as Paso Internacional Río Bellavista, it is a border crossing point between Chile and Argentina. It is active from November to March. It is located 85 km from Rio Grande and is right from this city you can access from the Argentinian side through the RN 3 and then the provincial RP B.
It is an area surrounded by "estancias". The border is marked by a nail on the Bellavista River (sometimes called the Rasmussen River) which allows the passage of vehicles of a certain type, even through a wire fence so that the passage on foot of travellers takes place through a portal.
The silence south of the island Tierra del Fuego is interrupted only by the noise of guanacos and sheep, or some vehicle along the dirt road in the municipality of Timaukel, one of the least populated in Chile, with 450 people living in about 30 estancias, divided into 12,850 km², where Villa Cameron is the largest.
On the Chilean side of Tierra del Fuego there are about 8,000 people, while on the Argentine side there are over 100,000.
For this reason, the municipality works to populate the area, with the creation of Villa Pampa Guanaco, 80 km southeast of Cameron.
We are in the innermost point of the Tierra del Fuego and the furthest from rest of the world. Pampa Guanaco, a village belonging to the municipality of Timaukel, 12.5 kilometers from Lake Blanco which is accessed by the road Y-84 and is located near Paso Río Bellavista at the border with Argentina. There is also an airfield to go to Cameron, another village in the area.
The Blanco Lake occupies an area of about 148 km² with a major axis of NNE direction of 25 km and the other axis of 25 km. Its outline is irregular, with islets, coves and inlets. It has a larger island near the eastern shore. Its waters are whitish and come from five tributaries that open on its south side. On its west bank is the Cochrane River, an emissary of Lake Chico (Blanco) which has an area of 26 km².
Bahía Inútil is a bay located on the west coast of the great island of Tierra del Fuego on the Chilean side. Its name is due to the fact that the bay did not offer «anchorage, refuge or any other advantage for the sailor».
During the last glaciation, there were large glaciers that completely covered the present bay during the last glacial maximum, the ice field extended from the north of the present Punta Arenas through the Strait of Magellan up to half Bahía Inútil, and after the ice retreated, a proglacial lake occupied much of the area until the most recent glacial development, which lasted until about 11,600 years ago
Currently, it is a vast bay lined with flat coasts, flanked by a coastal path that joins houses and small coastal settlements such as Caleta Rosario, Armonia, Caleta Jorquera, Puerto Nuevo, Onaisin (ex Estancia Caleta Josefina), Estancia La Florida, Villa Cameron and Timaukel. On its east coast, there is a recurring place where Aptenodytes patagonicus group, unique in the continent, what is located within the Penguin Rey Park, privately owned.
Villa Cameron located on the south coast of Bahía Inútil, has a population of 96 inhabitants.
Villa Cameron was founded over the centre of the residence «Caleta Josefina», founded in 1904 by the Tierra del Fuego Society of Exploitation and christened with this name in recognition of its first general administrator, the New Zealander of Scottish ancestry Alexander A. Cameron. Since 1988, Villa Cameron is the seat of the municipality of Timaukel.
Its buildings display the typical architecture promoted by British immigrants, with surfaces covered with galvanized slabs and printed with rich profiles. The village was built on the bottom of a hollow for protection from the wind.
Porvenir was born from a police detachment installed in 1883 during the gold rush and to serve the "estancias". Initially it was inhabited by European immigrants encouraged by the discovery of gold deposits, mainly Croats, and then by Chileans of Chiloé. The town, located near Porvenir Bay, was initially called Karkamke (shallow waters) by the Selk'nam, is located opposite Punta Arenas, from which it is separated from the Strait of Magellan. Today, it has just over 6000 inhabitants and has all the essential services including a small airport and a ferry service to Punta Arenas. Many excursions are offered to tourists to visit the places frequented by different animal species, some of which are endangered.
A city of 123,000 inhabitants, Punta Arenas is the metropolis of Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego. Probably starting the journey to the discovery of Tierra del Fuego from here, has many advantages. Not for the extension of the city rather for the possibility to mitigate the damages due to the fluctuations of prices that frequently take place in Argentina. A very interesting historical place is Fuerte Bulnes, about fifty km from Punta Arenas which would also be the first attempt at colonization of the region. After a few years of suffering the settlers moved to the present Punta Arenas which owes its name to the toponymy given by the British who called it Sandy Point. The Chilean center can serve as a base for excursions to the Torres del Paine National Park although Puerto Natales is recommended.
