Tierra del Fuego: to the end of the world, Primavera to Ushuaia

Down the big island to the southernmost city on Earth. About 410 km on Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego: from the windswept steppe of the Chilean side, across the border to the Argentine Atlantic coast and Río Grande, then south past the great Lago Fagnano and over the Garibaldi Pass in the last range of the Andes to Ushuaia on the Beagle Channel. About 6 hours of driving.

The route. Primavera (Chile) – Porvenir – San Sebastián (border) – Río Grande – Tolhuin – Lago Fagnano – Garibaldi Pass – Ushuaia.

On the way. The north of the island is open pampa: sheep farms, oil wells and a strong west wind. Río Grande is a sheep and oil town on the Atlantic. Tolhuin, on the east shore of Lago Fagnano, is known for its bakery, a stop for every traveller. The lake is about 100 km long and is shared by Argentina and Chile. After the pass the landscape changes to mountains and southern beech forest. Ushuaia lies between the Martial range and the Beagle Channel, with views of the Andes above the water, and is the starting point for trips to Antarctica.

Good to know. From the mainland you need the ferry across the Strait of Magellan (the First Narrows) – check its timetable, it depends on the tides and the wind. Border formalities at San Sebastián can take time. The weather is wild: wind all year, and snow on the pass even in summer.

Picture: Ushuaia, the southernmost city in the world, and the Beagle Channel, Liam Quinn from Canada, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0.