There are places on the map that are guaranteed to spark travel wanderlust. Tierra del Fuego is one of those places. This archipelago of islands is lonely, lovely, and in many ways, even more extreme than the more-famous Patagonia region. Tierra del Fuego has attracted some of the world’s most epic explorers and adventurers, nearly sparked a war, and earned some badass nicknames. Here are 14 of the best things about Tierra del Fuego travel in Argentina and Chile.

 

14 highlights of Tierra del Fuego travel

1. It’s the largest island in South America

Tierra del Fuego is an archipelago of islands at the southernmost tip of South America separated from the mainland by the Strait of Magellan. Many of the islands are very small, but the group also includes Isla Grande which is about the size of Belgium and ranks as the largest island in South America with a total size of  18,530 square miles (47,992 square km).

2. You can reach the end of the road (again and again)

When you’re on a big island at the end of the world, there are a lot of ways to reach the end of the road (fin de camino in Spanish). We found four of them including where the road ends at the Strait of Magellan in Chile, where the road ends at Caletta Maria in Chile, where the road ends at Estancia Moat at the southernmost point in the world that’s connected to a national highway system on a dirt road called RN3 in Argentina, and within Tierra del Fuego National Park near Ushuaia, Argentina.

3. That cool name…

Explorer Ferdinand Magellan (more on him below) dubbed this area the Land of Smoke after seeing bonfires onshore built by members of Indigenous groups that lived in the region. The King of Spain preferred the much sexier Land of Fire (Tierra del Fuego in Spanish), though it’s also called by an even sexier name: El Fin del Mundo (The End of the World).

4. And a cool nickname…

The official name of the capital of Tierra del Fuego in Argentina (and the only settlement of any size in Tierra del Fuego) is Ushuaia. But it’s more fun to call it by its nickname: El Fin del Mundo or The End of the World. Get crucial information about exploring the end of the world in our post about travel to Ushuaia.

5. Islands worth fighting for

The archipelago marks the terminus of the Andes, which is the longest mountain chain in the world, and is split between Chile and Argentina. Those two countries nearly went to war over ownership of Tierra del Fuego before finding a way to carve it up.

6. There’s a landscape for everyone

Tierra del Fuego is a cold (even in summer), windy, and vast (18,572 square miles/48,100 square km) region with a wide range of landscapes and features, including glaciers, barren steppe, lakes, mountain ranges, soupy bogs, and craggy coastline.

7. Okay, this one is more of a lowlight…

This archipelago has been inhabited by people for more than 12,000 years. Initially, cultures including the Yaghan (aka Yamana), the Selknams, and the Kawésqars, survived and sometimes even thrived on the islands. Then Europeans arrived with weapons, and greed, and disease and eventually wiped out all of the members of these Indigenous groups.

8. Just getting there is an adventure

Here’s a truth about Tierra del Fuego travel: It’s not easy to get there. To reach Isla Grande, you’ve got to get on a ferry and then cross between Argentina and Chile at one of two land borders. The main border crossing is called Paso San Sebastián (pictured above left). The other border crossing is Paso Rio Bellavista (pictured above, right) which is remote and little-used (but, of course, we crossed there).

9. In the footsteps of explorers and adventurers

Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan came to Tierra del Fuego in 1520. The first European to visit the area was in search of a shorter trade route and he found it when he discovered the strait that now bears his name. In 1830, British commander and scientist Robert Fitzroy arrived on the HMS Beagle. The Beagle returned with Charles Darwin on board and Tierra del Fuego is now home to the Darwin Range and Mount Darwin, which was believed to be the tallest mountain on Isla Grande until it was edged out by 8,460-foot (2,580-meter) Monte Shipton which was named for British mountaineer Eric Shipton, who explored the Darwin Range in the 1960s.

10. There’s a border-hopping lake

Lake Fagnano is 61 miles (98 km) long and spans the Argentinean and Chilean sides of Isla Grande. In Argentina, it’s called Lago Fagnano. In Chile, it’s called Lago Cami.

11. Extreme trees

Only 30% of the archipelago is forested. Within those forests, just six types of trees exist.  Species include the southernmost beech species, the southernmost conifer species, and a hardy species with tiny leaves and the ability to withstand and adapt to the area’s sometimes relentless wind.

12. More sheep than people

Today, sheep far outnumber humans in the region. The total human population of Tierra del Fuego is about 150,000, with most of those people living in the cities of Rio Grande and Ushuaia in Argentina. Only about 7,000 people live in the Chilean part of Tierra del Fuego, and most of those (more than 5,000) live in the town of Porvenir on Isla Grande.

13. The wildlife of Tierra del Fuego

With so few people and so much terrain, wildlife is abundant in the archipelago and spotting species (including rare king penguins) is a highlight of Tierra del Fuego travel. Here are some of the critters we saw on Isla Grande.

For more about visiting Reserva Natural Pinguino Rey, see our post about seeing king penguins in Chile.

Here are some other wildlife highlights from Tierra del Fuego.

14. Visit a historic ranch

In 1886, British missionary Thomas Bridges settled on a scenic bay not far from what is now the city of Ushuaia. There, he established Estancia Harberton thus creating the first permanent homestead in Tierra del Fuego. Bridges and his descendants led (and lead) extraordinary lives on the ranch which is still family-owned and now welcomes travelers with a tea shop, a restaurant, bayside cottages, access to an island used by nesting penguins, and an impressive marine museum. Get more in our post about visiting Estancia Harberton in Tierra del Fuego.

 

Here’s more about travel in Chile

Here’s more about travel in Argentina

Here’s more about Adventure Travel in the Americas

Here’s more about Patagonia Travel