Tierra del Fuego is a beautiful national park, just outside of Ushuaia at the southern tip of Argentina and South America. It is named for the native populations who used to live in these mountains and used fires to keep themselves warm. These mountains are part of the Andes Mountain range and are some of the youngest mountains of this range.
Only 45 minutes outside of Ushuaia, this park is absolutely worth visiting. When walking through, you will often find yourself between the ocean and the mountains, providing you with beautiful scenery wherever you turn.
How to Get to Tierra del Fuego
From Ushuaia, there are buses that will take you directly to and from the national park, Tierra del Fuego. They depart almost every hour from Ushuaia and return every two hours in the afternoon. There are a few bus companies that provide the same service, at the same times, for the same price. Confusing? Yes. But we are here to help you through this! It does not matter which company you choose to go with. They will tell you the names on the large vans to look for that correspond to that company. The bus drivers can also help direct you to the right bus, since they all depart at the same time.
The buses depart almost hourly from Ushuaia, starting at 9 am, and return from Tierra del Fuego every two hours in the afternoon, 3 pm, 5pm, and 7 pm.
The Ride to Tierra del Fuego
We recommend going on the first bus (at 8:50 am) to maximize your time in Tierra del Fuego and start your adventure with as few people as possible.
The first stop that you will make will be for the Train at the End of the World. This train was originally constructed by prisoners in Ushuaia to help gather supplies from the forest and bring them into town. We did not do this attraction but it can absolutely be added to your trip if you are interested in learning more about the prison history of Ushuaia. It takes 1 hour to get to the national park. Once you get to the Tierra del Fuego, you can either take the train back or walk 30 minutes to the “End of the World” post office. There are a number of tour groups that help string together the combination of the train with the national park. We did not do this activity but tickets to the train can be found here.
If you do not take the train, the next stop will be to purchase your entry into the Tierra del Fuego National Park. There is also one hike that you can do that you will have to notify the rangers here prior to doing it. (We will talk more about this hike under the section “Different Hikes to Do in Tierra del Fuego”).
The Post Office at the End of the World
Now the third stop will get you to the Post Office at the End of the World. This unique destination is truly a post office and a fun stop before hiking through the park. The post office opens at 10 AM so if you take the first bus into Tierra del Fuego, you will get here right on time. You can purchase postcards and stamps and mail yourself or friends some unique souvenirs.
A few things to note about the post office experience. It will get busy and there will be a line. If you end up in this line, there’s no need to shove around the space to find what you need. You will have plenty of time to peruse their offerings as you make your way up to the front. In addition, this post office is cash only! They accept different currencies however, including US dollars, Argentine pesos, and Euros.
From here, you can walk to other portions of the park on a beautiful easy-to-moderate, 5-mile walk, described below.
The Different Hikes to Do in Tierra del Fuego
If you do not stop at the post office, the next two stops will be the spots where most of the hikes lead from. The first of these is the visitor center and the last is the end of the Pan-American highway.
We had the opportunity to do three different hikes in our time in Tierra del Fuego, all of which were easy-to-moderate. In addition, there is one additional hike that is challenging that could be great for avid hikers. Unfortunately, it was closed while we were in the Tierra del Fuego, but we will list it below for those interested.
In addition, we will link these hikes to AllTrails so you can see the terrain and path of each of these. AllTrails is a great application for hikers. It allows you to search for hikes in the region, download trail routes, and track the hikes that you do.
We use this application and website throughout our hiking process, from research, to experience, to future evaluation and recommendation. Initially, we look at reviews and evaluations of different hikes when we are researching an area, especially since people can leave reviews and pictures and are brutally honest about the true difficulty of a path. We also use it while we are on our hikes. The application gives you information about each hike, including the distance, the length of time expected, the expected difficulty, and the hike type. We pay a yearly fee for the app because we like to download the trails and have our phones track the routes, which works even when we don’t have service. Finally, we use it to save the hikes we’ve done in the past, helping with our failing memory and give people (like you reading this!) our honest recommendations.
Costera Trail
Length: 5 Miles (8 Kilometers)
Elevation Gain: 928 Feet
Route Type: One Way
Difficulty: Easy-Moderate
Time it took us: 2.5 hours
Starting from the Post Office at the End of the World, this trail goes along the coast of the Beagle Channel, with incredible views of the channel and mountains that surround it. You walk through the forest, along the beaches, and through meadows with beautiful views everywhere you walk. It is a relatively easy 5-mile hike, with a few uphill walks here and there. If you take the bus, you do not need to return to the starting point, since the bus will pick you up very close to where this hike ends. The end of the hike is at the visitor center, where you can find a restaurant, gift shop, and post office.
Hito XXIV Trail
Length: 6.5 Miles (10.5 Kilometers)
Elevation Gain: 886 Feet
Route Type: Out and Back
Difficulty: Easy-Moderate
Time it took us: 3 hours
Starting from the visitor center, this hike begins with a small trek along a road. Once you get to the lake, the true hike starts. At some point, you will reach a fork in the road between two different hikes and you will continue to the left. If things are unclear, just follow the signs. The path takes you along the lake, weaving you between the edge of the lake and the forest. The lake is surrounded by mountains, making it a beautiful backdrop to this hike. Ultimately, you will reach Milestone XXIV, the official boundary between Chile and Argentina, indicating the end of this trail. Your only option for this trail is to return the same way you came.
Lapataia Viewpoint Trail
Length: 2.5 Miles (3.25 Kilometers)
Elevation Gain: 315 Feet
Route Type: One Way
Difficulty: Easy
Time it took us: 1 hour
From the visitor center, we walked to the official sign indicating the end of Route 3. This route is the Pan-American highway, going from the top of Canada to the very tip of Argentina. This walk started on the official dirt roads of the park but we ultimately got to an area with trails, guiding us through the forest until we reached the sign. This part of Tierra del Fuego has multiple different trails with viewpoints. All of these trails are easy and take less than an hour to complete. In addition, there is a boardwalk behind the signs with information regarding the native populations of the area (in English and Spanish). The bus can pick you up from the End of the World sign.
Cerro Guanaco Trail
Length: 8.5 Miles (13.75 Kilometers)
Elevation Gain: 3,421 Feet
Route Type: Out and Back
Difficulty: Hard
Expected Time to Complete: 6 hours
The Cerro Guanaco trail leads to a peak in the Tierra del Fuego National Park. It is the most challenging hike in the park and you have to tell the rangers at the ticket office that you want to do the hike. The hike was not open the day that we were in the park.
Reviews of the hike are excellent but people say to bring layers. Because of the elevation change, the temperature may vary greatly. However, on a clear day, the views from the summit are sure to be spectacular.
Different Itinerary Options
One Day in Tierra del Fuego (Challenging)
- Take the first bus from Ushuaia and get dropped off at the Post Office at the End of the World
- Hike the Costera Trail
- Get lunch or eat lunch at the park center
- Hike the Hito XXIV Trail
- Walk over to the Lapataia Viewpoint Trail, do some of the hikes here, take photos at the “End of the World” and walk the boardwalk to learn about the local native populations.
- Take the 7 pm bus when you are done exploring
Total Miles/Kilometers: 13.5+ Miles (21 KMs)
One Day in Tierra del Fuego (Medium - Recommended)
- Take the first bus from Ushuaia and get dropped off at the Post Office at the End of the World
- Hike the Costera Trail
- Get lunch or eat lunch at the park center
- Walk over to the Lapataia Viewpoint Trail, do some of the hikes here, take photos at the “End of the World” and walk the boardwalk to learn about the local native populations.
- Take the 5 pm or 7 pm bus when you are done exploring
Total Miles/Kilometers: 7+ Miles (11.25 KMs)
One Day in Tierra del Fuego (easy)
- Take any morning bus from Ushuaia and get dropped off at the End of the World sign.
- Hike around the Lapataia Viewpoint Trail, doing as many of the walks as you want.
- Get lunch or eat lunch at the End of the World sign parking lot.
- Get picked up here by the bus anytime in the afternoon
Total Miles/Kilometers: 3+ Miles (5 KMs)
I want to do it all (2 days, challenging)
- Take the first bus from Ushuaia and get dropped off at the Post Office at the End of the World
- Hike the Costera Trail
- Get lunch or eat lunch at the park center
- Hike the Hito XXIV Trail
- Get picked up at the park center
Day 1 Miles/Kilometers: 11.5 Miles (18.5 KMs)
- Take the first bus from Ushuaia and get dropped off at the park center
- Hike the Cerro Guanaco Trail, eating lunch on the trail
- If you need more food, get some at the park center
- Walk over to the Lapataia Viewpoint Trail, do some of the hikes here, take photos at the “End of the World” and walk the boardwalk to learn about the local native populations.
- Take the 5 pm or 7 pm bus when you are done exploring
- Day 2 Miles/Kilometers: 11+ Miles (17.75 KMs)
