Under the Patagonian sky, between Cape Horn and the Magellan Strait, an extended archipelago emerges. The largest island is Tierra del Fuego, a land of legends that lit the popular imagination in the era of the conquerors; it attracted gold chasers, adventurers, pirates, missionaries and scientists. The widespread idea of Tierra del Fuego as a barren and icy region, is far from reality. This is a lively and fertile land full of flowers, woods and birds. This is a paradise of eternally snowed peaks, majestic millenary glaciers, "flag trees" and a great deal of marine fauna.

At the southern end of the American Continent, the Andean Cordillera plunges into the ocean producing a large archipelago of islands and rock keys, where there is a variety of channels, fiords and bays, glaciers, lakes and peat bogs, with lush forests and important fauna reserves. Here, the so resistant Nothophagus species of trees impose their almost exclusive presence. Likens, ferns and mosses appear all over, particularly the sphagnum moss that form huge peat bogs.

Ushuaia, capital city of the Argentine Tierra del Fuego province, is known as the southernmost city in the world, is 3,040 km (1,900 miles) from Buenos Aires. It is located in the southern end, facing the Beagle Channel, and surrounded by the Martial Mounts Range. In fact, the city stretches over its slopes, framed by a one-of-a-kind scenery of mountains, ocean, glaciers, lakes and woods. Southwards from the coast, the view of the Ushuaia Bay and the Beagle Channel, and the Chilean islands of Navarino and Hoste is superb. The End of the World Museum exhibits an important patrimony related to the history of the city and its primitive inhabitants.

Near downtown, the Ushuaia Maritime Museum occupies the building belonging to the former maximum security presidium of Ushuaia called Presidio y Cárcel de Reincidentes. Very dangerous convicts and well known political prisoners made this prison famous. It worked as a prison until 1947, and one of its buildings is still kept in its original conditions, relating the history of this prison that played an important role in the history of the city, since all its staff lived therein and even the prisoners contributed with their work to its development. The Admiral's Berisso Navy Base operates here.

Only 12 km (7 miles) west from Ushuaia the access to the Tierra del Fuego National Park is reached. The park is a fantastic natural space where numerous flora and fauna species live together in harmony. The park offers a different landscape during each season of the year; the flowers and the varied bird species are the main attraction in the summer. About 500 flower species, distributed from the sea level to a height of 700 meters (2,300 feet) have been classified. Thirty percent of the total surface of the park is occupied by the Andean-Patagonian or Sub-Antarctic Woods with trees belonging to the family of the Nothophagus, such as: ñires (low deciduous beach tree), coihues or guindos (evergreen beach tree) and the most important: lengas (high deciduous beach tree).

Due to the diversity of climates and vegetation of this territory, over 200 bird species have been registered including the majestic Condor, known as the 'King of the Andes'. In the woods, two mammalian species stand out : the rabbit and the beaver (both species exotic to the local environment). The latter is the one that has caused the greatest impact on the environment, specially on the hydraulic system, building dams that change the course of the waters and flood extended sections of the woods.

The park is also an excellent place for adventure tours. One choice is a one-day hike focused on flora and fauna understanding, visiting beaver dams and climbing up to a panoramic view point that allows to get a great view covering the area from Lake Roca to Lapataia Bay. A more demanding choice is a three-day trekking to the Laguna del Caminante ('Walker's Lagoon'), whose extraordinary beauty framed by one of the most beautiful landscapes of Tierra del Fuego. It is rarely visited in spite of being so close to the city because of its difficult access.

On the way to the park, the road goes through the Estancia Río Pipo where the Restaurant Tolkeyén offers the possibility of tasting the delicious Patagonian lamb barbecue, one of the typical dishes of the regional cuisine, along with the king-crab.

Nearby, the Central Station stands close to Pipo River. This is the departing point of the already famous Southern Fuegian Railway, renown as the Train of the End of the World. It is a small 120-seat train that enters the National Park stopping at different interesting sites. The train follows the old terreplein of the small train that worked until 1947 carrying prisoners from the Ushuaia Presidium to the forests in search of wood for heating. Traces of this destructive activity are still notorious in these woods.The train goes through Pipo River across the Burnt Bridge and makes its first stop at Cascada de la Macarena(Macarena's Cascade). Here, you can see a reconstruction of an aboriginal Yamana or Selknam settlement, called Río Ajej.The final section of the journey runs along the Cañadón del Toro (Bull's Canyon), to reach finally the end of the railways.

It is possible to then choose between continuing the excursion to the National Park or to return to Central Station. The excursion goes on to Lapataia Bay, the southernmost tip of Argentina, on the coasts of Beagle Channel, and the final end of National Route 3, at 3,300 km (2,063 miles) from Buenos Aires. It is most interesting to observe there the concheros, invaluable archaeological sites which have produced incredible information about the customs of the primitive local inhabitants, their habits and their every day life. Other interesting places within the National Park are Lake Roca and its nearby tea-house, Pipo River Cascade and Ensenada Bay, from where it is possible to embark into a little boat towards Isla Redonda (Round-shaped Island), an intangible zone of the park, where an interesting flora interpretation path hasbeen outlined and where the southernmost post office in Argentina is located.

Sailing the waters of Beagle Channel is a "must", the gateway to the waters of the "end of the world". Different vessels set sail from the "Tourist Pier", near downtown. Sailing across Ushuaia Bay, a charming view of the city and the surrounding mountains is admired, till reaching Paso Chico (Narrow Pass), which indicates the entrance to the mythical Beagle Channel, which still preserves its halo of mystery and ancient memories of old shipwrecks. However, it is the perfect place to observe marine fauna in its natural environment. The boat reaches the Birds' Island, close to Bridges Archipelago, where, as guardians over the rocks, the Imperial and Magellan cormorants deceive visitors with their appearance of penguins, living along with a wide variety of marine fauna formed by albatrosses, petrels, seagulls and ducks.

Within short distance, the Sea Lions' Island, emerges packed with both one-haired and tow-haired sea lions that seem to be sunbathing. Nearby, the Les Eclaireurs Lighthouse, only witness to the wreckage of the German ship Monte Cervantes, back in 1930, stands on the island of the same name. Further on, the Martillo Island, known as Penguins' Island, boasts an important rookery of Magellan penguins.

Just in front of it, Estancia Harberton is located on the homonymous bay, facing the crystal clear waters of the channel. The estancia may also be reached overland from Ushuaia. It belongs to the Bridges family and it is the oldest construction of the Island with elements brought directly from England in the XIX century. From Harberton Bay, it is possible to glimpse the Chilean Hoste Island, chosen by Jules Verne as the setting for an improbable republic in one of his novels.

Further east from the estancia, which is probably the most unexplored section of the island, stretches a 5,000 km2 (1,930 sq miles) triangle inhabited only by guanacos, foxes, geese and varied marine fauna, including penguins, sea lions, and occasionally, even some whales. It is called Península Mitre. It was a mythical land for the Onas, primitive inhabitants of the land and also the stage of the first encounter of these cultures with white men. Hundreds of vessels shipwrecked near its coasts, and the relics of some of them still remain laid on the beaches as well as devices that belonged to the old gold searchers that lucklessly wandered in the region; speechless witnesses of the useless attempts of "civilized men" to tame this hostile land. A ten-day horse riding expedition along the coast to the eastern extreme of the island is a superb choice for those in search of challenging adventures.

The western portion of Tierra del Fuego Island, in Chilean territory, stretches in an enormous peninsula where the highest peaks of the Insular Andes soar up. Massifs up to 2,000 meter-high (6,660 feet) seem to emerge out of the ocean such as the Cordillera Darwin, a legendary territory largely covered by a massive ice layer, just a small example, of what was the last glacier period. The deep fjords characteristic of its coastal line are another fantastic trace left by the erosive action of the glaciers. Glaciers that slide unnoticed from the Ice Field towards those fjords, finally breaking off in hundreds of incredibly bluish or greenish icebergs. The iced peaks of Cordillera Darwin, most of them unconquered, are always amazing for the few visitors that have the rare privilege of admiring them. A cruise sailing from Punta Arenas to Ushuaia (or vice versa) makes it possible to get in touch with this untouched beauty. Another way is joining one of the few trekking and climbing expeditions explorations organized in this area.

Leaving Ushuaia northbound, bordering the river that descends from Mount Olivia, symbol of the city, the road goes through the Andes. The landscape is featured by a series of beautiful valleys and mountain ranges such as the Carbajal Valley and the Alvear Range that extend up to the Garibaldi Pass (430 meters/1,430 feet above sea level). Many winter sport resorts have taken advantage of these most proper terrain for the practice of different activities such us cross-country ski, mainly, and also Alpine ski, dog sled, snow cat and hiking with racquet snowshoes. Some of them are: Cerro Castor, Tierra Mayor, Las Cotorras, Valle de los Huskies and Haruwen.From Paso Garibaldi, a great view of the Lake Escondido (Hidden Lake) in the first term, and Lake Fagnano as a backdrop, is obtained. Down, by the lake shore, the charming Hostería Petrel is settled.

Going on northbound, towards Lake Fagnano, along the main route, it is possible to observe several sawmills, most of which are nowadays closed, even if they were prosperous in the past. Traveling just a few miles away from the main road, you enter a harsh and barren land, with quite rare traces of human presence, without paved roads or human settlements. The ideal setting for those who love nature, adventure and solitude. Notwithstanding wandering in such a terrain poses some obstacles, such us overcoming fallen trees, walking over beaver dams, crossing dense woods, avoiding peat bogs and crossing rivers though improvised trunk bridges or, sometimes, fording barefoot through the cold water. The difficulties involved in the task are a lot, but they precisely bring along its main attractiveness: to feel an intimate contact with pristine nature.

One of the best trekking alternatives available, is to cross the Beban's Pass. Beban was an old inhabitant of the island who, around 1920, while he was chasing some prisoners escaped from the presidium, reached the pass for the first time, discovering the mirror of water that the local aborigines used to call Kami. The area still preserves the same mystery and amazing beauty that Beban found in the old times. Lake Kami is the one known nowadays as Lake Fagnano. The lake, that occupies an important geological fault, parallel to the one that formed the Beagle Channel, is the largest one in the island (110 km/69 miles long and 5 to 8 km/3 to 5 miles wide), and flows into the Pacific Ocean.

Lake Fagnano appears in the middle of a bleak and mostly inhabited area, with the only exception of Tolhuin, town situated in the eastern head of the lake, just in the "Heart of the Island", as the area has come to be called. And the name itself is an Ona aboriginal word meaning "heart-shaped". The town is starting point of many different alternative tourism excursions. North from Lake Fagnano, an area of transition between the Andean and the steppe environment appears, the area where Lake Yehuín and Lake Chepelmut are situated. Their turquoise waters flowing southwards, across a system of connected mountain valleys, lead to Lake Fagnano. Canoeing along this streams and connected lakes, facing a myriad of obstacles becomes a unique experience that allows a close contact with nature.

By then, all traces of the Andean-Patagonian woods have been left behind. Landscape is definitively dominated by the characteristic steppe vegetation. The city of Río Grande is located in this area. It is mainly dedicated to oil exploitation but there are also some industries, mostly electronic and textile companies, that are what remains of the Law of Industrial Encouragement dating back to 1972. At present many of them are closed. In the outskirts of the city, there are numerous estancias devoted to sheep raising. Its location, by the homonymous river, makes the city an important center of game fishing, specially for trout and salmon. From there, National Route 3, to the north, leads to San Sebastián, from where it is possible to cross the border to Chile and then, across the Magellan Strait, reach the continent.