Ushuaia

Ushuaia, Argentina

Sunrise light falls over the colourful houses and snow-capped mountains of Ushuaia, viewed past a weathered wooden pier.

Ushuaia sits on the Beagle Channel as a gateway to Antarctica and a base for boats, hikes and wild Patagonia.

The place

Ushuaia is the capital of Tierra del Fuego province, a harbour town of about 83,000 people on the southern coast of Tierra del Fuego island, facing the Beagle Channel. The town sits in a broad bay at the foot of the Andes Fueguinos, the mountains that wrap it on three sides, and its streets climb the slopes above the water in short, steep blocks. At about 23 metres above sea level, the centre is low enough to walk everywhere, but the hills make the walk back up feel longer than it looks on a map. Ushuaia calls itself the southernmost city in the world, a claim that owes more to geography than to any formal ranking. It is first and foremost an administrative centre, with a light industrial port and a steady stream of visitors heading for the glaciers, the boats and the national park a short drive west. Most of what you will need, from cafés to outfitters, is clustered around the central streets, so plan to stay in or near the centre.

Its story

Ushuaia's human history reaches back long before the town existed. The Selk'nam, often called the Ona, came to Tierra del Fuego thousands of years ago, and the Yaghan (Yámana) people lived along this shore and its channels, moving by canoe and living off what the sea provided. Relations with the northern groups on the island were often tense. The shift that matters most for the town came in the nineteenth century, when the eastern side of the island filled with settlers and missionaries from Britain, well before any Argentine officials had settled there. The earliest written uses of the name Ushuaia, taken from the Yámana word for the area, appear in the papers of the South American Mission Society in England. British surveying had already charted the channel, and the Beagle, under Captain FitzRoy, sailed through on its survey voyage. Argentina then set up its own administration, and the settlement was officially founded in 1884 under Augusto Lasserre. Over the following decades the town built a prison, whose buildings now house the Maritime and Prison Museum. Lucas Bridges's memoir Uttermost Part of the Earth, published in 1948, remains a key account of those early years and of the peoples displaced by them.

What to see

Culture

Ushuaia's cultural life is shaped by its position at the edge of the map. Its best-known event is the Bienal de Arte Contemporáneo del Fin del Mundo, the biennial contemporary art event at the end of the world, created and organised by the Patagonia Arte & Desafío Foundation. Under the rubric "South Pole of the Arts, Sciences, and Ecology", it has brought together more than a hundred artists from five continents, all working on the question of what a different future might look like from here. The biennial also works as an educational project, encouraging students at every level to think about how a better world could be built. For a visitor, the simplest way in is to follow the exhibitions into the city's galleries and museums and to talk to the staff, who are usually glad to explain the work. When you visit a museum or community exhibit, ask before photographing people, and do not touch displayed objects.

What to wear

Ushuaia's traditional dress belongs to the peoples who lived along these shores long before the town was founded. Selk'nam and Yaghan clothing was made from what the land and sea provided, with guanaco skin used for capes and robes against the cold and seal and otter skins worn along the coast, all layered against wind and wet. Those textiles now survive mainly in museum displays and in the work of contemporary Fueguian artists, not on the street. Today people in Ushuaia dress for the weather first. Fleece, waterproof shell jackets, thermal base layers and warm hats are everywhere, and the same gear is worn into a café or a restaurant without fuss. Locals mix outdoor brands with ordinary city clothes, and in summer you may need a t-shirt and a waterproof jacket in the same afternoon. For a visitor, pack layers that cope with rain, wind and sudden sun, a windproof outer layer, and a warm hat and gloves even in summer. Footwear matters more than fashion: waterproof boots with good grip for wet rock, boardwalks and muddy trails, plus a lighter pair for the town. Dress rules are informal at churches and museums, so comfort and dryness come first.

What to eat

Plan it

Best time. December to March, when the days are longest and temperatures are mildest, though these months are also among the wettest; winter brings cold, wind and short days, and the weather can turn quickly at any time of year.

How long. 2–3

Getting there. Non-stop flights from Buenos Aires take about three and a half hours, and the airport serves the town directly. Overland routes are long: buses run via Rio Gallegos and cross the Magellan Strait by ferry, and the journey often takes much longer than advertised.

Budget. mid

Tips

Etiquette

Nearby

Sources