Taking some time to share more photos from the end of the world. While it is Spring in the northern hemisphere, we’re deep into Fall here in Argentina. We spent a week in Ushuaia, Tierra del Fuego at the end of the world from April 12 to April 19. We previously shared some of the photos we took while on a tour of the Beagle Channel. The following overload of fall color represents some of the hikes and drives we enjoyed on our other days in the area. Yes, this was a couple of weeks ago, and we have a lot to catch up on. I assure you, this was worth the wait. We were frequently saying “just stop it already” to the ridiculous red and orange hues that surrounded us. Here is a disclaimer that the following images may make you gag from just too much of a good thing.
The Walk from our Hotel
First, you’re going to say “really?” to the access we had to the Beagle Channel from our hotel. Just a short walk took us to a shore trail, and we spent a morning exploring tidal channels and hiking along the water. This is primarily a post about the Fall color, but we’ll start off with some of our favorite shots of the water and the incredible view five minutes down the hill from our hotel.
Here’s a group of ducks rooting for muscles along the shore with an Andean mountain background.
The shoreline was very shallow and a small three to four foot tide flooded most of the bay. You can see how shallow it is from the translucent water in this view. These are rocks on the sore covered in muscles.
To give you an idea of how close to the houses and businesses we were – and a preview of the color to come – here’s one picture we took looking back from the channel. The town of Ushuaia was busting with development, and you can pick out a big hotel under construction in the background.
The shore wasn’t all rocks and shells, but some of our walk also included some sandy beach areas, of course, featuring trees and shrubs in full Fall color.
Tierra del Fuego National Park Shore Trail
The national parks in Argentina sell two-day passes, so we took advantage of the discount and rented a car to spend Easter weekend hiking and enjoying the views at Tierra del Fuego National Park. We were really glad we did. We were a bit concerned when we entered the park on Saturday and the first thing we encountered was a cluster of tour busses at the first crossroads. Left, right, or straight ahead? We picked left away from the busses down a road that lead to the shore of the Beagle Channel. It was the right move. There was a fairly busy parking lot that lead to a shore trail, but it was long enough that we didn’t actually encounter many people. The rocks along the trail had a light green hue and the foliage in the background was on fire. Throw in a few clouds for effect.
Here’s another view of the green cliffs that colored the shoreline. In the background, you can see the dock with an End of the World post office and the parking lot where we started our hike.
The trail treated to serene forests with snowy mountain backgrounds as well as spectacular water views.
The Lake at Tierra del Fuego National Park
The park wasn’t all shoreline and views of the Beagle Channel. Visitors can also drive into the interior of the park and enjoy camping and fishing along a spectacular lake. The lake is also home to the visitor center and restaurant where we sat and had lunch. We also enjoyed this view while we ate.
There were birds everywhere, and Ande captured this shot of several raptors in a tree on the shore taking a break from playing in the thermals and hunting.
End of the World Trail
I’m sure you’re thinking, “enough already!”, but the lake was not the end of the park. We literally did go to the end of the road. At the end of RN 3, which is the southern end of the Pan American Highway, there’s a parking lot and a lovely trail with a boardwalk. We ventured beyond the end of the road and encountered these views. Enough narrative, just enjoy the pictures.
Day 2 at Tierra del Fuego National Park
As I mentioned earlier, we bought a two-day pass for the park and had our rental car for two days. We were concerned the world would shut down on Easter Sunday, so we wanted to be prepared with our own transportation and something to do. We started by going back to Tierra del Fuego National Park and taking the feared right turn where the tour busses were parked. Turns out waiting for the next day to take the road more traveled was a good idea. There were no busses this time, but we did see the attraction that drew them all there. There’s a small tourist train that runs from Ushuaia into the national park. Ushuaia was started as a penal colony, and the railroad was built by the prisoners so they could haul timber in from the forest to build the town. The train ride now serves as one of the main tourist attractions. Of course, Jake waited for the train to depart so he could take pictures as the timing just happened to work out. We’ll spare you the video, but here’s the train with a green, red, orange, yellow and every hue in between background.
Beyond the train, the dirt road led into a section of the park where there was a hiking trail along the river. Yes, we had shore, lake, and now the river. The park really had it all. As we drove in, we encountered wild horses along with the views. The lovely picture of the horses being affectionate to each other against the mountain backdrop was captured by Ande. It is wonderful.
Past the train and the forested meadows with the wild horses was a parking lot that served as the trailhead for the hike along the river. One of the features was the rapids further along the hiking trail.
Just running out of adjectives to describe the amazing colors and scenery that surrounded us. Just so it isn’t all about the trees, here’s a river selfie!
RN3 After the National Park
Wait, there’s more you say? Why, yes! For some reason we hadn’t gotten enough yet. We had the car for the entire day, and our Chef/Hotel Owner recommended driving to the village of Puerto Almanza along the channel between Argentina and Chile to have lunch at La Sirena Y El Capitán. We made the drive, which was amazing as you’ll see, only to arrive in the little village about 3pm and discover yet another small tour bus and scads of tourists milling in and around the restaurant and waterfront. We couldn’t believe our luck and were sure we weren’t going to get to eat after all.
There was literally nothing else in the town. However, Jake being Jake, walked right through the line of people waiting outside the restaurant and went inside. Turns out they were just clearing out after the tourist bus lunch and the people waiting outside were the patient ones with reservations waiting for the second seating. We ended up getting the last little table by the door and couldn’t have been more lucky. The restaurant was cute and homey with an odd Hollywood memorabilia decor, considering the name, and food was great. Here’s a couple of pictures we took along the road on the way there. We present them because they do offer different landscapes.
Above Ushuaia
To cap it all off, Ushuaia has a hill above town where there used to be a chair lift to the Martial Glacier where there’s a hotel and a terribly cute tea house where we had lunch the following day. We didn’t walk all the way up to the glacier, but we got close enough to take one last photo to cap off this post. We hope we haven’t bored you too much with the amazing variety of color we encountered. While it was off season and we didn’t get to see the Emperor Penguins, we were very lucky to be there in the Fall when the trees were in full color. Thanks for sharing the experience with us.
Still taking your trip with you, great pictures.