What to see in Ushuaia, itinerary including the main places of interest, including the prison with the maritime museum, Museum of the End of the World, Beagle Channel and Martial glacier.
Tourist information
In Argentine territory, on the largest island of the Tierra del Fuego archipelago, there is Ushuaia, Cuitad Mas Austral del Mundo, the southernmost city in the world.
Located in a wide bay of the Beagle Channel, a very narrow passage connecting the Atlantic to the Pacific, the city is surrounded by a spectacular landscape made up of mountain peaks, perennial glaciers and the sea.
The southern summer, from November to March, is characterized by many hours of light and an average temperature that is around 10 degrees above zero.
During the southern winter, from June to September, the days are short and the average temperature is around 1 degree above zero.
Therefore in Ushuaia the climate is cold throughout the year, rapid climate changes also occur and the wind blows almost constantly.
In the port of Ushuaia berth the large passenger ships, destined for cruises in Antarctica, and the cargo of goods, which supply this unusual city affected by an important tourist flow.
Ushuaia hotels, which are in full swing during the summer, are also open in the winter months to welcome tourists who frequent the nearby ski resort of Cerro Castor, or the slopes of the Glacier Martial, behind the city.
What see
Ushuaia was the land of the Yamana indigenous people, when an Anglican mission was founded there in 1871 headed by Reverend Thomas Bridges, and from 1902 to 1947 it was the seat of a penal colony of the Argentine government, a frightening prison built by the same prisoners over the years 1902-20.
The building still retains the cells where the prisoners lived and the evidence of their presence in this very harsh place of detention, around which the first settlement developed.
In a prison pavilion is the Maritime Museum, which shows the history of Tierra del Fuego through the navigators who have sailed its seas.
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An excursion with the Tren del Fin del Mundo offers the opportunity to retrace the same path that prisoners did when they went to get wood in the woods.
After the closure of the prison, considering that it is an area on the border of the national territory, the Argentine government launched a tender for the reconstruction of the small village that had sprung up around the penitentiary.
In 1948 the race was won by the Bolognese entrepreneur Carlo Borsari, who organized the reconstruction of the city by bringing a large number of experienced workers with their families from Italy.
Of all these people, who designed and built the city, at the end of the work they decided to remain only a small part, and today there are few Italian families present in Ushuaia.
To visit in the city, in addition to the historic prison where the Maritime Museum is also located, there is the Museum of the End of the World, housed in a building dating back to 1902, the ancient seat of a branch of the Banco de la Nacion Argentina.
The exhibition covers the history of this region through documents and objects belonging to the indigenous population, missionaries, pioneers, shipwrecked people, explorers, who have passed or lived in this area.
A visit to the Tierra del Fuego National Park bordered by the Beagle Channel to the south is also advisable to admire the beautiful panoramic views.
The boat trip on the Beagle Channel is very interesting to reach the islands where cormorants, sea lions and penguins live, and to spot the Les Eclaireurs lighthouse, known as the Faro del fin del mundo.
Starting from Ushuaia it is possible to reach, through a path or with the chair lift, the Martial glacier, to appreciate the beautiful panorama of the mountains and the city placed at their feet.
