When I did some research on the heights of the mountains in Ushuaia, I was surprised to find that the highest mountains are barely more than 1000 metres above sea level. Ushuaia is very close to the water, but that doesn't mean that its peaks are easy to reach. If you like trekking that takes you to incredible places, and the route is a challenge in itself, you can't miss the Guanaco Hill in the Tierra del Fuego National Park. At only 981 metres high, you can be sure that all its elevation change will make its presence firmly felt ❤️.

When it comes to touring the nature surrounding the city of Ushuaia, there is only one place you have to pay to enter. This is the Tierra del Fuego National Park, which is home to a large part of the natural resources we have in this part of our country. Currently, the entrance fee for foreigners is $30 and for locals $9, although at the time of my visit it was $40 and $12 respectively, but then they lowered the price (something unthinkable in my country, Argentina).

There are several things to do within the Tierra del Fuego National Park, such as visiting the end of National Route 3 at Lapataia Bay, visiting Lake Acigami, taking the End of the World Train and a variety of trekking and hiking trails. I had already done all these touristy things on my first visit, but I had missed the Guanaco Hill, a trekking that takes you to the top of this mountain and gives you incredible views of the city and the Beagle Channel.

As soon as a guest who wanted to go to Guanaco Hill showed up at the hostel, I didn't hesitate to join him for the hike together. This trekking is considered of medium-high difficulty, so it is necessary to register your entry with the park rangers and it is advisable not to go alone. My companion that day, Bruno, had already been doing a lot of trekking the previous days, and we both felt in good physical condition to do this hike.

This trail is 6 kilometres long one way, with an estimated duration of 4.5 hours. These signs tend to be somewhat overestimated if you decide to do the hike in the snowy season, but as it was summer at the time of our visit, we completed the whole section in only 3 hours. What was not overestimated was the difficulty, as in the last two kilometres, the trail took you along a small trail of loose stones on the edge of the mountain. We were lucky that there was no snow or wind, so we climbed it without technical difficulty, although the legs were quite demanding.

As we climbed higher and higher, the views became more and more incredible. It was only on the last few metres on the way to the summit that we came across some snow, as if to decorate the landscape. What I liked about this mountain was that whichever way you looked, the scenery was amazing. I did a lot of great treks in Ushuaia, and this was one of the best ❤️.

By the time we reached the summit, we could finally see the great view of the city and the Beagle Channel. We were very lucky to have an amazing day that let us see the whole landscape clear. From there we could also see other snow-capped peaks, and the peat bog areas that Ushuaia has. We could also see several beaver trees from there, which appeared as clear patches in the forest areas.

On this mountain I was also delighted to see the design on the bare stone, which showed thousands of splinters perfectly joined together. Unlike other mountains I visited in my country, which were made of earth, in Ushuaia the mountains are made of solid rock, which explains the surface vegetation on the slopes and forests. These sharp stones at the summit were all joined together, but on the last stretch of the road we saw them loose: the moment of creation of this mountain will have been an incredible landslide.

Bruno and I had brought our packed lunch, so we stayed on the summit for a while, taking advantage of the fact that there was no wind and it wasn't too cold. It really was a day with incredible and stable weather, something that almost never happens in Ushuaia. Normally during the same day it is cloudy, sunny, raining and even with some snow, but that day the sun was high all afternoon. We couldn't have asked for more perfect conditions to climb Guanaco Hill .

There is no doubt that I like to go to mountains where the views are beautiful, but the fact that the trail is a bit tricky ends up adding an extra thrill to the adventure. Guanaco Hill lived up to that expectation, so reaching its summit felt very satisfying. I recommend this trek to those looking to spend a day among forests, peat bogs, loose rocks and great scenery: the trail has it all, but the reward of the view at the end makes it all worth it ❤️.

Source.

Although Ushuaia is often referred to as the city at the end of the world, the reality is that there are other towns even further south on the map. If we stay within our Argentinean territory, we can find another town a little further down called Puerto Almanza. And if we cross the border, we also have Puerto Williams in Chile. These disputes of who deserves the title of being further south will always be ongoing, but the good thing is that if you find yourself travelling in the area, you can see at least a little of these three places ❤️.

One of the benefits included in some of the work-to-accommodation exchanges while you travel is the possibility of tours at the hosts' expense. In all this time doing the same in various hostels, I have been lucky enough to come across owners who take this into consideration and offer free rides for volunteers. When I was in Ushuaia, the owner of the hostel took me and my two other fellow volunteers on a walk to Puerto Almanza on a day with incredible weather.

Puerto Almanza is a small fishing village, consisting of a single street facing the coast of the Beagle Channel. In this place, the main tourist attraction is to come and taste the local seafood, so it is a destination to spend the day and return to Ushuaia. However, there are also some tourist accommodations, private campsites and free camping sites in case you want to extend your stay.

To get to Puerto Almanza and enjoy its coastline full of nature, seaweed and shells, it is necessary to come in your own vehicle or on a hired excursion. There is no public transport to this place and getting there by hitchhiking is also complicated. To get to this town, it is necessary to drive about 40 km north of Ushuaia on Route 3, and then take the gravel route J heading south again. There is not much to see along this road, except for some sporadic lodgings or private houses, so there is usually not much traffic.

Just opposite Puerto Almanza, you can see the town of Puerto Williams in Chile. Even there, I had no cellular signal from Argentina but my roaming with the neighbouring country worked. You can visit Puerto Williams leaving from Ushuaia on a ferry that costs about $260 round trip, but even though it is close, you can't go there for the day because there is only one service to and from Puerto Williams. I thought about the idea of visiting this place, but between the boat and having to pay for at least one night's accommodation there, the budget was quite high for so little. In the end I just settled for seeing the harbour from across the street.

Another thing you can do from Puerto Almanza is to visit the penguin colony located on Martillo Island. For this, it is necessary to take a special tour that leaves from Ushuaia, brings you by bus to this place and from here it goes in small boats to where the penguins are. There is only one company that offers this service and it is the only one that has the authorization to go down to the island and walk with these curious animals. The rest of the boats that visit the penguin colony directly by boat from Ushuaia only see the coast of the island from the top of the boat. If you want to walk with the penguins to get a closer look, you will have to pay a $250 tour, as opposed to the regular tour which costs about $140. Will it be worth it?

The fact that the owner of the hostel drove us to Puerto Almanza in his van was a good thing for me because it saved me the $50 that a private transfer to Puerto Almanza cost. The other girls who worked with me, he and I spent the afternoon sitting in front of the canal drinking mates and sharing our experiences of what it was like to be in Ushuaia in the high season. Unfortunately I don't like seafood or any of those sea foods, so we didn't try anything, but at least the biscuits we brought for the afternoon took our appetite away for a while .

Source