ARGENTINA REGION BY REGION - Argentina - page 258

1 Ushuaia
Road map B6. * 60,000. k @
from Río Grande or El Calafate. n Ave
San Martín 674, [phone].
_ Festival Música Clásica de Ushuaia
(Apr). ∑ turismoushuaia.com

the former houses historical
and zoological displays, its star
exhibit the rescued figurehead
of the Duchess of Albany , an
English vessel shipwrecked
off the coast in 1883; the latter
traces the history of the region's
indigenous people.
High above Ushuaia, the
beautiful Glaciar Martial
offers panoramic views of the
city and Canal Beagle. To reach
it, take the chairlift from Centro
Recreativo Glaciar Martial
before trekking the final stretch
to its base.

Situated at the bottom tip
of Isla Grande, Ushuaia is best
reached by air. Coming in to
land over the icy peaks of
Cerro Martial and Monte
Olivia, and the frigid waters
of Canal Beagle, only heightens
one's sense of arrival at the end
of the world.
The city began as a penal
colony in 1884, part of an
Argentinian government plan
to populate their half of the
archipelago as a means of
reaffirming sovereignty. The
colony foundered but the
convicts remained, transferred
to the infamous Ushuaia prison,
which, from 1902 to 1947,
housed the country's most
notorious criminals.
Visitors can explore the old
prison at the fascinating Museo
Marítimo de Ushuaia . Guided
tours take in the prison's
cramped cells and recount the
crimes of its most notorious
convicts. A separate section is
devoted to Ushuaia's maritime
history, with displays covering
500 years of navigation. Also of
interest are Museo del Fin del
Mundo and Museo Yámana :

Jagged peaks near Ushuaia, seen from
across Canal Beagle

2 Canal Beagle
Road map B6. 8 Muelle Turístico,
Ushuaia, [phone].

E Museo Marítimo de Ushuaia
Yaganes & Gobernador Paz. Te l
[phone]. Open mid-Dec-mid-
Mar: 9am-8pm daily; mid-Mar-mid-
Dec: 10am-8pm daily. & 8 mid-
Dec-mid-Mar: 10am daily. 7 - =
∑ museomaritimo.com
E Museo del Fin del Mundo
Ave Maipú 175. Te l [phone].
Open mid-Dec-mid-Mar: 9am-8pm
daily; mid-Mar-mid-Dec: noon-7pm
Mon-Sat. & 8 in Spanish only.
7 =
E Museo Yámana
Rivadavia 56. Te l [phone]. Open
mid-Dec-mid-Mar: 10am-8pm daily;
mid-Mar-mid-Dec: noon-7pm daily.
& = ∑ museoyamana.com.ar
Centro Recreativo Glaciar Martial
Ave Luis Fernando Martial.
Open 10:30am-5:30pm daily. & -
Note: no buses to the chairlift, best to
hire a taxi and walk back down.

Several agencies run tours
by catamaran along the icy
waters of Canal Beagle (Beagle
Channel). Tickets can be bought
at Ushuaia's Tourist Pier from
where excursions depart. The
shortest of these head for the
Faro Les Eclaireurs lighthouse,
before returning via Las Islas de
los Lobos, home to a sea lion
colony, and Las Islas de los
Pájaros with its bird colony.
Longer excursions head out
to the 19th-century Estancia
Harberton , still managed by
the descendants of an Anglican
missionary who named the
estancia for his wife's birthplace
in England.

3 Cerro Castor
Road map B6. Ruta Nacional 3, Km
26.5, 16 miles (26 km) E of Ushuaia.
Te l [phone]. @ from Ushuaia.
Open mid-June-mid-Oct. & 0 -
= ® ∑ cerrocastor.com

The world's southernmost
ski resort, Cerro Castor
boasts 19 slopes with a
maximum drop of 2,532 ft
(772 m), the majority
appropriate for beginner and
intermediate skiers. There is
good off-piste skiing, plus a
snowboarding park and,
at the resort's base, a cross-
country skiing circuit that has
a good claim to being the
most scenic in Argentina,
passing through forests thick
with lenga beech trees. The former Government House, Ushuaia

For hotels and restaurants see pp278-83 and pp288-99