Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Dawn to Dusk
If you have come to Ushuaia in the Argentine
spring or summer you'll be grateful for the long
days. You'll want to spend those daylight hours
exploring the town, its small but fascinating
waterfront museum, nearby Tierra del Fuego
National Park and the islands of the Beagle
Channel. You can hike or mountain bike along
the park's marked trails or fish in the rivers
and lakes. Catamarans whisk you to islands in
the channel inhabited by penguins or to the old-
est
estancia
on the island. Local tour operators
offer scores of daytrips. Most are well-
organized. Shop around for those that most
interest you and for the best prices as well.
What follows are concise descriptions of major
sights near Ushuaia and some ideas for visiting
and exploring each of them.
Terra del Fuego
National Park
is covered on
page 507.
Estancia Haberton
In 1870, Thomas Bridges and his wife Mary
established a mission on Tierra del Fuego on
the site of present day Ushuaia. They were the
first Europeans to live on the island. Bridges
had come to the area as a teenager with his
adoptive parents and worked with the Yahgan
Indians on the Islas Malvinas (the Falkland
Islands). He learned their language and gained
their confidence so he was able to succeed
where other missionaries had failed. In 1886 he
asked the Argentinean government for and
received a parcel of land on the Beagle Channel,
85 kilometers (53 miles) from Ushuaia. He lived
