Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
gentine and very inviting. Guests rave about the hikes through ñire and lenga forest. Day
trips from Ushuaia (with Turismo de Campo) stop by for lunch or dinner and activities.
Rates are based on double occupancy. Rolito is 100km from Río Grande and 150km
from Ushuaia.
OFF THE BEATEN TRACK
LAGO DESEADO & BEYOND
South of Camerón, access to Chilean Tierra del Fuego once petered out into stark,
roadless wilderness and the rugged Cordillera Darwin. But the Ministry of Public
Works is working hard to create access to these southern points and develop fu-
ture tourism destinations.
Projects are underway to build a road to the new Parque Nacional Yendegaia, on
the island's southern shore. It currently reaches Seno Almirantazgo in the Cor-
dillera Darwin.
For now, there's at least one worthy destination on the road.
Lodge Deseado
(
91652564;
www.lodgedeseado.cl
; 2-/3-person cabin CH$135,000/160,000)
, on the lake of the
same name, marks a cozy spot to reel in wild trout, kick back in cool modern cab-
ins and swap stories with the engaging owner, Ricardo. Transportation from Punta
Arenas is available. Week-long packages visit major nature sights throughout Ti-
erra del Fuego (including the king penguin colony).
A 4WD is required for this remote region. A road now connects to the Argentine
side, with an official border crossing at mountain pass Río Bellavista (open only
mid-December through March).
PORVENIR (CHILE)
If you want a slice of home-baked Fuegian life, this is it. Most visitors come on a quick
day trip from Punta Arenas tainted by seasickness. But spending a night in this rustic vil-
lage of metal-clad Victorian houses affords you an opportunity to explore the nearby
bays and countryside and absorb a little of the local life; bird watchers can admire the
nearby king penguins and lively populations of cormorants, geese and seabirds. While
known for inaccessibility (there's no bus route here), the government is investing in com-
pleting roads through the southern extension of Chilean Tierra del Fuego, which will
open up a whole untouched wilderness to visitors.
Porvenir experienced waves of immigration, many from Croatia, when gold was dis-
covered in 1879. Sheep
estancias
provided more reliable work, attracting droves of
