Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Río Gallegos
500
12
Río Grande
100
4
Tolhuin
60
2
Getting Around
Taxis to/from the modern airport, 4km southwest of downtown, cost AR$55. Taxis can
be chartered for around AR$140 per hour. There's a local bus service along Av Maipú.
Rental rates for compact cars, including insurance, start at around AR$440 per day; try
Localiza
( 430739; Sarmiento 81)
. Some agencies may not charge for drop-off in other
parts of Argentine Tierra del Fuego.
Hourly ski shuttles (AR$100 round-trip) leave from the corner of Juana Fadul and Av
Maipú to resorts along RN3, from 9am to 2pm daily. Each resort also provides its own
transportation from downtown Ushuaia.
PARQUE NACIONAL TIERRA DEL FUEGO
Banked against the Beagle Channel, the hushed, fragrant southern forests of Tierra del
Fuego are a stunning setting to explore. West of Ushuaia some 12km along RN3,
Parque
Nacional Tierra del Fuego
(admission AR$110; fee collected 8am-8pm)
was Argentina's
first coastal national park and extends 630 sq km from the Beagle Channel in the south to
beyond Lago Fagnano in the north. For information visit the
Centro de Visitantes Alak-
ush
( 9am-7pm, shorter hr Mar-Nov)
.
The public has access to only a couple of thousand hectares along the southern edge of
the park, with short, easy trails designed more for day-tripping families than backpacking
trekkers. The rest is protected as a
reserva natural estricta
(strictly off-limits zone). Des-
pite this, a few scenic hikes along the bays and rivers, or through dense native forests of
evergreen coihue, canelo and deciduous lenga, are worthwhile. For spectacular color,
come in autumn when hillsides of ñire glow red.
Birdlife is prolific, especially along the coastal zone. Keep an eye out for condors, al-
batross, cormorants, gulls, terns, oystercatchers, grebes, kelp geese and flightless,
orange-billed steamer ducks. Common invasive species include the European rabbit and
the North American beaver, both wreaking ecological havoc despite their cuteness. Gray
and red foxes, enjoying the abundance of rabbits, may also be seen.
