Beagle Channel + lighthouse
Half a day on a catamaran to Les Éclaireurs lighthouse and sea lion colonies. The most popular boat trip in Ushuaia — and yes, I love it too, even after a hundred times leading it. The Beagle Channel is the water that separates us from Antarctica.
Martillo Island Penguins
10 hours and three small wonders. In the morning — the Ruca Kellen chacra with raspberries and strawberries at Andrés's place; then lunch with seafood in the fishing village of Almanza; and the finale — Martillo Island. The only place in the world where you're allowed to walk between the penguins.
Laguna Esmeralda
Turquoise you don't believe in until you see it. 9 km on foot through lenga beech forest and beaver dams — and there it is, the Emerald Lagoon. I do this hike year-round and feel a bit embarrassed by my own oohs and aahs each time. But it really is wow.
National Park + Train
The one. The most popular excursion in Ushuaia — and for good reason. Tierra del Fuego National Park + the narrow-gauge End of the World train, the southernmost railway in the world. Half a day, car and train, plus the point where Ruta 3 ends and everything else begins.
Lakes: Escondido + Fagnano
Two lakes you can't reach in a regular car. Via Paso Garibaldi and the dirt road — to Escondido and Fagnano. Full day, lunch on the shore. If you're lucky, you'll see beaver dams along the way [an invasive species that reshaped the whole hydrology of the island — a story in its own right].
Helicopter over Ushuaia
15 minutes — and the whole island is laid out below you. Ushuaia from above, the harbor with sailboats, the Martial glacier, the Beagle Channel. Only Robinson R44 (3 seats), only the best pilots from HeliUshuaia, only when the weather lets us fly. Tierra del Fuego decides — sometimes we reschedule.
Martial Glacier
The cheapest "wow point" in Tierra del Fuego. 4–5 hours on foot from the old lift station — and you're standing on the tongue of the Martial glacier with a panorama of Ushuaia and the Beagle Channel. I always bring coffee for the break — it's a must.
Crab, strawberries and fishing village
Crab, strawberries and a 1886 estancia — all in one long day. Morning on Ruta 3 east, then onto a dirt road. Ruca Kellen chacra with Andrés (strawberries in the southernmost greenhouse in the world — and yes, it's legal), the fishing village of Almanza with lunch of centolla straight from those who caught it. Finale — Estancia Harberton, the first ranch on Tierra del Fuego, founded by the Bridges family in 1886.
Kayaking the channel
On the water the Beagle Channel looks different. We paddle along the shore, the lighthouse drifts past at ten meters, sea lions usually come up to us — they're curious. No experience needed: an instructor stays with every pair of kayaks. My own first kayak was a year ago, I'm still a little scared — and that's part of the fun.
City Tour
Ushuaia, not for the checkbox. I don't show — I TELL. The old Presidio prison, the End of the World Museum, the seafront, and a couple of spots that regular tours don't go to. 2.5 hours with me — in Russian, at my own pace, with my own stories. More of a meditation with immersion into local meanings than a classical excursion.
Hot tubs by the lake — 2 days
Two days of quiet. Wood-heated hot tubs by the shore of Lake Fagnano, wooden cabañas, cooking over fire. Connection — only Starlink, and only in places. I send people here who need to exhale after Antarctica, or just after life.