# Ushuaia: map, what to do and when to go

Ushuaia's draw is the setting, the Beagle Channel and the mountains, more than the town itself: a port of sheet-metal houses and steep streets. Capital of Tierra del Fuego, Argentina, it is the departure port for more than 90% of Antarctica's tourist expeditions.

Canonical: https://nilopelomundo.com/en/place/ushuaia/
Language: en. Extended author commentary and itinerary notes may remain in Portuguese. Dates below belong to individual sources; this is not live availability.

## Direct answer
- **Ushuaia: How do you get from the airport to downtown?** Taxis run on the meter and remises at a fixed fare booked by phone or app; count on the equivalent of a few dollars from the airport to downtown.
- **Ushuaia: How do you get to Estancia Harberton and Isla Martillo?** Estancia Harberton is 85 km east, along RN3 and Ruta J: about 2 hours each way, much of it on gravel road.
- **Ushuaia: What's the currency, and how should you think about prices?** The currency is the Argentine peso (ARS) and it devalues fast, so it's worth thinking in dollars and treating any peso figure as a short-term reference.

## The city, the prison and the channel
Start at the Museo Marítimo y del Presidio, on the corner of Yaganes and Gobernador Paz, and set aside 2 to 3 hours for the old cellblock pavilions.
- Museo Marítimo y del Presidio de Ushuaia
- Sailing the Beagle Channel
- Avenida San Martín
- Casa Beban

## National Park and the end of Ruta 3
Take the regular transfer on Avenida Maipú or drive 12 km along RN3 to the Tierra del Fuego National Park gate and pay the entrance fee.
- Tierra del Fuego National Park
- Bahía Lapataia and the end of Ruta 3
- Tren del Fin del Mundo
- Museo del Fin del Mundo

## East: a ranch, penguins and mountain
Leave at 8am along RN3 eastward and then the gravel Ruta J to Estancia Harberton: 85 km, about 2 hours.
- Martial Glacier and lookout
- Cerro Castor

## Museo Marítimo y del Presidio de Ushuaia
https://nilopelomundo.com/en/place/ushuaia/#g-lugar-museo-maritimo
Ushuaia · Half a day or more
The five radial pavilions of the old reoffenders' prison, built by the inmates themselves between 1902 and 1920 and shut down in 1947. One wing kept the raw, unheated cells; another retraces the maritime and Antarctic history. Set aside 2 to 3 hours.
Check access

## Tierra del Fuego National Park
https://nilopelomundo.com/en/place/ushuaia/#g-lugar-parque-nacional-tierra-del-fuego
Terra do Fogo, Antártica e Ilhas do Atlântico Sul
Created in 1960, with about 69,000 hectares of lenga forest, peat bogs, lakes and coastline, of which only a fraction is open to visitors. Entrance is 12 km from downtown along RN3; in 2026 the fee for foreigners stood at around $40,000 and for Argentines around $18,000 (peso amounts, subject to adjustment).
Check access

## Bahía Lapataia and the end of Ruta 3
https://nilopelomundo.com/en/place/ushuaia/#g-lugar-bahia-lapataia
Terra do Fogo, Antártica e Ilhas do Atlântico Sul · Up to half an hour
The point where the national highway ends, with the sign stating 3,079 km to Buenos Aires. Wooden boardwalks over the peat bog lead to the cove; the final walk is under 1 km and is accessible.
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## Sailing the Beagle Channel
https://nilopelomundo.com/en/place/ushuaia/#g-lugar-navegacao-no-canal-beagle
Ushuaia
Trips of 2 hours 30 minutes to 4 hours from the Muelle Turístico, passing Isla de los Lobos (South American sea lions and South American fur seals), Isla de los Pájaros and the Les Éclaireurs lighthouse, built in 1920, striped red and white, on a low rock. Longer itineraries include a landing on Isla Bridges or at the penguin colony.
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## Tren del Fin del Mundo
https://nilopelomundo.com/en/place/ushuaia/#g-lugar-tren-del-fin-del-mundo
Terra do Fogo, Antártica e Ilhas do Atlântico Sul
A 60 cm-gauge railway that retraces the route inmates once used to haul firewood, starting at Estación del Fin del Mundo, at km 8 of RN3. The ride lasts about 1 hour each way and enters the National Park, stopping at the Macarena waterfall.
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## Martial Glacier and lookout
https://nilopelomundo.com/en/place/ushuaia/#g-lugar-glaciar-martial
Ushuaia · Up to half an hour
A glacial cirque 7 km from downtown, up Luis Fernando Martial street. The chairlift stopped running around 2018 and the ice has retreated a lot; what still justifies the stop is a head-on view over the channel and the start of the high-altitude trails. Wear sturdy shoes and a windbreaker.
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## Museo del Fin del Mundo
https://nilopelomundo.com/en/place/ushuaia/#g-lugar-museo-del-fin-del-mundo
Ushuaia · Up to half an hour
Housed in the former Casa de Gobierno (1894) and the Casa Fernández Valdés (1903), two sheet-metal-and-wood buildings from the first urban core. Collection on the Yámana and Selk'nam, channel shipwrecks and the territorial period.
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## Avenida San Martín
https://nilopelomundo.com/en/place/ushuaia/#g-lugar-avenida-san-martin
The twelve-block commercial spine where you buy tax-free electronics, chocolate, wool and lenga-wood crafts. Watching who walks it in January versus May is the fastest way to grasp the city's seasonality.
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## Casa Beban
https://nilopelomundo.com/en/place/ushuaia/#g-lugar-casa-beban
Up to half an hour
A prefabricated catalogue house, imported from Sweden and assembled by the Beban family between 1911 and 1913, later dismantled and rebuilt on the waterfront. Today it works as a cultural center and exhibition hall, generally free to enter.
Check access

## Cerro Castor
https://nilopelomundo.com/en/place/ushuaia/#g-lugar-cerro-castor
Terra do Fogo, Antártica e Ilhas do Atlântico Sul
A ski resort 26 km east along RN3, opened in 1999, with runs between about 200 and 1,000 m of altitude and a season from mid-June to early October. Because of the latitude, it hosts European teams training out of season.
Check access

**Ushuaia: How do you get from the airport to downtown?**
Taxis run on the meter and remises at a fixed fare booked by phone or app; count on the equivalent of a few dollars from the airport to downtown.

**Ushuaia: How do you get to Estancia Harberton and Isla Martillo?**
Estancia Harberton is 85 km east, along RN3 and Ruta J: about 2 hours each way, much of it on gravel road. From the ranch, it's 15 minutes by boat to Isla Martillo, which has a daily visitor quota and only takes people who booked a spot in advance, so book as soon as your dates are set.

**Ushuaia: What's the currency, and how should you think about prices?**
The currency is the Argentine peso (ARS) and it devalues fast, so it's worth thinking in dollars and treating any peso figure as a short-term reference.

**Ushuaia: When is high season?**
Ushuaia has two high seasons. The main one is the austral summer, from December to March, with highs of 9 to 15°C and up to 17 hours of daylight near the December 21 solstice, when it only gets dark after 10pm; the second is the snow season, in July and August, with highs of 0 to 4°C and Cerro Castor in operation.

**Ushuaia: Is the city safe?**
Yes: Ushuaia is a small city with low violent crime, even by Argentine standards.


## In the Nilo app
- Plan these 3 days on the map: https://nilopelomundo.com/en/app/guide/ushuaia/?utm_source=llm&utm_medium=markdown&utm_content=door-itinerary
- Mark your hotel on the map: https://nilopelomundo.com/en/app/map/ushuaia/?utm_source=llm&utm_medium=markdown&utm_content=door-stay

## Full editorial guide (Portuguese)
https://nilopelomundo.com/llm/ushuaia.md