Best Hikes in Tierra del Fuego National Park (Complete Trekking Overview)

Patagonia is full of stunning landscapes and hiking trails to explore. One of the top places to take part of some hikes is in Tierra del Fuego National Park.

Tierra del Fuego, also known as the End of the World, offers a great variety of trails to enjoy. Whether it is hiking alongside lakes or heading up mountains, Tierra del Fuego trekking offers a little bit of everything.

This guide will talk through all the various hiking and trekking trails to take part of during a visit to Tierra del Fuego National Park. By the end of reading through, you should be all prepared to explore Tierra del Fuego for yourself!

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1) Background & Helpful Info

The Tierra del Fuego National Park is one of the top highlights when visiting the Patagonian town of Ushuaia. The National Park entrance is located just around 10 km / 6 miles from the town center, making it super easy to take part of a visit during your time in the area.

Below are just a few helpful things to know about the overall area & National Park, and what it entails:

Name: The name Tierra del Fuego translates to Land of Fire. When the Europeans first came across this land, they came across the local Yaghan people’s campfires, hence the name “Land of Fire”.

Size: The Tierra del Fuego National Park was formed in 1960 and makes up 63,000 hectares / 155,000 acres of land. While the area is quite large, there are just a few sections of the park that have been upgraded for tourists to visit. These include roads, visitor centers, and hiking trails.

Roads: There are just a handful of main roads within the park (most notably Route 3), that will take visitors to trailheads, viewpoints, and even a visitor center. Since only a small portion of the park is open for public use, you won’t need to drive or walk far to see the various highlights.

Landscape: Within the park you are going to find a variety of landscapes – forests, mountains, rivers, valleys, lakes, glaciers, and more. As you drive around the park and walk along the trails, you will be able to experience a little bit of everything.

Weather: The National Park also marks a spot where the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans meet. Due to this the weather of the area can get quite windy, rainy, and stormy. Always be prepared for the weather in Patagonia!

2) How to Get to Tierra del Fuego National Park

Before you actually take part of some Tierra del Fuego trekking, you first need to head to the entrance of the National Park. Thankfully, it is very easy to make your way back and forth from Ushuaia, which is the closest town.

There are four main ways to go about a visit: shuttle bus, taxi, rental car, or tour guide. Below I will go into a bit more detail on each:

Shuttle Bus

Right in the town center you will find a shuttle terminal. Here, each day, several different companies provide shuttle busses back and forth from Ushuaia to Tierra del Fuego National Park.

At the shuttle terminal, you will find a small hut, where you can purchase tickets. They will be super helpful with explaining the stops & timing for departures.

Since there are different shuttle companies operating here, each company will be on a slightly different schedule (but all tickets can be purchased from that one ticket booth).

The shuttle busses will make a few main stops. These include at the National Park entrance to purchase tickets, and then at three main drop-off points: Ensenada Zaratiegui, Alakush Visitor Center, and Bahia Lapataia.

Depending on what hikes you want to take part of will dictate which shuttle bus stop you will get off at (and then back on at the end the day).

When I was visiting the park, the shuttle bus that I was set go back on only was picking up passengers at Alakush Visitor Center and Bahia Lapataia. That means I had to be sure to be at one of those two locations at the designated pickup times (which were given to me when I purchased tickets).

Note: there may be a few other drop off points along route 3 depending on shuttle company

The round-trip cost is just ~$8 USD with constant departures throughout the morning.

At the time I was there, the first departure was 9:00AM, but you can check with your hotel or the shuttle booking hut the day prior to be sure on timing. Show up just 30-60 minutes before departure to purchase your tickets and be on your way.

Taxi

If you are looking to be more on your own schedule and don’t want to worry about specific drop off an pick up locations, then having a taxi take you to the National Park could work for you.

If taking a taxi, you can decide to just have it drop you off somewhere in the park, and then pick you at the end of the day (be sure to get their phone number). Alternatively, you can hire a taxi for several hours and have them drive you to various spots around the park.

3) How Much Does it Cost to Visit

While you may need to pay for the shuttle service, taxi, or tour to get yourself into the National Park, you also need to pay an entrance fee.

At the entrance of the National Park, you will need to get out of your car and purchase your ticket, before continuing onward into the park.

The fees can change frequently due to the change of value in the Argentinian Peso. Expect a ticket to cost $18 for a one day entry with a discount for a second day if you decide to head into the park multiple times.

5) What to Bring

Hiking in Patagonia will require the right hiking gear for the trails. The weather can consistently change and so can the terrain. You will want to prepare yourself for all situations, so I would recommend you take a look at the day hike packing list I put together for the trails.

There are certain parts of Patagonia trails that can get very soggy and muddy, so having appropriate footwear and socks is a must (check out the photo below).

Hiking Resources & Checklist

Before heading out for the trails, be sure to read up on some of the hiking resources up on the site. These are here to better prepare you for all types of outdoor adventure.

• Gear: Hiking Packing List
• Weather: How to Prepare for Hiking Weather
• Navigation: Hiking GPS & Navigation
• Tips: 20+ Hiking Tips & Tricks for the Trail
• Accommodation: Book Your Hotel Today
• Rental Car: Book Your Car Rental Today

6) How Many Days Do You Need

For most people, one day is enough to explore Tierra del Fuego National Park. You have the chance to take part of one or more of the hiking trails as you spend a full day exploring the ins and outs of the park.

However, if you are keen on hiking additional trails, and you want to see even more of the park, then two days will be perfect for you. And thankfully, they do offer those two day tickets for those that want a bit more out of a visit.

Anything more than two days, would just be filled with more downtime and relaxing. I can imagine 3+ days makes sense if someone wants to camp and just enjoy longer times in nature.

But overall, I do think you will still get a lot out of one day in the park, especially if it is a full day.

7) Hiking Tierra del Fuego National Park Map

Let’s now get into the actual hiking trails of Tierra del Fuego National Park. I would consider there to be 6 main hiking routes, in addition to the Lapataia Sector.

Within the Lapataia Sector there are 6 shorter routes that all connect to one another. I will try my best to talk through all these intricacies during the course of this guide.

Below you can find the trail map with some notes tagging the individual hiking trails within the park (and the main shuttle bus stops).

In the second map you can find a zoomed in view of the Lapataia trail, which technically has 6 shorter trails that make up the area. The rest of this guide will go over the hikes alongside some helpful trekking details.

8) National Park Hiking Tips

Here are just a few helpful hiking tips and things to know for your time hiking in Tierra del Fuego:

Drop Off Points: As mentioned earlier, there are a few main drop-off points for the shuttles – Ensenada Zaratiegui, Alakush Visitor Center, and Bahia Lapataia. These are where most of the hikes start and/or end.

Route: Whether you are taking the shuttle or driving in, you will want to think of your overall route for the day. The nice thing about the shuttles, is that you can start in one place and hike through to another shuttle bus stop to get picked up. You may not have that luxury with a car.

One Way Routes: Some of the routes are mentioned as one-way routes, so you may start in one spot and end up in another. You can alter some of the routes so you just head there and back in order to end at the starting point instead.

Weather: I will reiterate this again – be prepared for the weather! Bring the necessary gear to keep you comfortable in the rain and wind.

From the Zaratiegui Bay campsite / shuttle bus stop you can follow the trail upwards into the woods. About an hour into the hike you will be welcomed to views of the Beagle Channel, Bahia Lapataia, and the unique Patagonian landscape all around.

From the viewpoint you can decide to head back down the same way you came or continue onwards to the other side, which meets up with the road that leads to the Rio Pipo waterfall (more on that soon).

During the duration of the trail, you will come across small beaches and bays with views of Bahia Lapataia, the Beagle Channel and small islands that dot the water.

Note: you can also hike this trail in the opposite direction. However, as mentioned previously, during my time there shuttle busses were not picking up from Zaratiegui Bay at day’s end (only drop-offs).

Along the way you will see the turnoff for the Cerro Guanaco hike (more on that next). But unlike the hike up Guanaco, this hike is quite flat and peaceful to enjoy.

The interesting thing about the hike is at the end point (halfway point I should say), the trail meets up at the border of Chile and Argentina. If you want to quickly step foot in another country, here is your chance!

This will be difficult to reach unless you have your own car as the shuttle busses don’t go up to the campsite.

Cruce Ruta 3 – Ensenada

Starting Point: Route 3
Ending Point: Ensenada Zaratiegui
Length: 1.3 km (one way)
Duration: 30 minutes
Difficulty: Easy

I wouldn’t really consider this a hike, but it is just the path that connects Route 3 with Zaratiegui Bay. I figured I would include it here as the official Tierra del Fuego hiking map marks it down as one of the trails.

Lapataia Sector

Connecting the Alakush Visitor Center and the final shuttle bus stop at Bahia Lapataia is the Lapataia Sector.

The sector is made up of 6 various hiking trails. While you can simply just walk the route between the two connecting the trails, there are additional turnoff points to take part of too.

I would highly recommend walking this sector as there is just so much variety to enjoy during a hike here. Depending on your interest, you can head down just some of these extended routes or all of them.

Below is a breakout of the six trails as part of the Lapataia Sector:

After finishing up a day of hiking, either drive yourself back to Ushuaia or hop on your shuttle bus. Be sure to rest up as I am sure you will want to explore and hike more during your time there.

I hope this guide has helped you better understand all the various ins and outs of Tierra del Fuego trekking. If you do have any additional questions or comments, be sure to add them in below.

Also, don’t forget to check out the remaining Patagonia itineraries and guides up on the site.

Have fun out there and safe travels!

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