Understand
In the late 19th century, the land that is now called Ushuaia was inhabited entirely by Yamana Indians and a handful of missionaries. At the time of writing (October 2005), there is allegedly one pure-blooded native-speaking Yamana Indian left. An excellent book on the history of the Yamana and their demise is The Uttermost Part of the Earth by E. Lucas Bridges, the son of one of the early missionaries. His father, Thomas Bridges, documented what he could of the Yamana language and found that it had a far larger vocabulary than the English language. Darwin, who famously sailed through the Beagle Channel, thought that the Yamana, were "the missing link".
Today the town is growing fast as a result of increased tourism since the 2002 economic crash. The government has encouraged this growth by designating Tierra del Fuego a virtually tax-free zone to encourage people to settle (many of the inhabitants of today's Ushuaia come from Chaco, in the north of Argentina). The cost of living however, is relatively high as all goods have to be transported long distances, usually by container ship.
Climate-wise, Ushuaia is warmer than many assume; although (arguably) the southernmost city in the world, it is no further south than Belfast is north, and temperatures rarely drop below -10. However, summers tend not to climb much above +12 and, as in all of Patagonia, strong winds add a significant wind chill factor.
Get in
There are daily Aerolineas Argentinas flights from Buenos Aires. LAN Chile (through its LAN Express services) flies a few times a week (currently three) from Santiago de Chile, stopping over in Puerto Montt and Punta Arenas. Flights can be booked from the Aerolineas Argentinas office, as well as from some local travel agencies. The local LAN Chile representative is the Rumbo Sur travel agency. Online bookings are now (Feb 2006) possible from the sites above, although you might then have to pick up your tickets at the airline office/representative rather than at the airport. Buses from/to all destinations (apart from Puerto Natales) all stop at Rio Gallegos. It can be cheaper to just buy a ticket to Rio Gallegos and purchase an onward ticket from there.
Get around
There is no public transport around Tierra del Fuego. However, tours / transport can be booked through the Tourist Office (on San Martin) or through many of the hostels. Taxis are another option, costing, for example, Ar$8 to get from the city centre to either the airport or Glaciar Martial. There are also several car / bicycle hire companies.
See
Do
Eat
Drink
Sleep
Hotels in Ushuaia are often booked, especially during peak tourist season, thus it is advisable to arrive in Ushuaia with reservations.
Hostels on the other hand are numerous and even in mid summer you should have no problem finding a bed.
Get out
:For other uses, see Ushuaia (disambiguation).
Ushuaia (pronounced uˈswa.ja) is the capital of the Argentine province of Tierra del Fuego, and the world's southernmost city. It is located on the southern coast of the island of Tierra del Fuego, in a setting surrounded by mountains and overlooking the Beagle Channel. It had approximately 64,000 inhabitants as of 2005.
The city was originally named by early British colonists after the name that the native Yámana people had for the area. For most of the first half of the 20th century, the city was centered around a prison for serious criminals. The Argentine government set up this prison following the example of the British with Australia: being a remote island, escape from a prison on Tierra del Fuego would have been impossible. The prisoners thus became forced colonists and spent much of their time cutting wood in the lands around the prison and building the town. They built a railway from the forests to the settlement, now used as a tourist train as the Tren del Fin del Mundo (End of the Earth Train), the southernmost railway in the world.
Tourism
The tourist attractions include the Tierra del Fuego National Park (to see Lapataia Bay) including by using the Tren del Fin del Mundo; hiring a boat charter to Cape Horn (in Chilean waters); and local birds, penguins and seawolves on the islands in the Beagle Channel. Some tours also visit the Lighthouse at the End of the World (Faro del fin del mundo) at the Isla de los Estados, made famous by Jules Verne in the novel of the same name.
It is also a key access point to the southern regions; it receives regular flights from Buenos Aires, (at Ushuaia International Airport).
There are a number of ski areas nearby, like Cerro Castor and Glaciar Martial.
Cruise ships visiting the Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas) and Antarctica dock at the port, as well as such as Princess Cruises, Holland America, Celebrity Cruises which transit between Valparaiso Chile to Buenos Aires and beyond and periodically do scenic cruising to Antarctica.
Orient Lines MS Marco Polo, Regent Seven Seas Cruises, and other ships provide expeditions to Antarctica out of Ushuaia.
"Southernmost city"
Other contenders for the title of southermost city are Puerto Williams in Chile (further south but much smaller and not considered a city and considered by some as a mere military base); and Punta Arenas, Chile (much larger but further north). Several continuously inhabited settlements also south of Ushuaia include Puerto Toro on Isla Navarino, Chile, Orcadas in the South Orkney Islands, and Esperanza in the Argentine Antarctic territory. Each of these settlements has fewer than 100 residents. Orcadas and Esperanza are merely considered bases by nations that do not recognise Argentina's Antarctic territorial claim, but they are considered as communities by the Argentine government: Esperanza has a secondary school, a chapel and a radio station. However none of these can be considered a city.
TV programme
"Ushuaïa, le magazine de l'Extrême" was the name of a television programme, presented by Nicolas Hulot and broadcast on the French TV channel TF1 from September 1987 to June 1995. The show is known in English as Ushuaia: The Ultimate Adventure, and this language's version was hosted by Perri Peltz and was shown on NBC, CNBC, and international affiliates of the Discovery Channel.
Gallery
Panorama of Ushuaia
Ushuaia in February, at 10 pm
See also
External links
