Tierra del Fuego, Patagonia, Argentina

Located in the southernmost part of South America, Tierra del Fuego National Park is an archipelago split between Chile to the West and Argentina to the East across the strait of Magellan. When European settlers first arrived here, they saw a number of bonfires started by the natives, so they called it Tierra del Fuego or Land of the Fire.

We took an excursion to Tierra del Fuego on 3/14/2023. We were picked up at our hotel in Ushuaia and driven past blue green lakes and lagoons to the national park as we made our way to Ensenada Bay where the lonely end of the world post office stood. To my surprise, it is a working post office, according to our guide, we could mail a postcard from there to anywhere in the world. It is a small building literally in the middle of nowhere which looks more like a shed on stilts. The scenery around it is surreal in its picturesque beauty. Senda Costera is a scenic hiking trail that starts near it unfortunately there was no time to explore it.

At our next stop we followed our guide on a short hike through the forest listening to her explain about the park’s flora and fauna. We stopped at a viewpoint high above the water where we could see a series of boardwalks surrounded by snow covered peaks. As we made our way down the hill to the boardwalks, we passed by wild horses peacefully grazing undaunted by the stunning scenery around them. Half of our group broke off to ride the End of the World Train which used to transport prisoners to work in the forest while the rest of us headed to the train station where we grabbed a quick snack and perused the history on display.

I highly recommend visiting this park. I wish we had allotted more time for hiking in it. I don’t think our one-day excursion was enough to appreciate its amazing beauty.

References Wikipedia