Explore Tierra del Fuego
The second-largest settlement in Tierra del Fuego, Río Grande is also the only town of significance in Isla Grande’s central and northern sector. The sterile-looking plains that surround it harbour fields of petroleum and natural gas that generate millions of dollars of wealth annually, with huge quantities of gas transported each year to Ushuaia and as far away as Buenos Aires. North of town, the RN-3 runs through monotonous scenery towards San Sebastián, where you cross the border into Chile or continue north on a dead-end route to the mouth of the Magellan Straits at Cabo Espíritu Santo. On the way to Río Grande from Ushuaia, the RN-3 winds up to Paso Garibaldi, where you have majestic views over Lago Escondido, and then bypasses Tolhuin, crossing the woodland scenery of the central region. This stretch is marked by a string of ripio branch roads, the rutas complementarias, which wiggle away from the RN-3; those headed west take you to a couple of fine estancias, and those headed east into the Península Mitre, the windswept land that forms Isla Grande’s desolate tip.
One of the northern region’s principal tourist draws is its world-class trout-fishing, especially for sea-running brown trout, which on occasion swell to weights in excess of 14kg. The river, also named Río Grande, currently holds five of the fly-fishing world records for brown trout caught with various breaking strains of line. The mouths of the Río Fuego and Río Ewan can also be spectacularly fruitful, as can sections of the Malengüeña, Irigoyen, Claro and Turbio rivers and lakes Yehuin and Fagnano.
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Lago Fagnano and Tolhuin
Lago Fagnano and Tolhuin
Cresting the Paso Garibaldi some 45km out of Ushuaia, the RN-3 descends towards Lago Escondido, the first of the lowland lakes, accessible via a 4km branch road to the north, before heading alongside the southern shore of LAGO FAGNANO. This impressive lake, also called Lago Kami from its Selk’nam name, is flanked by ranges of hills, and straddles the Chilean border at its western end. Most of its 105km are inaccessible to visitors, apart from dedicated anglers who can afford to rent a good launch. Travelling along the RN-3 as it parallels the lake, you’ll see several sawmills, denoted by their squat, conical brick chimneys, used for burning bark.
Near the eastern end of Lago Fagnano, the road splits: the left fork is the more scenic, old, unsealed RN-3 route, which cuts north across the lake along a splendid causeway; the right is the RN-3 bypass, the more direct route to TOLHUIN, the region’s oddest little town. Created in the 1970s, Tolhuin was designed to provide a focus for the heartland of Isla Grande – indeed, the name means “heart-shaped” in Selk’nam – but as a place of unassuming houses that hangs together with little focus, it has an artificial commune-like feel. It does, however, make a useful halfway point to break the journey – as most buses do – between Ushuaia and Río Grande.
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Border with Chile and into Patagonia
Border with Chile and into Patagonia
If you’re planning on heading north into Patagonia via land, you’ll need to cross first into Chilean Tierra del Fuego and then across the Magellan Straits that separate Isla Grande from Patagonia. The main land border crossing between the Chilean and Argentine halves of the island is at San Sebastián, in the north of the island. The respective customs posts (April–Oct 7am–1am; Nov–March 24hr) are several hundred metres apart, some 15km west of the Argentine village of the same name. Formalities are straightforward, if somewhat lengthy at times. There is also a smaller border post at Bella Vista. You may not take any fresh fruit, meat or dairy products into Chile, and Argentine officers sometimes reciprocate. Once into Chile, you can either continue to the town of Porvenir, where a long (2hr) and irregular crossing connects direct with Punta Arenas, or head to Bahía Azul, where there is a shorter (30min) and much more frequent crossing to Punta Delgada, although these ferries can’t operate at low tide and involve a longer drive afterwards if you’re planning to head further into Chilean Patagonia. Buses depart most days from Ushuaia or Río Grande to Punta Arenas and other destinations in Patagonia, but their schedules change accord to the ferry timetable and time of year, so you should enquire ahead.
