Where is Ushuaia?

Ushuaia (aka the End of the World) is situated way down south in Argentina in the Tierra del Fuego Province, on the shores of the Beagle Channel. It’s the southern most city in the world and almost the southern most town, although just across the Beagle Channel in Chile is Puerto Williams on Isla Navarino, with a population of just 2,800.

From Ushuaia it’s about 1,238km (774 miles) down south across the Drake Passage to the Antarctic Peninsula of Antarctica.

Ushuaia is 3,100km south of Buenos Aires “by road” although the trip includes a ferry crossing, as well as border crossings in and out of Chile, which don’t bode well with the car rental companies.

Flying to Ushuaia

Plenty of tourists arrive in Ushuaia via cruise ship, but for those on an Ushuaia ski trip, most arrive by aeroplane. The Ushuaia International Airport receives regular flights from the two Buenos Aires airports and irregular flights from a few other Argentine cities. The “international” part of the airport’s name mostly reflects charter flights.

The airport is only 4km (2.5 miles) from downtown Ushuaia and taxis are reasonably inexpensive. Most of the taxis are rather small, but some have roof racks and bungy ropes for ski and snowboard bags.

Travel Between Ushuaia and Cerro Castor

There is a Cerro Castor resort shuttle that travels between many of the downtown hotels and Cerro Castor. It only operates once a day and it can take a while to travel considering the many pick up points. Self-driving between Ushuaia and Cerro Castor provides the most efficient travel option, and it also provides flexibility to get to the Martial Glacier and the national park.

Driving Around Ushuaia

There are several car rental outlets at the airport and in downtown Ushuaia. Like the rest of Argentina, the car rental companies will charge a fortune for a small car that may look like it’s been to hell and back.

Many of the roads in Ushuaia are one way, sign-posting is not always great, and a major road to the national park may not seem at all obvious. However with a GPS you’ll be able to navigate around Ushuaia very readily.

Ushuaia has a strange road rule that’s a hangover from times when there was a lot of snow in town. Vehicles driving across/horizontally have to give way to uphill and downhill traffic, even if the across road is a major road (with the exception of roads with traffic lights).

Ski Area Nearby

• Cerro Castor is 26km (16 miles) northeast of Ushuaia
• Backcountry ski touring at Glaciar Martial is 7km (4.5 miles) west of downtown