NAVIGATION TOURS

In Ushuaia, Navigation tours are excellent ways of enjoying the transparency of the waters of the Beagle Channel and the birds and marine mammals that inhabit it.

From Ushuaia, one of the most significant excursions which is available all year round is the one that takes the visitor to De los Lobos Island (Sea Lions Island). On this journey you also get to visit Les Eclaireurs Lighthouse, which is sited at the entry of Ushuaia Bay.

The tour starts from "Don Eduardo Arturo Brisighelli" dock; during the trip, the main buildings in the city can be seen: the "Maritime Museum" (formerly a prison), the "End-of-the-World Museum", the industrial area setup in 1980, among others.

From this point the landscape is a combination of sea and mountains and you can admire Mounts Olivia, Cinco Hermanos, the "Estancia Fique" and "Estancia Túnel", the Escarpados Range and the Encajonado River.

From there the tour heads to the center of the Beagle Channel, to the southwest, arriving at Les Eclaireurs Lighthouse and the Archipelago of the same name.

(There are several alternatives to understand the Beagle Channel specifically. It is mandatory when you visit Ushuaia, and you can elect traveling on catamarans or sailboats. The journey varies according to the time of the year and to the places to be visited during the trip).

On one of these islands it is possible to see parts of the "Monte Cervantes", a ship which wrecked in 1930.

On De Los Lobos Island you can delight in the view of these inquisitive and friendly marine mammals as you silently sail around the island for about 20 minutes, time during which their lasting habitat can be observed.

Then, your boat will head toward De los Pájaros Island (Bird Island) where you will be capable to observe more than 20 different species of sea birds, including Rock Cormorants, the majestic Blue-eyed Cormorants, albatrosses, Southern Fulmars, Southern Giant-petrels and Skuas.

On the way back through Paso Chico there is a view of the beautiful frame given to the city by Mt Martial and its glacier with the same name.

A variant of this excursion, available only in summer, departs from Ushuaia to Lapataia Bay, within Tierra del Fuego National Park, from which you can return to take the classic visit to De los Lobos Island. Some excursions include trekking inside the National Park.

From mid-October to the start of April, the tour to De los Lobos Island includes a stopover to the penguin rookery.

After visiting De los Lobos Island and Les Eclaireurs Lighthouse, the journey continues up to Martillo Island, where a rookery of Magellanic Penguins is established in the summer. If you take the complete excursion, navigation will continue up to "Estancia Harberton", the earliest establishment in the province. Here you can take a trekking trip in the company of a guide.

DEPARTURE FROM ENSENADA BAY
It is a striking place in the Beagle Channel, ideal for family picnics. From here, and if weather allows it, the tourist can take an excursion to Redonda Island, from where he can have a fascinating view of the Channel.

DEPARTURE FROM "ESTANCIA HARBERTON"
During the summer there are regular outings from "Estancia Harberton", visiting the penguin rookery on Martillo Island. Between October and April a bus service will take you from Ushuaia to "Estancia Harberton".

"MARE AUSTRALIS" CRUISE: USHUAIA TO PUNTA ARENAS
From Ushuaia, between the months of October and April, the traveler can explore the southernmost and most virgin region in the world aboard a cruise liner which will offer an unforgettable expedition. With an optional program of 3 or 7 nights you can decide the one that suits you best and, in this way, sail across the Strait of Magellan and the Beagle Channel.

The eternal ice, the silence only broken by the cackle of birds that follow the boat, the imposing nature which defies gravity are some of the sensations the visitor will keep forever in his memory.

You will be able to visit fiords, bays, glaciers and islands, between the Chilean city of Punta Arenas and Ushuaia, in Tierra del Fuego.

In this memorable trip you will also disembark on the mythical Cape Horn, last promontory before crossing up to Antarctica, and in Wulaia Bay, where an ancient indian settlement was found.

From the comfortable rooms in the cruise liner, you will see the imposing glaciers and then you will disembark on the beach near Garibaldi Glacier from where you will have the opportunity to walk into virgin forests.

Before arriving in the Chilean city of Punta Arenas you cannot miss seeing the colony of 120,000 Magellan penguins that live on Magdalena Island whihle taking a walk to the lighthouse.

On the way from Punta Arenas to Ushuaia you will navigate along Seno del Almirantazgo before disembarking in Ainsworth Bay, from where you can see Marinelli Glacier with its unique colours and strange glare.

You will visit a settlement of sea lions and from there you will navigate along Seno D'Agostini to watch the D'Agostini and Serrano glaciers, to later disembark on the fabulous Condor Glacier Bay.

In the last section, and already in the Beagle Channel, you can appreciate the "Glaciers Avenue" which takes you to Yendegaia Bay, where the first ranch in Tierra del Fuego stands, and from there you will go to the southernmost town in the world: Puerto Williams.

At last, after this exciting tour, you return to the starting point, the city of Ushuaia, where the expedition ends.