Straddling the Beagle Strait, Ushuaia is the largest city in Argentine Tierra del Fuego island, with about 75,000 residents (2019). It is 3,260 km south of Buenos Aires. It lays claim to the title "the southernmost city in the world". Puerto Williams, across the channel in Chile, also claims this title, but has only about 3,000 residents. Ushuaia has been a missionary base, penal colony and naval base for the Argentine navy.
Photos: Wikimedia Commons contributors.
Ushuaia is the capital of the Argentinian province of Tierra del Fuego, itself the eastern half of Tierra del Fuego island (and archipelago) in the southern tip of South America. The city has been transformed from a sleepy village to a lively tourist center, so you will not feel quite like you are at the end of the world. The scenic landscape around the city, with good outdoor sports including one of the southernmost winter sport resorts in the world complete with a view to the sea, make Ushuaia a place worth visiting. Ushuaia is east-west elongated city crushed between the Andes foothills to the north (which do not run north-south at this latitude) and the Beagle Channel to the south.
There are city buses within Ushuaia, but they reach few of the tourist attractions. They are good to get to Playa Larga, for example, or from one part of the centre to another, along the east/west axis. The bus lines are nowadays labelled with letters, though the former route numbers may still be visible at some bus stops. The bus system to pay is the SUBE card, the same as for other big cities in Argentina. Tours/transport to the main tourist attractions can be booked through the Tourist Office (on San Martin) or through many of the hostels. Regular minivans leave for the National Park (first van 08:00), Glaciar Martial, the trailhead of Laguna Esmeralda or other places from a parking lot a…
There aren't really any architectural sights in Ushuaia. The city is modern, but the architecture is Scandinavian and positively different from other cities in southern Argentina. 1 Casa de Gobierno, San Martín. The local government building is a strange mixture of functionalism with Alpine elements and is hard to miss. 2 Les Eclaireurs Lighthouse (Lighthouse at the End of the World) (9 km southeast of Ushuaia). Reached by a short boat tour from Ushuaia, it is known locally as the Lighthouse at the End of the World, though the lighthouse made famous by Jules Verne in the novel of the same name is the San Juan de Salvamento lighthouse further east on Isla de los Estados.
It's a city that has charm in every season, in winter the weather is very cold, but it is the best season to practice skiing and other mountain sports, such as sledging by Siberian dogs and biking snowmobiles. The most important place to practice skiing is "Beaver Hill", where you can enjoy this sport and also a typical meal or a rich chocolate to soothe the cold. In the city you can visit the museum of the jail where they used to take the most dangerous criminals. In summer the temperature can reach 20 °C allowing us to enjoy the greenery. In summer you can hike, climb hills and visit the "Esmeralda" lagoon (in winter is difficult to reach because of the snow).
Highlight are lamb, crabs and other seafood dishes. Most Ushuaia restaurants are centrally-located, clustered around San Martín and Maipú. The western part of the city offers affordable rotiserías (pre-made/fast food) with standard Argentine dishes such as pizza and empanadas. Seafood and meat dishes are very typical, as fruit and vegetables have to be transported from thousands of kilometers away and, as such, are rarely tasty and rather expensive. Be sure to try the centolla (king crab). Regarding restaurants: Las cotorras, Mostacho, Chichilo, Tante Sara, all located in the city center, and many others in the outskirts of the city.
There is not much of a nightlife in Ushuaia; most bars and pubs close early. 1 Bar Ideal, San Martín 393, ☏ +54 2901 43-7860. Open until midnight. Irish pub. 2 Bodegon Fuegino, San Martín 859, ☏ +54 2901 43-1972. Locally-sourced, artisanal, home-cooked food. Tapas-style picadas recommended as sampling menu. Good wine selection. 3 Dublin Bar, 9 de Julio 168. Popular with tourists. 4 Küar, Perito Moreno 2232, info@kuar.com.ar. A couple of kilometers outside town, right above the rocks by the sea, breathtaking bay views and good live music scene, sophisticated and good but not outstanding and somewhat pricey dining.
Usuaia and the region in general isn't entirely free of crime, but significantly safer than most of Argentina. There aren't any slums, and businesses seldom have bars installed in the front of their windows. Potential criminals from elsewhere would have a hard time getting out of Tierra del Fuego undetected, as the only ways out would be via the airport or Chilean territory.
Guide content from Wikivoyage contributors (CC BY-SA) — abridged; the full article has much more.
Top-rated tours and tickets from €134 — book ahead for the popular ones.
Tours and tickets provided by Viator (a Tripadvisor company). Some links earn Stayonomy a commission.
In Jul, Ushuaia typically sees ~4°C daytime highs and 13 rainy days.
Cheapest destinations travellers searched recently — refreshed daily.
Flight prices are real fares travellers found in the last 48 hours, refreshed daily — the booking site confirms the final price. Train, bus and ferry fares are shown on the operators' booking sites. Weather data by Open-Meteo; exchange rates: ECB reference. Data updated 2026-07-29. Some links earn Stayonomy a commission at no cost to you.
stayonomy