Road Trip through Argentinian Tierra del Fuego

Crossing the mountains to the flatlands

When my host family invited me on a road trip, I was quick to say yes. I’d heard Argentinian Tierra del Fuego is pretty different north of the mountains that surround Ushuaia, and I was curious to experience it. So I climbed into the backseat of my host’s beat-up white pickup, and we set off.

A drive from Ushuaia to Río Grande, the province’s second biggest city, takes only a few hours. But that drive crosses into a different world: flat, flat, flat plains instead of being closed in by mountains.

The drive from Ushuaia to Tolhuin, our first stop, took about an hour and a half.

I’d previously driven the road out of Ushuaia, through the narrow valley tucked between mountains—on my visit to Estancia Harberton. This time, when the highway offered a hairpin turn up the mountain, we ignored the small road leading off to the right (Ruta J, the way to Harberton) and instead began our ascent toward the mountain pass.

Back and forth went the road, on switchbacks that led us higher and higher up the mountain. Sheer rock face was on one side of the pickup; on the other side was a steep drop-off toward neighboring mountain peaks. Higher and higher rose the highway, climbing about 1300 feet in ten minutes.

These mountains are tall enough, and steep enough, and covered in so many glaciers, that there wasn’t a road through them until the 1950s. Before then, residents flew or sailed around the island to get from Ushuaia to Río Grande.

I’d also done this climb to the mountain pass previously—on a detour during the eventful ride home from Harberton—so we didn’t linger long at the scenic lookout. There was Lago Escondido, tucked in this hidden alcove between mountain peaks. Behind us and all around us were forested mountains: green, red, and gold. Ahead of us, beyond the remaining mountains, were the treeless plains of flatlands.

We had a ways to drive yet, and my hosts wanted to be home before dark.

Driving up the switchbacks to Paso Garibaldi, climbing 1300 ft in ten minutes