Tierra del Fuego National Park covers 63,000 hectares in the southwest of Tierra del Fuego island and protects mountains, lakes, rivers and deep valleys. The park starts from the north of Lago Fagnano and runs to the southern shores of the Beagle Channel. The deciduous lenga (nothofagus pumilio) and evergreen coihue (nothofagus betuloides) dominate the wooded areas, between which are extensive peat bogs. Birds include Magellanic oystercatchers, kelp geese, crested ducks and flightless steamer ducks as well as black-browed albatrosses, diving-petrels, great grebe, sheld-geese and Magellanic woodpeckers. Mammals include guanacos of the camelid family, red foxes, Magellanic sea otters, musk rats and the beaver. The beaver was in fact introduced and has since wrought havoc with its notorious tree felling, which has altered both the landscape and ecology of the area.

Native Yamana were among early settlers here some 10,000 years ago. They wore little, traveled by canoes, lived on the beaches and existed largely by hunting seals and gathering shellfish. The first European immigrants, who brought with them disease, were largely responsible for the demise of the Yamana. The national park is 12 km from the city of Ushuaia. Buses run regularly to the park where there’s a well-established campsite. There are several hikes in the park or you can canoe on its lakes. A map is available at the park entrance. Park Administración, Parque Nacional Tierra del Fuego, San Martín 1,395, Ushuaia. Tel: +54 (0) 290 142 1315.