Multi-day trekking in Tierra del Fuego

Tierra del Fuego is one of Patagonia’s least known hiking and trekking destinations. Perhaps that’s just a lack of branding: flying into Ushuaia or Puerto Williams immediately makes its potential clear: both hubs lie amid a vast canvas of crumpled mountains, hidden lakes and thick forest, all waiting to be explored.

While there are a host of easy day hikes to be enjoyed, Tierra del Fuego really comes into its own when you head into the wilderness for a few days of remote camping. This is real bushwhacking territory, where you’ll be breaking trails in places where few have hiked before. Don’t look for other hikers along the way: the condors flying high above you are more likely to be constant companions amid these great hidden landscapes.

The Sierra Valdivieso range near from Ushuaia gives you a great sense of wilderness; camping wild and trekking deep into the Cordillera Darwin mountain range that borders the mighty Lago Fagnano – Tierra del Fuego's largest lake.

The trail is 32 miles (51 km) in total and takes four days to complete, staying either in remote campsites or basic mountain cabins. Most of the route is off-trail hiking through wet and rocky country – you'll likely not see a single other person on this trek. 

As well as crossing mountain passes to reach beautiful glacial lakes, the wide lopping trek includes hiking to the Ojo del Albino Glacier, part of which you’ll traverse for an ultimate adventure.

The Torres del Río Chico trek is short at just three days, but it punches well above its weight in terms of offering a true wilderness experience – given its proximity to Ushuaia, that’s a reflection of just how quickly you can strike out for a remote adventure in Tierra del Fuego.

The trail takes you along the Río Chico Valley to the high Andean plateau. It starts out in Ushuaia, and climbs to the spectacular Valley of the Lagoons, with its turquoise glacial lakes. From remote wild campsites, there are plenty of opportunities for diversions to the stunning mountain viewpoints of Punta Chloe.

The Mitre Peninsula offers a side to the Tierra del Fuego wilderness that few have ever seen. Instead of looking up to the mountains, it follows the rugged coastline east of Ushuaia for a unique view of the island. 

The landscape on this remote wild camping trek is varied – one day you'll be fording rivers by beaver dams in thick forests, and the next following the cliffs down to rocky shorelines and wide sandy beaches scoured by the southern wind. Along the way, look out for penguins, abandoned gold mines and lonely gauchos. 

Three different versions of the trek can be tackled, of 3, 7 and 10 days in duration.

The Dientes de Navarino trek from Puerto Williams is the southernmost trek in the world: head any further off the map and you’d have to hike to the South Pole. This hike is thankfully easier, but it still shouldn’t be underestimated.

This classic 33 mile (53 km) remote mountain trek can be completed in four days, but our itineraries allow for five days as the weather conditions can be extremely challenging. The mountain passes are often covered in snow, even during the summer months.

The trail is slowly becoming more established but is still demanding with boulder fields, precarious scree slopes and scrambling over felled tree trunks for amazing views over the mountains and the Beagle Channel.