Six kilometres from the railway station west, a turn-off to the
right takes you across the lush meadows of the broad Río Lapataia,
past the ruins of the burnt-out Hostería Alakush and, after
a kilometre, to Lago Roca and its campsite. Just past the
campsite buildings, there's a car park that looks out across Lago
Roca, a lake that extends across the border into Chile. A gentle
path hugs the northern shore of Lago Roca and heads through
majestic lenga forest to the Chilean border at Hito XXIV
(Boundary Marker XXIV), 5km away. Do not attempt to cross the
border: it is under regular surveillance and you will be arrested
if you attempt to do so.
A more spectacular but more tiring trek is the climb up Cerro
Guanaco (970m; 8km; 3hr), the mountain ridge on the north side
of Lago Roca. Remember that, at any time of the year, the weather
can turn capricious with little warning, so bring adequate clothing
even if you set out in glorious sunshine. Take the Hito XXIV path
from the car park at Lago Roca and after ten minutes you'll cross a
small bridge over a stream. Immediately afterwards, the path forks:
left to Hito XXIV and right up the slope to the Cerro. The path up
the forested mountainside crosses the Arroyo Guanaco at several
points. It is not hazardous, but after rain, you're sure to
encounter some slippery tree roots and muddy patches.
Above the tree line, the views are spectacular, but the path
becomes increasingly difficult to follow in the boggy valley,
especially after snowfalls. Cerro Guanaco itself is to the left on
the ridge above you. Even if you can't make out the path, and as
long as visibility is good, you can scramble your way to just about
any point along the crest of the ridge with few problems. From the
crest, the views of this angular landscape are superb: the swollen
finger of Lago Roca, flanked by the spiky concertinaed ridge of
Cerro Cóndor, with the jagged Cordillera Darwin beyond; eastwards
lies Ushuaia and its airport; whilst behind you to the north, a
vertiginous cliff plunges down to the Cañadón del Toro, and behind
that rise the inhospitable Martial, Valdivieso and Vinciguerra
ranges that obscure the view to Lago Fagnano. Best of all, however,
are the views to the south: the tangle of islands and rivers of the
Archipiélago Cormoránes, Lapataia's sinuous curves, the Isla
Redonda in the Beagle Channel, and across to theChilean islands,
Hoste and Navarino, separated by the Murray Narrows. On a clear
day, in the distance beyond the Narrows, you can make out the Islas
Wollaston, the group of islands whose southernmost point is Cape
Horn