Parque Nacional Tierra Del Fuego Travel Guide

There are three ways of accessing the park : by boat from Ushuaia to Lapataia; by train on the Tren del Fin del Mundo; or, by far the commonest and cheapest way, along the good dirt road from Ushuaia (sometimes cut off briefly by snowfalls, late May to early Oct). A $5 entrance fee must be paid at the main park gate. Virtually all travel agencies in Ushuaia offer tours of the park (around $25); most last four hours and stop at the major places of interest including Bahía Lapataia - be sure to book on a minibus and try to avoid the big tour buses. Several companies run regular public buses that stop at any point in the park between the entrance and Lago Roca or Lago Verde, but none goes as far as the end of the RN3 at Bahía Lapataia. Most leave from the Muelle Turístico or will pick you up from your hotel if arranged in advance. Bus tickets do not include the park entrance fee. A remise from Ushuaia to Lapataia, holding up to four people, costs $45, usually with a three-hour stay in the park, but arrange details before departing. You can also get to the park on a boat trip along the Beagle Channel from Ushuaia - services drop you at the jetty at Bahía Lapataia - or on the Tren del Fin del Mundo, which drops you at the parks station, 2km from the main gate.

There are four main areas for camping in the park: Bahía Ensenada and Río Pipo are currently free, but you're better off heading to the paying sites of the Lago Roca and Lago Verde areas, which lie in the more exciting western zone of the park. Lago Verde has the two most beautiful campsites in the park, right next door to each other: on a grassy patch of land encircled by the Río Ovando is Camping Lago Verde (tel 02901/421433; lagunaverde@tierradelfuego.ml.org ; $2 per person), which has a tiny toilet block and sink, a shop, and rents tents ($10 a day, sleeping bags included); Camping Los Cauquenes (pay at Lago Verde ; $2 per person) is just across the road, nearer the Archipiélago Cormoranes, and has lawn-like pitches tended by rabbits. Site no. 9 is the top spot, in an exquisite, reposeful setting on its own tiny bay.

If looking to contract a private guide to the national park, you may be lucky enough to hire the services of Graciela Ramacciotti, whose irrepressible good humour is matched only by her reserves of knowledge and love of the area (tel 02901/434122, fax 433302). Claudio Giri is another good guide (tel 02901/436835; $60 per day).