Lakes: Escondido and Fagnano

The Lakes: Escondido and Fagnano tour in Ushuaia is an activity that cannot be missed during your visit to the End of the World. You will enjoy unique views of the lakes and valleys of the Andes Mountains and the northern area of the island of Tierra del Fuego from the Garibaldi Viewpoint while you learn about the history of old sawmills and Escondido and Fagnano lakes. The tour visits the winter centers and gives you the possibility to add a lunch with Patagonian lamb.

The tour begins when we pick you up at your hotel in Ushuaia starting at 9:00 a.m. and head with the guide along National Route Nº3 in a northeasterly direction.

The first stop of the tour will be at the Carbajal Valley Viewpoint where you can enjoy the view of this valley of glacial origin and which is crossed by the Olivia River. Then, you continue along the same route, being able to see the tourist centers in the valleys where in winter takes place the activities of sledding pulled by Huskies, snowshoeing, cross-country skiing and snowmobiling. Here you will visit the Harwen winter center (closed on Mondays) which is the headquarter of the national snow sculpture festival and where the southernmost artisanal Gin distillery in the world is located. You will learn about the production process of this spirit drink, visit a small museum that exhibits the history of the national motorcycle industry since the 1950s and the experiences of the pioneers on long journeys linking the south and north of the continent.

Continuing with the tour along National Route Nº3, you reach the highest point of the mountain range where you will visit the famous Garibaldi Pass that offers the first panoramic view of the Escondido and Fagnano lakes in a setting of Patagonian Andean forest, landscape setting of impressive beauty.

The tour continues on the road until you pass the Bronzovich sawmill, an active and large sawmill on the coast of Lake Escondido. Afterwards, you will reach Lake Fagnano, where you will get off again to appreciate the enormous magnitude of the lake, being one of the largest in South America.

To finish the tour, you return along the same route making a stop at one of the winter centers where you can, optionally, have lunch of the typical Fuegian lamb stake in a local restaurant. After dessert and a moment of relaxation, you resume the return to the city of Ushuaia, arriving at 4:00 p.m. approximately.