Ushuaia calls itself the end of the world, and with a straight face: it is the southernmost city of any size on the planet, tucked between the Beagle Channel and a wall of jagged Andean peaks at the bottom of Tierra del Fuego. About fifty-eight thousand people live here, in a town that climbs the hillside in colourful tin-roofed houses, and the harbour is full of expedition ships bound for Antarctica. The ride you came for runs out of town to the east and west, and both directions are short, because the road simply stops.
Getting here is the achievement, and the riding is the afterthought. From Lago Fagnano, the huge glacial lake across the island, Ruta 3 climbs through the Garibaldi Pass, a short run of tight, damp bends through lenga beech forest, before dropping into the valley of Ushuaia. The tarmac is good, the corners are medium and the views over the lake are excellent. West of town, the same road leads into Tierra del Fuego National Park and ends at Lapataia Bay, where a sign marks the end of the highway. The wind is relentless, the temperature rarely rises above comfortable, and rain can arrive at any time of year. Summer, from December to March, gives the longest days and the best odds.
The history is heavy and interesting. The Yamana, canoe people who lived by fishing and hunting along the channel, were here for thousands of years before Europeans came. Missionaries and settlers followed in the nineteenth century, and Charles Darwin sailed through the channel on the Beagle in the 1830s, which gave the waterway its name. In 1902 Argentina opened a prison in Ushuaia, partly to settle the far south, and the old prison building now houses a museum that is well worth an hour.
Nature here is dramatic. The Martial glacier hangs above the town, beech forest climbs the slopes, and the water of the channel is steel grey. Sea lions bask on rocky islands, cormorants nest on the cliffs, and in the national park you may spot foxes, beavers, which were introduced and have wrecked some streams, and a rich bird life.
Fuel and services are plentiful in town, so fill up and buy supplies. Bring waterproofs, warm layers and a wind-proof jacket, and be patient with traffic in the centre.