When I did some research on the heights of the mountains in Ushuaia, I was surprised to find that the highest mountains are barely more than 1000 metres above sea level. Ushuaia is very close to the water, but that doesn't mean that its peaks are easy to reach. If you like trekking that takes you to incredible places, and the route is a challenge in itself, you can't miss the Guanaco Hill in the Tierra del Fuego National Park. At only 981 metres high, you can be sure that all its elevation change will make its presence firmly felt ❤️.
When it comes to touring the nature surrounding the city of Ushuaia, there is only one place you have to pay to enter. This is the Tierra del Fuego National Park, which is home to a large part of the natural resources we have in this part of our country. Currently, the entrance fee for foreigners is $30 and for locals $9, although at the time of my visit it was $40 and $12 respectively, but then they lowered the price (something unthinkable in my country, Argentina).
There are several things to do within the Tierra del Fuego National Park, such as visiting the end of National Route 3 at Lapataia Bay, visiting Lake Acigami, taking the End of the World Train and a variety of trekking and hiking trails. I had already done all these touristy things on my first visit, but I had missed the Guanaco Hill, a trekking that takes you to the top of this mountain and gives you incredible views of the city and the Beagle Channel.
As soon as a guest who wanted to go to Guanaco Hill showed up at the hostel, I didn't hesitate to join him for the hike together. This trekking is considered of medium-high difficulty, so it is necessary to register your entry with the park rangers and it is advisable not to go alone. My companion that day, Bruno, had already been doing a lot of trekking the previous days, and we both felt in good physical condition to do this hike.
This trail is 6 kilometres long one way, with an estimated duration of 4.5 hours. These signs tend to be somewhat overestimated if you decide to do the hike in the snowy season, but as it was summer at the time of our visit, we completed the whole section in only 3 hours. What was not overestimated was the difficulty, as in the last two kilometres, the trail took you along a small trail of loose stones on the edge of the mountain. We were lucky that there was no snow or wind, so we climbed it without technical difficulty, although the legs were quite demanding.
As we climbed higher and higher, the views became more and more incredible. It was only on the last few metres on the way to the summit that we came across some snow, as if to decorate the landscape. What I liked about this mountain was that whichever way you looked, the scenery was amazing. I did a lot of great treks in Ushuaia, and this was one of the best ❤️.
By the time we reached the summit, we could finally see the great view of the city and the Beagle Channel. We were very lucky to have an amazing day that let us see the whole landscape clear. From there we could also see other snow-capped peaks, and the peat bog areas that Ushuaia has. We could also see several beaver trees from there, which appeared as clear patches in the forest areas.
On this mountain I was also delighted to see the design on the bare stone, which showed thousands of splinters perfectly joined together. Unlike other mountains I visited in my country, which were made of earth, in Ushuaia the mountains are made of solid rock, which explains the surface vegetation on the slopes and forests. These sharp stones at the summit were all joined together, but on the last stretch of the road we saw them loose: the moment of creation of this mountain will have been an incredible landslide.
Bruno and I had brought our packed lunch, so we stayed on the summit for a while, taking advantage of the fact that there was no wind and it wasn't too cold. It really was a day with incredible and stable weather, something that almost never happens in Ushuaia. Normally during the same day it is cloudy, sunny, raining and even with some snow, but that day the sun was high all afternoon. We couldn't have asked for more perfect conditions to climb Guanaco Hill 😃.
There is no doubt that I like to go to mountains where the views are beautiful, but the fact that the trail is a bit tricky ends up adding an extra thrill to the adventure. Guanaco Hill lived up to that expectation, so reaching its summit felt very satisfying. I recommend this trek to those looking to spend a day among forests, peat bogs, loose rocks and great scenery: the trail has it all, but the reward of the view at the end makes it all worth it ❤️.
With lots of love. / Con mucho amor.
Lau 💕.
