What to do in Tierra del Fuego?

Tierra del Fuego Island is one of the most remote places in Chile. It’s also one of the least visited, even by Chileans themselves. But they are so far away! It seems like an unreachable destiny at the end of the world, far from “civilization” and with not much to see and do. We are here to convince you otherwise: this is destiny that must be on your favorites list and there ARE lots to do in Tierra del Fuego.

Tierra del Fuego Island is a wonderful and very special place, they call it the “Patagonia Desert” and with a lot of reason. It’s a mixture of wildlife from the Chilean high plateau (another destination you can’t miss) and the infinite landscapes of the Chilean Patagonia. In here paved roads do not exist and guanacos and foxes take the roads because is part of their habitat.

And, as icing of the cake, at Tierra del Fuego Island lives the only King Penguin colony of South-America. They live freely in Bahía Inútil and you can visit them at the Pingüino Rey Park (King Penguin Park), a little bit more of 100 kms from Porvenir. This is one of the main activities to do in Tierra del Fuego and we’ll explain with details in a bit.

Before travelling, we had no idea of what to do in Tierra del Fuego, so don’t feel bad if you don’t know either. We went, as some would say, “clueless”. With not much preparation nor expectations. We just had a long weekend and cheap flights, so we didn’t doubt taking this huge chance. We rented a vehicle (the best way to travel the island) and started our adventure, not knowing what we would find.

On this article you can find out what activities to do in Tierra del Fuego and we’ll give you details of this remote island. Here we go!

Why to go to the Tierra del Fuego Island?

One word describes it all: Nature. Tierra del Fuego is the ideal destination for adventurous people and nature lovers. Forget big cities and luxury hotels. This destination is one of those to get lost roaming around the furthest corners… or where patience leaves you. Here your find silence and peace.

And well, also little animals joining you on the road. Here you’ll find friendly guanacos, flamingos, jumping hares and foxes everywhere, and also there are hundreds of different types of birds, even penguins. Nature on this remote island of Chile is beautiful and wild; you can barely feel that humans reached this far. So you already know, if nature is your thing, your main activity in Tierra del Fuego is admiring its landscapes.

What to do in Tierra del Fuego?

As we told you before, everything to do in Tierra del Fuego is nature related. Prepare yourself to admire landscapes, take pictures of animals crossing your path, enjoy silence and lose sight of the infinite ocean, that in here it really seems endless.

From the things to do in Tierra del Fuego, the one that filled is with the most emotion was to meet the King Penguin. They are the second largest penguins of the world, following the Emperor Penguin (the one form the “Happy Feet” movie). The colony living in Tierra del Fuego is free and arrived this place in 2010. The Pingüino Rey Park takes care of their conservation and protection, it opened in 2011 and up to this day they get visitors during the whole year. They also do research and education work to broaden the knowledge of the wildlife at Bahía Inútil.

To finish, you can’t miss Porvenir city in Tierra Del Fuego Island. It’s the main city of the island and one of the only settlements where you can find services like gas stations and restaurants. Even though it doesn’t seem something special to do at Tierra del Fuego, you’ll find views of the endless ocean and very kind people. Enjoy and eat a delicious sandwich of melted cheese and chorizo together with a banana and milk drink. With this the cold will leave you in a second! But careful! This is only for the braves with resistant stomach.

How to arrive to the Tierra del Fuego Island?

To reach Tierra del Fuego, first you have to arrive to Punta Arenas, where the closest airport is. There are daily flights from Santiago and they take 3 or 3 and half hours. There are also daily flights from Puerto Montt and the flight is only 2 hours long. All flights arrive to the Carlos Ibáñez del Campo International Airport (PUQ).

Once in Punta Arenas, you take an organized tour with a private agency or rent a vehicle to travel through Tierra del Fuego Island. With no vehicle, there’s nothing to do in Tierra del Fuego. We recommend rent a car if you have the time and what to travel freely. You can pick up a car at the airport; just take care of renting an all-terrain vehicle and having enough gas, because there are no many gas stations at the island.

To cross to Tierra del Fuego, you have two options: through the Strait of Magellan (from Punta Arenas to Porvenir) and through Primera Angostura (from Punta Delgada to Bahía Azul). The ferry that crosses the Strait of Magellan takes almost two hours and has only two schedules, in the morning from continent to island and in the afternoon the other way around. On the other hand, the ferry crossing Primera Angostura works from 8 am until past midnight. This crossing only takes 20 minutes.

And then, you are already on the island ready to enjoy the things to do in Tierra del Fuego we already told you!

How to get to Pingüino Rey Park?

If you pay for a tour with an agency to travel through Tierra del Fuego, they will take care of transportation to the park. If you decided to take a vehicle, first you have to arrive to Porvenir in Tierra del Fuego Island. From there, follow route Y-71 until the Cruce de Onaissin (100 kms away from Porvenir), there turn right and take route Y-85 towards Cameron. There are 14,5 kms until the Pingüino Rey Park and the whole journey from Porvenir takes like an hour. It’s long, but believe us, it’s worth it.

The park is open from Tuesday to Sundays, except holidays, from 11am until 6pm. We recommend you plan your visit and book a spot in advance; otherwise you could be left outside if there are too many visitors. And you don’t want to be left out! Because it’s one of the main activities to do in Tierra del Fuego.

What else should I know before travelling to Tierra Del Fuego Island?

In this area of Chile weather dictates the rules and everything can change from one moment to another. Even sea-crossing times and the opening of the Pingüino Rey Park depend directly upon weather conditions. We recommend you to always be aware of the weather and, in case you get bad conditions, directly contact people in charge.

You must also know that tickets to cross towards the Tierra del Fuego Island are bought directly the same day of the journey, so you have to arrive at least one hour in advance the sail away time to make sure you get a spot in the ferry.

Lastly, consider that Tierra Del Fuego Island has just a few gas stations and ATM, no public bathrooms and accommodations only in Porvenir city. Forget to find supermarkets or any other kind of facility on the road, so prepared your journey very well and leave things undone in Tierra del Fuego.

Now that you have everything ready to know the things to do in Tierra del Fuego, are you interested?