Some are opting to visit the least populated continent in the world, prompting more than 100,000 tourists to travel to Antarctica annually. That trip sometimes begins in a small Argentinian city with a story all its own.

Ushuaia

Ushuaia, a city located at the southernmost tip of South America, has become an increasingly popular destination for international tourists. Known as the "end of the world," Ushuaia serves as a gateway for over 100,000 travelers heading to Antarctica annually. The city has also experienced significant tourism growth, with 500,000 visitors recorded recently and a rising number of American tourists.

Maximiliano Garcia, the city's sub-secretary of tourism, attributes Ushuaia’s appeal to its snow-capped mountains, quaint fishing villages, and the opportunity to encounter penguins in their natural habitat. Ecological tour companies such as Piratur provide small group excursions to Isla Martillo, also known as Hammer Island, where visitors can walk alongside Magellanic, Gentoo, and occasionally King penguins. The island hosts about 10,000 penguins during nesting season, though only 160 remain year-round, with the Magellanic penguins nesting from September to late March.

Tour guides like Pablo Aro lead visitors through the island while emphasizing care for the penguins' habitat. The experience offers glimpses of both penguin colonies and other wildlife, such as sea lions, with the scenic backdrop of surrounding mountain ranges. Local culture in Ushuaia reflects the region’s wildlife, as seen in street art featuring penguins throughout the city.

Ushuaia's unique history includes its past as a site for a maximum security prison, where inmates built much of the city’s infrastructure. This history is commemorated by the continued operation of a steam engine train that once transported prisoners and now serves tourists. According to spokesperson Lucas Perot, this route, known as the southernmost train in the world, leads to Tierra del Fuego National Park and remains active year-round.

Inside the national park, visitors can find the end of the Pan American Highway and the world’s southernmost post office. This post office, established as a tourist attraction by Carlos Di Lorenzo more than 30 years ago, allows travelers to send mail globally and collect passport stamps. The postcard delivery time varies, sometimes taking as little as two weeks, but occasionally much longer.

Ushuaia’s combination of natural beauty, unique wildlife experiences, and historical sites continues to attract travelers seeking to explore one of the world’s most remote destinations.



The magic of Ushuaia, Argentina, for tourists

If you've ever wanted to get on a plane and just fly as far away as possible, head south and you'll land here. Ushuaia, Argentina, nicknamed the end of the world, located in the southernmost tip of South America. It takes about two days and multiple layovers to get here from just about anywhere in the U.S. A round trip is about $1,500. Why should someone come here if it takes so long to get here? Because the city has the magic of the end of the world. Maximiliano Garcia was born and raised in Ushuaia. He now serves as the city's sub-secretary of tourism. He's seen Ushuaia's exponential growth into a bustling port city, with a growing number of American tourists that mainly use it as a jumping-off point for trips to Antarctica, which is about another 650 miles south. What is it that's drawing Americans here? There's the snow-capped mountains, quaint fishing villages and it's one of the few places in the world where you can walk alongside penguins in their natural habitat. The company, Piratur, coordinates ecological tours that allow a small number of people to get to see these magical creatures up close. To get there, you have to get on a small boat like this one and sail through the Beagle Channel until you arrive at Isla Martillo, or Hammer Island. Here, you can walk alongside Magellanic, Gentoo and occasionally King penguins. It's good reasons for them to be there. Good source of food, also a good place to live, just to make their nest. Pablo Aro has been a tour guide here for 10 years, carefully guiding people through the island so as to not interfere with the penguins' habitat. Later on, they come to the island, start changing their feathers and in that moment, they cannot go back to the water until they finish changing those feathers. The island changes every day. It's not always the same. Sea lions came to visit us today. The day we visited in early March, there was a raft of sea lions taking a break. Behind them, the stunning mountain range that surrounds the tiny island, the large colony of penguins nearby. We have a very big group over here of Magellanic penguins. Remember that they have black beaks. In the back, we are able to see Gentoo penguins. Currently, there are about 10,000 penguins on the island, but the majority of them are migratory. Only 160 live here year-round. The Magellanic penguin only lives here to nest, from September to the end of March, before heading north. Gentoo penguins live here year-round. They are known for their unique waddle. While Magellanic penguins waddle with their wings down, Gentoo penguins spread their wings back, like this. A lot of people cry when they reach the island. They just conquer a life goal. There is street art featuring the penguins around this city of 80,000 residents, which saw 500,000 tourists last year. Ushuaia has a unique history. It's on an island between South America and Antarctica. Before it was fully developed into a city, it was home to a maximum security prison, akin to Alcatraz in San Francisco. The thinking was, even if prisoners escaped, there was nowhere but the icy waters off Patagonia for them to go. It was for the worst of the worst prisoners. Yeah, the most dangerous criminals in Argentina. The prisoners would be transported by a steam engine train from the prison to work sites, where they helped to build the city's roads and infrastructure. Lucas Perot is a spokesperson for the train. Our train is a touristic train that recreates the old convict train history of Ushuaia. Today, Ushuaia still runs a steam engine train through the same route. It takes people into the Tierra del Fuego National Park. We're the southernmost train in the world, and we are one of the few steam trains that works every day of the year in the world. At the height of its tourist season, about a thousand passengers take the six-mile, 50-minute train ride each day. Once you arrive inside the park, you'll find the end of the Pan American Highway, which runs from Alaska all the way down to Ushuaia. You'll also find this metal shack, the southernmost post office in the world. It's where we met Bob and Allison Davidson from Virginia. How far south are we? We are about as far south as you can go and not freeze to death. They were exploring the Patagonia region of Chile and Argentina and stopped by to mail a letter home. Just two postcards. Carlos Di Lorenzo started the post office as a tourist attraction over 30 years ago. He says you can mail a letter anywhere. People from all over the world make the trek to get their passports stamped and mail a letter. So just for reference, a postcard from here to New York takes about two weeks to arrive. The longest it takes is about 35 days. But just like any other post office, sometimes it just gets lost in the mail. We wanted to test just how long it would take. We sent this postcard back to New York, a small token to remember this unique landscape at the end of the world.

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