Do you want to have a trip around Tierra del Fuego in Patagonia? This is one of the four integrated regions of the Argentine Republic, and which owes its name to “patagones”, a name assigned to the natives of the region when the Portuguese Fernando de Magallanes arrived in these lands with his Spanish expedition, disembarking in 1520 near the town that is currently called “Puerto San Julián”, located on the Atlantic coast.
Supposedly, the term “patagones”, with which the natives were known, derives from the name of a mythological king of that time, who was very tall and was called “Great Patagonian”, which coincided with how tall the men were described by Fernando de Magallanes.
It should be noted that “Tierra del Fuego” is a unique and large area that belongs to Patagonia, which also includes the provinces of Santa Cruz, Chubut, Neuquén, part of La Pampa Province, Atlántida, part of Buenos Aires province, Río Negro, the southern side of Mendoza Province and South Atlantic Islands.
Before describing Tierra del Fuego region, we will make a general description of the Argentine Patagonia that is located in the south of the country, which in turn includes the part of Patagonia located within the Argentine limits, which borders on the east with Buenos Aires province and the Atlantic Ocean, on the west with Chile, and on the north with Nuevo Cuyo and Center.
It should be noted that of the four regions that make up the Republic of Argentina, the Patagonia region is the least populated, counting in 2010 with 2,348,793 inhabitants despite being the most extensive in territory with an area of 930,638 km², so the population density is 2.5 inhab / km². In addition, the Patagonian region is subdivided according to two criteria:
The beautiful and inhospitable Tierra de Fuego is within the provinces that make up Southern Patagonia, which also includes Chubut and Santa Cruz provinces, Antarctica and South Atlantic islands, while “La Pampa”, Río Negro and Neuquén provinces belong to Northern Patagonia.
Also, if you decide to make a trip around Tierra de Fuego, it is convenient that you know the most important cities of this region considered one of the most exuberant and with unique characteristics on the planet. These cities are the famous Bariloche located in the Cordillera, Cipolletti, Neuquén and General Roca located in Alto Valle, Comodoro Rivadavia and Puerto Madryn that are above the sea, and Trelew in Chubut River Valley, as well as Ushuaia, considered as a of the fastest growing cities, and which is the southernmost of planet Earth.
A fact that we must mention is the almost forced disappearance of the indigenous nomadic tribes that inhabited Tierra del Fuego, considered the last archipelago of Patagonia in the southern end of America and one of the coldest and most inhospitable corners of the world.
These tribes were the Yámanas, who adapted to extreme weather conditions and went almost naked navigating a complex set of channels, carrying with them a bonfire in their canoes that helped them to hunt the sea lions, which were their means of subsistence; being this the reason that made the European colonizers baptize the region as “Tierra del Fuego”.
This process of European colonization ended the life of the majority of the Yamanas, who stopped keeping their bodies clean and dry when the conquerors dressed them and the clothes kept the humidity and dirt, which caused them to die of pneumonia or some infectious disease.
This process of European conquest practically exterminated the indigenous people of the region, who were the only settlers; however, the authorities decided to maintain the area populated at the beginning of the 20th century, and for this they built a jail in the town of Ushuaia, sending the most dangerous prisoners in the country, including military inmates and political prisoners.
Undoubtedly, Tierra del Fuego region is rich not only in dreamy landscapes, but in culture and history, which make it a welcoming province where we can breathe peace, tranquility and a positive energy that connects us with the spiritual world; in fact, many tourists do not only look for adventure in a trip around Tierra del Fuego, but that charm and tranquility that only a land like this can provide, away from the noise of big cities, with immense tracts of land to enjoy unique landscapes and spectacular views.
Most tourists who love extreme nature come to Patagonia in search of adventure, of environments with climatic and geographic conditions that represent a challenge for them, and in turn provide them with stunning landscapes, since only the one that has gone there can understand the magnitude of the beauty of this region, so, if you are one of those adventurous people who love this type of scenario, do not think twice and take a trip around Tierra del Fuego.
And although the hunting times of sea lions, fire canoes of the Yámana tribes, and the striped uniforms of the prisoners of the Ushuaia jail have already passed and remained for history, many tourists arrive in Tierra del Fuego to know the history of the End of the World, turning this trip into a cultural, historical and spiritual experience.
On the other hand, a trip to these lands also offers the opportunity not only to know the glaciers, islands that are still populated by sea lions and penguins, labyrinths of canals and forests of charm, but that, if you visit the region between October and April, you can embark on any of the expeditions that leave for Antarctica, and thus increase your level of enjoyment and adventure, which will surely leave you ecstatic of such extreme nature.
In this way, Tierra del Fuego has become the indispensable reference point for tourists who want to reach the Antarctica that is more every year, increasing every year the influx of tourists from around the world who travel with the objective of knowing the natural riches and the varied geography of this region which makes it be considered as a unique archipelago, whose beauty has been a source of inspiration for famous writers such as Jules Verne.
That inspiration of Jules Verne and the infinity of writings that have been made about Isla Grande of Tierra del Fuego have turned it into one of the places on the planet which more pages have been written about, since the sixteenth century the navigators have made their stories, and the chroniclers of the 19th century brought to Europe the information about these lands full of mystery and charm that are due to their special geographical situation and / or particular that has been enriched by the stories of the great Jules Verne, which has added a unique mystery.
But beyond all that historical, mystical and cultural baggage of Tierra del Fuego, today tourists can enjoy sport fishing, which is mostly dedicated to the capture of certain species, such as the brook trout, the brown trout, the rainbow salmon and the enclosed salmon, being the most common the fishing of the brown trout, which comes out to sea and only traces rivers to spawn, mainly in Rio Grande and its tributaries, acquiring a beautiful silver color and weights that easily exceed ten kilograms.
For these reasons, Rio Grande is considered today as the best fishing boat of its kind, which has five of the seven world records in this category, and one of the five most prestigious records in the world.
But not only sports tourism nurtures from this magical zone, but also adventure tourism that finds in the diversity of the geography of Tierra del Fuego and the whole Patagonia fabulous natural scenarios in an extreme nature, favorable for the practice of recreational activities, such as rides on jeeps through steep roads, like the one in Mitre Peninsula, with huge cliffs and impenetrable forests that will make you feel the vertigo, the adrenaline, and that sensation of adventure that you are looking for; in addition to enjoying archaeological places in perfect conditions of conservation.
A trip through Tierra del Fuego also gives you the opportunity to enjoy cultural tourism, allowing you to immerse yourself in the historical context of the region through visits to large cattle rising establishments dating from the end of the last century, in addition to the Monsignor Fagnano Regional Museum, whose buildings have been declared as “National Historic Monument”, besides being a historical, anthropological and archaeological heritage which has been preserved for more than one hundred years.
In addition to these types of tourism and for ecotourism lovers, a trip to Tierra del Fuego represents an option to carry out activities framed in the context of ecology, so you can have access to “Corazón de la Isla” project, through which the tourist is offered the opportunity to visit an area with a virgin and not degraded nature, as well as walking in the millenary forests that have not only great beauty, but history, mysteries, and spiritual peace, which captivates most tourists eager for different, extreme and diverse experiences.
So, make up your mind and embark on a trip around Tierra del Fuego in the beautiful country of Argentina, where the great Patagonia serves as a reference framework to reach one of the most beautiful and inhospitable regions of the earth, but which will surely enchant you and then you will want to return, to be filled from the recreational, mental and spiritual point of view.
ALFA