Day 17, if you have made all you way to Ushuaia – the end of the world, you should at least try to do The End of World Train. The ultimate end of world adventure, ride the world’s southernmost train into Tierra del Fuego National Park (according to the tourist board).
You can buy train ticket directly with the train company or book a full tour programme online.
Our tour started 9am and we had to drive around the town for about an hour until we had everybody onboard. The group was larger, approximately 30 people. It was a very mixed group and I saw one other Chinese traveller with his Peruvian girlfriend.
What to expect for the End of World Train tour?
We first arrived at the train station which was packed with people from different tours. We had to wait for about 40 minutes until we were able to board for our assigned time. The train carriage was relative small – only 2 seats wide. The entire carriage filled up with Brazilians and they were really loud as usual. The couple who sit opposite of us were also Brazilian, even they couldn’t endure the noise made from their own compatriots. They rolled their eyes, tutted and said:”Brazilians!”
The one-hour narrow-gauge train left the station along the route of the old railway, where it once held prisoners who chopped timber from the forest and returned it to Ushuaia to construct buildings and provide firewood to it’s citizens.
Following the 100-year route of the historic convict train, the route crosses the Pip River across a wooden bridge, past the Macarena Waterfall and a reconstruction of a Yamanas Indian campsite. Once inside the national park, the train passes beech forests, peat bogs and remainders of the timber-felling worksites worked by Ushuaia prisoners from 1901 to 1941. The journey ends near the location where an old Lombardich Sawmill once processed timber.
What to see after the train journey arriving inside the Tierra del Fuego National Park?
After the train ride we continued through the valley towards Ensenada Bay. We walked by the coast of Roca Lake and the Lapataia River. From this point, we can see the Cóndor Hill natural border with Chile. You can also see many beaver dams in the park.
Before we head back to Ushuaia, we stopped at the Green Lagoon and the Black Lagoon for a quick visit and to take some pictures.
In my opinion all the landscapes could have been much nicer if it wasn’t raining. Unfortunately the weather wasn’t doing us any favours. It was grey all day long and rained even harder after lunch.
We had our lunch after we got back to Ushuaia around 2pm. There was still were almost 5 hours to kill before our flight. Since it was raining so hard, we moved from one coffee shop to another. By chance we bumped into a Korean couple who we met briefly in a restaurant in Puerto Natales in Chile. We spotted each other as soon as we made eye contact which was really funny. The husband spoke a little Spanish and the wife spoke a little English so somehow we were able to communicate.