In shortTierra del Fuego National Park begins west of Ushuaia and protects more than 68,000 hectares, the southernmost protected area in Argentina, where the Andes come down to the Beagle Channel. Half a day covers the coastal walk, the bays and the end of National Route 3 at Lapataia. Entry is charged at the gate and is not included in the train ticket or in tour fares.
68,000+ hectaresArea protected
AR$40.000General daily entry
5 hoursShore excursion length
1 h 50 minTrain round trip
What Tierra del Fuego National Park protects
Parques Nacionales gives the figure as more than 68,000 hectares, and nothing in Argentina is protected further south. The park takes in the forest where the Andes drop to the sea, and its southern boundary is the Beagle Channel shore, so the paths look out over the same water the boats sail.
The administration is in town. The park office sits at San Martín 1395, one block in from the waterfront on the main street.
A sailing and a park visit show you different halves of the same landscape. From a boat you get the islets with their cormorant and sea lion colonies and the turn at the Les Eclaireurs lighthouse, about 20 km from the port. From the park you get the shoreline underfoot, the bays and the forest.
The entrance on National Route 3 and what entry costs
The entrance is on National Route 3 west of Ushuaia and the fee is charged per day at the park entry. Nothing else covers it. The End of the World Train ticket excludes it, and on the 5-hour shore excursion listed on this site the national park fee is not included either; you pay it at the park entry by credit card.
The amounts below are the official ones published by Parques Nacionales, valid from 1 June 2026. Tariffs are revised from time to time, so confirm the figure for the day you go.
| Visitor category | Daily entry, valid from 1 June 2026 |
|---|
| General | AR$40.000 |
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| Argentine nationals | AR$18.000 |
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| Students | AR$12.000 |
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| Provincial residents | AR$8.000 |
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Park and city in 5 hours
When a ship's schedule sets your time in Ushuaia, this 5-hour tour covers the park and the city with a professional guide and an air-conditioned vehicle, and the park entry fee is paid at the gate by credit card.
★ 4.5/5 · 167 reviews
Which trails fit a half-day visit in the park
The walking comes in two kinds. Along the water the paths are flat and open onto the channel, linking the bays and the viewpoints, and that is what a half-day visit is built around. The routes that leave the shore climb into the hills and need a day of their own.
Lapataia Bay, at the southern end of National Route 3, is where almost every itinerary stops and turns around. On a tour the guide picks the walks to fit the hours you have.
- The shore path along the Beagle Channel, flat, with the water in sight for most of it
- Lapataia Bay, where National Route 3 ends
- Bay and river viewpoints a few minutes' walk from the road
- Estación Parque Nacional, the inner terminus of the railway line, inside the park boundary
- Longer climbs away from the shore, which take a full day instead of a tour stop
How half a day in the park usually runs
A park visit runs as a half day. Tours leave Ushuaia in the morning, head west on National Route 3, stop at the park entry, then make two or three stops with short walks in between, and you are back in the city by lunch or a little after. The 5-hour shore excursion on this site follows the same shape and adds city stops and a snack at a quiet spot with a mountain view.
That leaves room for a sailing on the same date. Short channel trips leave the tourist pier morning and afternoon all year, so a park morning and an afternoon on the water fit together without rushing either. The penguin trips take up more of the day: 5 hours, or 5-6 hours for the catamaran.
The one-day combination adds the railway. The 10-hour full-day tour listed on this site, from US$220 and rated 4.2 ★ (45 reviews), covers the park, the End of the World Train ticket and a channel navigation with guidance, in an air-conditioned vehicle with a restroom and pick-up at your hotel or accommodation; lunch, drinks, snacks and the Tierra del Fuego National Park fee are not included. The train round trip takes 1 hour 50 minutes, so it works as a ride inside the park and not as the way of reaching it.
Which park day fits your trip
If a ship fixes your hours ashore, take the shore excursion. It is built around that constraint: the start time is the confirmed one even if the ship docks early, and the itinerary is adjusted to your departure time. Sleeping in Ushuaia with one full day, the 10-hour combination gets you the train and the water as well, at the cost of a long day with no meals included.
With two days or more, put the park and the channel on separate halves of the day and keep some slack in the schedule. The park half is the reliable one; the water half is not, because channel sailings are called off only by official announcement from the Prefectura Naval Argentina and until that happens the boats leave on time. Put the navigation on an early day of your stay and leave the park as the piece you can shift if a sailing is lost.
- Cruise passenger with one day ashore: the 5-hour park and city tour, from US$119, 4.5 ★ (167 reviews), with a guide waiting outside the cruise port exit holding a 'CALA TOUR' sign
- One full day in town, wanting park, train and water together: the 10-hour combination, from US$220, 4.2 ★ (45 reviews), with pick-up at your accommodation
- Two days or more: a park morning, then a short afternoon sailing from the pier as a separate booking
- Both park options above offer free cancellation up to 24 hours before the scheduled start
What to wear and the conditions inside the park
Dress for wind and for wet feet. The annual average here is around 6°C, cold and wind are constant, and sun, rain and snow can all arrive in one day, which on the shore paths means a windproof shell over a mid layer and boots you do not mind getting muddy.
Season changes the detail. Summer runs about 10-15°C, rarely above 25°C, with up to 18 hours of daylight, so sun cream and sunglasses matter as much as the jacket. The provincial tourism authority rates late March to May as the best stretch of the year for photography and hiking, with temperatures usually below 10°C and more frost by May. From June onwards the trails are walked in averages of 1°C to 6°C with roughly 7 hours of light, the snow at its deepest in July and August, so a winter park visit is best started early. The weather notes elsewhere on this site apply inside the park as much as on the water.
Questions people ask
Can one ticket cover two days in the park?
Entry is charged per day. Parques Nacionales does apply a 50% discount on a second day of entry, valid 72 hours from the first entry, but it states that this applies only to tickets bought through its online sales portal. The discount is not available at the gate.
Does the End of the World Train take you into the park?
The line does run into the park, with three stations, the innermost being Estación Parque Nacional, but it works as a ride and not as transport. Count 1 hour 50 minutes for the return trip, boarding at Estación Fin del Mundo, which is itself about 8 km out of the centre of Ushuaia on National Route 3 at Km 3065; roughly 20 minutes of that time is the halt at La Macarena, for the waterfall and the viewpoints, and the commentary comes as an audio guide in ten languages. There are three trains a day: 9:30, 12:00 and 15:00 between 1 September and 30 April, then 9:45, 12:15 and 15:00 between 1 May and 31 August, and check-in closes 45 minutes before the train leaves, which is time to build into a park morning. The park entrance fee is not part of the train ticket.
Are there penguins in Tierra del Fuego National Park?
No. The penguins are on Isla Martillo, listed by the municipal registry as the only colony in the province, about 90 km from Ushuaia on the eastern side of the channel, the opposite direction to the park. The birds are on the island between October and April, Magellanic and Gentoo, with king penguins turning up only occasionally; Isla Martillo is a protected reserve and access is kept to small groups accompanied by professional guides, which makes it a booked trip of its own rather than an add-on to a park day.
Can you see the Beagle Channel from inside the park?
Yes. The park's southern boundary is the channel shore, so the level paths and Lapataia look straight out over the water. What you cannot reach on foot are the islets with the cormorant and sea lion colonies and the Les Eclaireurs lighthouse, about 20 km from Ushuaia, which take a boat from the tourist pier.
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