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Down under the globe. Really down under. That's where Tierra del Fuego is located. A huge island that falls off from America and which is shared by Chile on the west and Argentina on the east. The location itself is captivating. On the northern side, it is adjacent to the Strait of Magellan, on the south to the Beagle channel, on the east to the Atlantic Ocean and on the west to the Pacific. And the onas and yaganes already knew back then about far places. They were primitive indigenous inhabitants, who were able to resist very low temperatures with little clothing. They warmed up by igniting bonfires that were seen by the Portuguese sailor Hernando de Magallanes in 1520 when he was arriving to settle the territory, thus naming this far land Tierra del Fuego (Land of Fire). |
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| Porvenir on the Chilean side and Ushuaia on the Argentine side are the major cities that welcome you in Tierra del Fuego, an area with countless tourist attractions. From a great number of ski resorts to excellent circuits to practice sport fishing, without forgetting that here is where ships set sail to the Antarctica, you can enjoy many activities in this area over the year with suitable warm clothing. |
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Porvenir, with more than 5,000, inhabitants is the Chilean capital of Tierra del Fuego. As part of a police detachment during the gold fever, Porvenir was born in 1883 and was founded as city in 1894. Just as gold, Porvenir shines. And precisely, one of the most interesting tours in the city is the gold circuit. 115 km. throughout the Baquedano chain where, in addition to astonishing views of the Strait of Magellan, it's interesting to visit the areas where the small-scale miners (pirquineros) continue extracting gold just like they did it 100 years ago. On foot or horseback, this tour is one of the unavoidable journeys throughout the city.
The city of Porvenir itself also counts on interesting attractions that are well worth the visit: the Fernando Cordero Rusque museum that displays a collection of the fauna and archeology of the area; the plaza (square) of the city where the San Francisco de Sales church is located; ant the promenade between Manuel Señoret street and Avenida Santa María, where the famous monument to the selkam Indian can be visited.
If you're heading south of Porvenir, through the international road, an interesting historic tour begins at the water bird reserve of Laguna Santa María of incalculable beauty, you pass by Bahía Inútil, on which banks is the Cameron village with an old estancia (ranch). Then you pass by Puerto Nuevo, where you can see machinery and facilities of another old Patagonian estancia, pass by Onaisín, which still has the remains of the first estancia founded by Sociedad Explotadora Tierra del Fuego at the end of the XX century, and end up in the Onaisín and San Sebastián cemeteries, where villagers and settlers were buried.
Tours on petroleum are also typical in this area. It's interesting to visit the Sombrero mountain village, where the Empresa Nacional del Petróleo (ENAP) facilities are located. It counts on first class sport and recreational facilities. 60 km. northeast of the village is the Batería de Recepción de Crudo, where oil is received in offshore platforms and the Cullen plant, where natural gas is processed.
Arriving to Porvenir is easy. From Punta Arenas, a beautiful voyage can be taken across the Strait of Magellan by water (2 hours and a half) or by air (15 minutes). |
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Sport fishing, horseback riding and trekking are the stars in this far plot of land, without forgetting the ski, which main centers are located in Ushuaia.
Without any doubt, sport fishing is the queen of the place. The banks of rivers and lakes of the ranches of Tierra del Fuego, like those located in Lago Blanco, Lago Deseado, Lago Escondido, Lago Lynch, Lago Fagnano, Río Grande or Río Azopardo, among others, have plenty of different species. Trouts are the most desired species and make this place one of the best places in the world for trout fishing.
Horseback riding can be practiced at the foot of the Darwin mountain range, where you can admire a beautiful landscape inhabited by horses, guanacos and condors. The duration of the journey will depend on the tourist. In the same Darwin mountain range, it's possible to carry out hikes across immaculate areas of Tierra del Fuego amid millenary forests, rivers and lakes, together with guanacos, wild horses and curious beavers. |
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