Ushuaia
It is the southernmost city on Earth. The destination that thousands of people all over the world dream to reach some day. The capital city of Tierra del Fuego Island. And it was born from a prison.
Of course, the first inhabitants of the region were not Spaniards. They were the old Yamana Indians, the first to call this area between the end of the Andes and the Beagle Channel “Ushuaia”, which means: “bay penetrating westwards”.
Later, the Indians would be wiped out by the colonists and a long time would pass before a definite settlement was established there. And the crammed prisoners of Buenos Aires would play an important role in this project.
In 1882, President Julio A. Roca submitted a plan for a “penal colony in the South of the Republic”. He wanted to solve two problems at the same time: the penitentiary problem and that of ensuring Argentine sovereignty over this far remote place. Thus, on October 12 of that same year, the capital city is founded. At the same time, a military prison and a jail are established in the opposite end of Ushuaia. Both are merged in 1911.
the Beagle Channel
Ushuaia was built by convicts. They installed electricity and built the pier, the post office building and the first part of the road.
Their printing, photography, tailoring, shoemaking and carpentry workshops, as well as their medical service and pharmacy, met the needs of a population which was isolated from the main supply center to where ships arrived, with a bit of luck, once a month.
Today, the prison is no longer in use. It is only a memory for the visitors arriving at the end of the world.
This city, born to “ensure sovereignty”, is an important tourist center with an airport, hotels and good gastronomy. From being a picturesque village of some 6,000 residents in 1970, it became a city of more than 60,000 souls.
This unparalleled demographic explosion in the country was the result of a government's plan to promote the area and it gave the city a very special physiognomy. The growth was such that the city still suffers from a serious housing shortage. And the particular social constitution is the following: half of the local population is between 15 and 40 years old and native “Fuegians” don't go beyond the 10% of the total.
In Ushuaia, you can travel around the city on foot or on a picturesque bus , or you can take excursions on sailboats along the Beagle Channel, or watch the end of the world from the air . And from there, you can get to Tierra del Fuego National Park , to do trekking or just to visit it. Besides, skiers will find the largest quantity of winter resorts in Patagonia. For those who enjoy historical tourism: the museum and the train of the end of the world .