Tierra del Fuego Eco-Adventure: Canoeing, Penguins & Gable Island Hike

Start your full-day excursion with pickup from your hotel by minibus. Depart Ushuaia for the Lasiphashaj River, where you have the option to take a guided trip by inflatable canoe down the river and along the Beagle Channel. If you choose to go, you’ll hear a safety briefing and learn paddling techniques, then slip on provided rubber boots, overpants and a life jacket before setting out on an exciting aquatic adventure leading to the sea.

Once you’re paddling on the Beagle Channel in your two-passenger canoe, set your course for the Harberton port. Experienced guides help you spot wildlife, including many different species of seabirds as well as sea lions basking in the sun on small islands along the way. (Note: There is one guide per two canoes, and less experienced paddlers will have a guide in their boat with them.)

Alternatively, if you don't want to paddle, enjoy a scenic drive straight to Estancia Harberton (Harberton Ranch) and tour the surroundings of one of the first settlements in Tierra del Fuego, established in 1886 by an English missionary turned sheep farmer. His descendants have created a fascinating museum that exhibits the bones of whales and other marine animals — it has about 4,000 specimens in all.

After 2 hours on the rafts, the canoeing group reaches the shore and has about 30 minutes to explore the homestead. Then everyone gathers together at the pier in Harberton to board a Zodiac for Isla Martillo (Martillo Island), also known by its native name, Isla Yécapasela. Upon arrival you will see a penguin rookery, where you can observe, from the boat, penguins in their breeding lair. With abundant food and few predators, the Magellanic penguin colony has reached around 3,000 pairs and is growing each year.

Then continue your boat ride to Gable Island, where lunch is served in the afternoon with provided wine, mineral water and soft drinks. Sate your hunger with baked fish and potatoes along with picada — a sampler tray of cured meats (salami, pepperoni, ham), cheeses and olives. 

After an hour of relaxation, including coffee, embark on an easy, guided 1.5-hour hike around the gorgeous island, crossing over beaver dams, passing the coast and walking through a forest. 

When you reach the shore of the Beagle Channel, a boat takes you back to Harberton to start your return by minibus to Ushuaia, with drop-off at your hotel.