The Guanaco trail in the Tierra del Fuego National Park was undoubtedly the highlight of my stay in Ushuaia. Simply wow, wow, wow!!!!!
When researching things to do in Ushuaia and Tierra del Fuego, the Guanaco hike frequently cropped up. It is a 9km round trip walk through forest, marshland and rocky gravel snow covered terrain up to Cerro Guanaco peak. On a good day, the views over the park, Ushuaia and the Beagle Channel are absolutely gorgeous.
The hike is classified as difficult by the park and from reading a few blogs I gathered it would be a challenge. Nevertheless, I was really keen to give it a go.
Picking a day to hike
I paid a lot of attention to the weather when deciding what day to try Guanaco. Many people had said that there was little point hiking it in windy or cloudy conditions for safety reasons (the final ascent is on a steep and narrow slippery path) and the fact that you wouldn’t see anything from the top.
Weather is hard to predict in Patagonia. It changes very quickly; the day can start with rain yet by lunchtime there’s sun, and by evening the rain is back. I got very lucky with the weather the day I went. I got sun with a few clouds before the grey skies and rain arrived mid-afternoon.
When picking a day to go I would focus on wind strength, when it last rained and how much. If winds are really strong, the last third of the hike will be particularly tough and risky. Likewise, heavy rain will make the marshland section trickier and the final ascent slippier.
That said, there’s not always the time to be so choosy and sometimes the best bet is to have a go and be prepared to turn back if conditions aren’t good enough. I’d also advise talking to your accomodation and the park’s visitor centre to see if they recommend doing the walk on the day you’re planning.
How to get to the park
To get to the national park, minibuses leave at 9,10, 11 and I think 12. They leave from the bus station on Avenida Maipú near the tourist information office. Some hostels, like the one I stayed at, have pick ups so you don’t need to walk to the station.
You don’t need to book a bus in advance, I would tell my hostel that I’d like to be on a bus about an hour before pick up. A return transfer to the park costs ARG$700 and must be paid in cash. If you return to the park the next day, you can get a small discount and tickets cost ARG$600. It’s about a half an hour drive to the park.
Minibuses collect from the park at 1, 3, 5 and 7pm. For the Guanaco hike, you’ll most likely be catching the 5pm or 7pm one.
National park entrance fee
To enter the park there is an entrance fee of ARG$490. You can pay by card or cash. If you’re planning to spend two consecutive days in the park, you can get a 50% discount on your entrance ticket the next day. Make sure you let them know you’ll be returning the next day. I went to the park on Saturday and Monday and the discount wasn’t applicable.
The hike
For the Guanaco hike, you need to get off at the park’s second drop off point which is the main visitor centre. Before starting, enter the centre and sign up to the Guanaco register. This is so they know you’re on the trail. When finished, remember to return to the visitor centre so they can tick your name off the list. Also, you’re not allowed to start the hike after 12pm so be sure to start before then.
From the visitor centre it’s about a 25/30min walk to the start of the trailhead. Follow the road to Lago Roca and then take the path that runs next to the lake. The path splits a little further down. The original path continues along the lake and goes to the Chilean border – this is Hito 24 walk.
The trail that splits off to the right is for Cerro Guanaco and straight away heads up into forest. The trail is marked by yellow poles so use these as a guide. I also used Maps.Me and I found it hard to get lost as there is really only one path.
It’s a steep ascent through forest and there are few small rivers to cross before you get to the first mirador. This took me about 50 minutes. I met a Brazilian guy, Eduardo, at the viewpoint and invited him to join me going up.
From the viewpoint, we walked a little further through forest and then reached the mud. I think it’s impossible to keep your feet completely dry here. We picked our way round the edges and used logs and branches where possible to avoid sinking! I’d estimate the mud and marshland section to last around 30/45 minutes.
The final section starts at the gravel rocky path. This is where the even more awesome views really kick in! They are so so stunning!
About half way up snow covers the path and it becomes slippy and quite steep. If you have walking poles, they would be a massive aid! The Brazilian guy I was with stopped here as he was wearing trainers which weren’t giving him the best grip. I kept going and was leaning far forward to keep my balance, staying low to the ground and using the rocks to grip onto in certain places.
The last 15 minutes to the top for me were super challenging. Walking in snow, I almost stopped because I was nervous about climbing over the top of some rocks and walking along the edge. I managed to talk myself into it and I reached the peak! The views were absolutely incredible! I was so proud and happy to have made it!
I was at the top with a lovely Dutch guy and after snapping photos of each other we headed down.
During my ascent, I’d tried to ignore what coming down would be like. I was quite worried about the snow covered gravel and rocks on the narrow path.
Luckily I had support from the Dutch guy and I shimmied down most of the snowy part on my bum. It wasn’t the most dignified descent but I made it in one piece with a few slips, slides and small falls.
The rest of the journey down through mud and forest was fine and we made it down in time for the 5pm bus back. I even had time to enjoy my avocado sandwiches sat by the lake.
Estimated timings
From experience, the park generally over estimates how long the walks take. They said Guanaco would take 4 hours one way. Below are my approximate timings:
Started at trailhead at 10.40
First mirador: 50 minute walk, got to it at 11.30
Reached peak at 13.15
Started descent at 13.30
Arrived back to first mirador at 15.30
Arrived back to trailhead at 16.05
The walk took in total 5 hours 25 minutes: around 2.5hrs each way excluding time spent on the peak. I could have spent longer at the top but I liked going down with someone and I was aiming for the 5pm bus.
So that’s it! If you’re heading to Tierra del Fuego and are a fan of hiking and spectacular views then I really really recommend Cerro Guanaco! Yes, it’s challenging but 100% worth it. Especially on a good weather day it’s not to be missed!
