Ushuaia :The Southernmost City In The World.

Ushuaia in Argentina commonly regarded as the southernmost city of the world. Ushuaia is the capital of Tierra del fuego. For much of the latter half of the 19th century, the eastern portion of Tierra del Fuego was populated by a substantial majority of nationals who were not Argentine citizens, including a number of British subjects. Ushuaia was founded informally by British missionaries, following previous British surveys, long before Argentine nationals or government representatives arrived there on a permanent basis.

During the 1880s, many gold prospectors came to Ushuaia following rumors of large gold fields, which proved to be false. Ushuaia suffered several epidemics, including typhus, pertussis, and measles, that decimated the native population. The main economic activities are fishing, natural gas and oil extraction, sheep farming and ecotourism. Ushuaia is surrounded by Magellanic subpolar forests. On the hills around the town, the following indigenous trees are found: Drimys winteri, Maytenus magellanica and several species of Nothofagus. Trees in Ushuaia tend to follow the wind direction, and are therefore called "flag-trees", for their uni-directional growth pattern.

Flying is the most practical way to reach Ushuaia. There is a main airport: Ushuaia – Malvinas Argentinas International Airport which is 4 km south of the center of Ushuaia. There are daily flights to Ushuaia on Aerolineas Argentinas and LAN flights from Buenos Aires and from Santiago de Chile, stopping over in Puerto Montt and Punta Arenas. To reach downtown is a 10 minute taxi ride from the airport.

Some of the things you don't want to miss when you visit Ushuaia is:

* Museo Marítimo, Yagones and Gobernador Paz. Located in an old prison, this is four museums in one. The maritime museum itself displays a collection of the history of Tierra del Fuego. One wing has been converted to an art gallery named Museo de Arte Marino featuring the work of local artists. There is also an Antarctic museum and a of course museum of the prison itself.

* Plaza Malvinas, Maipú. Monument to the Falkland Islands War of 1982. These islands are called the Islas Malvinas in Argentina.

*Mastil de General Belgrano, which is accessible by boat from Playa Larga. A remote area west of the city of Ushuaia on Isla Redonda, paying tribute to one of the founders of Argentina, and to the navy cruiser named after him which was sunk by the UK in the Falklands War.

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