What's on in Ushuaia (Tierra del Fuego), Argentina through the year

Peak crowds — Antarctic sailing season, Argentine summer holidays

• Rule

  Tierra del Fuego park entry fee

  1 Jan – 31 DecBook early

  The national park charges per person per day at the gate, with a higher foreign rate, and it is bought online or at the entrance rather than in town. The end-of-the-world train is a separate ticket again. Source ↗

Still on: Penguins on Isla Martillo (1 Oct – 5 Apr (usually)), Antarctic sailing season (20 Oct – 31 Mar), Trekking season (1 Dec – 15 Mar), Argentine summer holidays (20 Dec – 31 Jan)

Peak crowds — Antarctic sailing season, Summer holidays in Argentina

Nothing new starts in February.

Still on: Tierra del Fuego park entry fee (1 Jan – 31 Dec), Penguins on Isla Martillo (1 Oct – 5 Apr (usually)), Antarctic sailing season (20 Oct – 31 Mar), Trekking season (1 Dec – 15 Mar)

Peak crowds — Antarctic sailing season, Summer holidays in Argentina

• Nature

  Lenga forests turn

  25 Mar – 5 May · usuallyAutumn colour

  The southern beech around the town and up the Martial valley goes red and copper through April, with the first snow on the peaks above it. The quietest and, for a photographer, the best few weeks of the year here.

Still on: Tierra del Fuego park entry fee (1 Jan – 31 Dec), Penguins on Isla Martillo (1 Oct – 5 Apr (usually)), Antarctic sailing season (20 Oct – 31 Mar), Trekking season (1 Dec – 15 Mar)

Shoulder season — an ordinary month

• Closure

  Between the seasons

  15 Apr – 15 Jun

  The Antarctic fleet has gone and the lifts have not opened: hotels drop their rates, several restaurants close for the weeks, and the excursions run on demand rather than a timetable. Source ↗

Still on: Tierra del Fuego park entry fee (1 Jan – 31 Dec), Lenga forests turn (25 Mar – 5 May (usually)), Penguins on Isla Martillo (1 Oct – 5 Apr (usually))

Shoulder season — an ordinary month

Nothing new starts in May.

Still on: Tierra del Fuego park entry fee (1 Jan – 31 Dec), Lenga forests turn (25 Mar – 5 May (usually)), Between the seasons (15 Apr – 15 Jun)

Busy — Fiesta de la Noche mas Larga, school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it

• Festival

  Fiesta de la Noche mas Larga

  19–23 Jun · usuallyMajor festivalCrowded

  The town makes a three-day national festival out of the winter solstice, with torch processions and events across the sports halls and cultural centres. The sun clears the horizon for about seven hours and then gives up. Source ↗

• Opening

  Cerro Castor ski season

  25 Jun – 5 Oct · usually

  The southernmost resort in the world and the longest season in Argentina, running from late June into early October, with cheaper promotional weeks at each end. Northern-hemisphere race teams train here in August. Source ↗

Still on: Tierra del Fuego park entry fee (1 Jan – 31 Dec), Between the seasons (15 Apr – 15 Jun)

Peak crowds — Argentine winter holidays, Winter recess in Argentina

• Holiday

  Argentine winter holidays

  1–31 Jul · usuallySchool holidaysCrowdedBook early

  The two-week national school break lands somewhere in July and Ushuaia sells itself as the snow city for the whole month around it, with Castor, the husky camps and the Marcha Blanca ski crossing all inside it. Flights from Buenos Aires are at their dearest. Source ↗

Still on: Tierra del Fuego park entry fee (1 Jan – 31 Dec), Cerro Castor ski season (25 Jun – 5 Oct (usually))

Busy — one of its best months for weather

Nothing new starts in August.

Still on: Tierra del Fuego park entry fee (1 Jan – 31 Dec), Cerro Castor ski season (25 Jun – 5 Oct (usually))

Busy — school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it, one of its best months for weather

Nothing new starts in September.

Still on: Tierra del Fuego park entry fee (1 Jan – 31 Dec), Cerro Castor ski season (25 Jun – 5 Oct (usually))

Busy — Antarctic sailing season

• Nature

  Penguins on Isla Martillo

  1 Oct – 5 Apr · usuallyBirdlife seasonBook early

  Magellanic penguins come ashore in the Beagle Channel from about October and are gone by early autumn, peaking between November and February. Landings on the island are capped and permit-only; the gentoos stay all year.

• Season

  Antarctic sailing season

  20 Oct – 31 MarCruise seasonCrowdedBook early

  Most Antarctic expeditions on Earth leave from this pier between late October and March, and the town runs on their turnaround days. Hotel rooms and the good restaurants go with the sailing schedule, not the weekend.

Still on: Tierra del Fuego park entry fee (1 Jan – 31 Dec), Cerro Castor ski season (25 Jun – 5 Oct (usually))

Busy — Antarctic sailing season

Nothing new starts in November.

Still on: Tierra del Fuego park entry fee (1 Jan – 31 Dec), Penguins on Isla Martillo (1 Oct – 5 Apr (usually)), Antarctic sailing season (20 Oct – 31 Mar)

Peak crowds — Antarctic sailing season, Argentine summer holidays

• Season

  Trekking season

  1 Dec – 15 MarTrail season

  Laguna Esmeralda, the Martial glacier and the coastal paths in Tierra del Fuego park are walkable and the light lasts past ten at night. Snow lingers on the high ground into December, so the passes come good last.

• Holiday

  Argentine summer holidays

  20 Dec – 31 JanChristmas & New YearCrowdedBook early

  The rest of the country takes January off and a good share of it comes to the end of the world, on top of the peak of the sailing season. Flights from Buenos Aires and the trail car parks are both at their limit. Source ↗

Still on: Tierra del Fuego park entry fee (1 Jan – 31 Dec), Penguins on Isla Martillo (1 Oct – 5 Apr (usually)), Antarctic sailing season (20 Oct – 31 Mar)