Ushuaia Tierra del Fuego Trek to Emerald Lagoon

The trailhead in the Tierra del Fuego mountains

The Laguna Esmeralda trail begins about 18 kilometres east of Ushuaia on National Route 3, in the Tierra Mayor valley, a broad glacial valley between the Alvear and Sorondo mountain ranges where winter sledding centres and summer trekking share the same base. After hotel pickup our vehicle takes you there in about 20 minutes, and the guide hands out trekking poles, checks footwear and explains the route before setting off. The trailhead sits at roughly 200 metres above sea level, and the lagoon lies about 100 metres higher, which is why this is considered a moderate rather than a hard hike.

Knowing how to get to Laguna Esmeralda is half the challenge for independent walkers, because the trail is unmarked in places and the bogs can be confusing; with our guide, the transport and the route finding are taken care of, and you simply walk. The first section follows an old logging track through the trees.

The Fuegian lenga forest

The first part of the trek winds through a forest of lenga, the southern beech that dominates the lower slopes of Tierra del Fuego. The trees grow slowly in the cold climate, their trunks hung with pale green lichen called old man's beard, and in autumn, from late March to April, the whole forest turns red and orange. Along the path the guide points out the fungi that grow on the trunks, the Magellanic woodpecker if you are lucky, and the remains of trees felled by beavers, which were introduced in the 1940s and have reshaped the valley.

The forest section takes about 45 minutes and is mostly flat with tree roots and muddy patches underfoot. The light under the lenga canopy is soft and green, and the sound of the Esmeralda river comes and goes beside the trail. It is a gentle warm-up before the open valley, and on hot days it is the coolest part of the walk.

Peat bogs and the Esmeralda river valley

Leaving the forest, the trail opens onto the turbal, the peat bog that fills the floor of the valley. These bogs are made of sphagnum moss that has been building up since the glaciers retreated, holding water like a sponge and turning rust-red and gold in the low sun. Wooden planks and stepping stones cross the wettest parts, but mud is unavoidable, which is why we provide trekking poles and recommend waterproof boots. Beaver dams have created ponds of still water along the river, reflecting the mountains on calm days.

The valley narrows as it climbs, with the Esmeralda river tumbling over small waterfalls beside the path and the peaks of the Fuegian Andes closing in on both sides. This section takes about an hour, and the guide sets a pace that keeps the group together, with stops for photos and for the slower walkers to catch their breath. The first view of the glacier above the end of the valley tells you the lagoon is near.

Laguna Esmeralda: the Emerald Lagoon

Laguna Esmeralda is a small glacial lake whose milky turquoise colour comes from the fine rock dust carried into it by meltwater from the Ojo del Albino glacier, which hangs on the mountain wall above. The lagoon is surrounded by peat bog, scattered lenga and bare rock, with the glacier and the peaks of the Albino range reflected in its surface on still days. It sits at about 300 metres above sea level, and the colour is strongest in the summer months when the glacier is melting fastest.

The group spends about an hour at the lagoon, which is where the packed lunch and the hot drink are served, with time to walk along the shore, photograph the reflections and simply sit in the silence. Is Laguna Esmeralda worth visiting? It is the most popular trek in Ushuaia for good reason: the reward is out of all proportion to the effort, and the best time to visit Laguna Esmeralda is from November to April, when the trail is free of deep snow.

Ushuaia and the Fuegian Andes

Ushuaia, the capital of Argentina's Tierra del Fuego province, lies on the Beagle Channel beneath the Martial mountains, and the valleys to its east are the heart of its trekking country. The Fuegian Andes are the southern tail of the great mountain chain, lower than the peaks further north but dramatic because they rise straight from sea level, with glaciers hanging in their upper valleys and forest below. Day trips from Ushuaia to these valleys are short on driving and long on scenery, which makes the Emerald Lagoon trek the ideal first mountain day in the city.

We collect you from your hotel in Ushuaia and return you there at the end of the walk, with the exact pickup time confirmed by message the day before, since departure times can shift with the weather. The trek takes about 6 hours in total including transport, leaving the evening free for the waterfront, the museums or a rest after a day in the mountains.