Lakes of Ushuaia: everything you need to know

1. Most of the lakes and ponds around the city were formed after the retreat of glaciers about 15,000 years ago.

They are characterised by being surrounded by mountains and with a steep slope. Some lagoons such as the Emerald Lagoon have a milky green colour because it is fed by meltwater from a glacier further upstream.

2. Lake Khami, or better known as Fagnano, is the 4th largest lake in Patagonia after Lago Argentino, Lago Viedma and Lago Buenos Aires.

It is 104 km long and 200 m deep. The most amazing thing about this body of water is that it lies along a tectonic fault that separates the Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego into two tectonic plates; to the north the South American and to the south the Scotia. In other words, we are in a seismic zone and the last major earthquake in the area was in 1949, reaching 7.8 on the Richter scale.

The 90% of the lake is on the Argentinean side and the rest on the Chilean side, in fact it flows into the Strait of Magellan through the Azopardo River. The only town on the shore is Tolhuin. A small town on the RN 3 halfway between Ushuaia and Rio Grande.

3. The Escondido Lake, which can be seen from the Mirador de Paso Garibaldi, is so named because it is often covered by clouds as it is located between mountains.

It is one of the water bodies that feeds Lake Khami through the Milna River. It is about 67 m deep.

4. Another binational lake is Lake Acigami, located in the Tierra del Fuego National Park. It has an area of 10 km2, one third of which belongs to Argentina and the rest to Chile.

It is also known as Roca Lake and on the Chilean side as Errázurriz in honour of the two presidents who signed the boundary treaty in 1881.

5. Please note that it is forbidden to swim in the water in the National Park.

In general the water has a temperature of 5 °C . The Fuegians usually go in on days when it gets above 25 °C and there are very few days in the year when that happens.

6. Sport fishing is allowed in some lakes.

Don't forget to find out where and how you can do it and to have previously obtained your fishing permit.

In addition, the rivers and lakes of Tierra del Fuego suffer from the introduction of Didymo algae, an invasive species that affects the waterways and the fish that live there to prevent further spread to other places. Remember to disinfect everything before and after immersing your equipment in the water.

7. There are several trails around Ushuaia that culminate in high altitude lagoons, mostly formed by the retreat of glaciers.

The most popular and famous is the Emerald Lagoon, The second one is the Laguna de los Témpanos where the Vinciguerra Glacier is located. But there are others that you can do on your own, such as Laguna Turquesa, Laguna Celeste, Laguna Ceniza, Laguna Gemelas, Laguna de los Perros.

8. Within the city you can visit 2 bodies of water that are urban nature reserves such as “Bahía Encerrada”, which is actually not a lagoon but part of the Ushuaia Bay that was closed by an earth walkway to shorten the way from the city to the first airport of the city.

Today the whole area, which is surrounded by a military quarter of brown houses, is a protected area with paths, viewpoints, benches to observe the bird life that can be found there, such as barcovy ducks, crested grebes, seagulls, terns, geese, among others.

The other lagoon is hidden in the city. It is in the upper neighbourhoods near Avenida Alem, the Laguna del Diablo, in the middle of a residential neighbourhood. This lagoon is surrounded by ñires and lengas. In winter it freezes over completely. In the past it was possible to go ice skating or ice hockey.

If you feel like visiting these places, keep in mind that the Khami Lake (Fagnano) and Escondido Lake can be visited on the excursion of Escondido Lakes and winter resorts or that of Lakes Off Road 4×4.

Lake Acigami (Rock) can be visited on our excursion to the Tierra del Fuego National Park

Finally, Bahía Encerrada and Laguna del Diablo can be reached on your own in the city.

Please write to us if you are looking for more information on our excursions.