Las Loicas


Beyond the Gateway
Discovering
Tierra del Fuego 

 

I know better than most that Ushuaia is the gateway to Antarctica. For fifteen years I worked in the Antarctic travel industry, that’s what first brought me here. I arrived for the first time in 2011, and like so many others, I knew Ushuaia mainly as a port of departure, the place where the great journeys to the south begin.

But everything changed the moment I started to leave the city and explore the rest of the island. I discovered a province that felt endlessly vast and raw, with open skies, forests, rivers, and winds that never stop moving. I met people who live close to nature, quietly and with a strength that comes from this land itself.

Now, years later, living at Cabo San Pablo, at Estancia Las Loicas on the wild Atlantic coast, I’ve fallen even more in love with Tierra del Fuego. It’s become my passion and my purpose to help others see beyond the gateway.

More than a Stop on the Way South

Most travellers come to Ushuaia with Antarctica in mind. And that’s understandable, it’s a dream destination, a once-in-a-lifetime experience. But I hope more people begin to realise that Ushuaia is also the gateway to so much more.
 

Las Loicas

It’s the starting point for other kinds of expeditions, across the island itself, through its forests and mountains, to its remote estancias and forgotten coasts.

One of these places is Península Mitre: a wild, untouched region at the eastern tip of the island. Here, the Atlantic crashes against the cliffs, peatlands stretch endlessly, and traces of old estancias and shipwrecks whisper stories of human resilience at the edge of the world. Expeditions here can last from four to ten days, a true journey into one of the last wilderness areas of Argentina

The province worth slowing down for

Online you’ll often read that you can “see Tierra del Fuego in two days.” But that couldn’t be further from the truth. You could spend weeks here, walking, driving, sailing, listening, and still only begin to understand this land. And it is not only the Argentinean side which is interesting, what about combining it with a visit to Puerto Williams or even drive to Torres del Paine.

And then there’s the north of Tierra del Fuego, where we live, at Cabo San Pablo. It’s open, rugged, quiet, and endlessly inspiring. You can walk through our forests, visit the shipwreck Desdémona, watch the changing light over the ocean, and feel what it means to truly arrive somewhere far away, and yet profoundly connected to live.

An Invitation

So yes, Ushuaia is the gateway to Antarctica. But it’s also the gateway to a much larger story, to Tierra del Fuego itself. Come south not only to sail away, but to stay. To explore, to breathe, and to feel the land beneath the wind. At Las Loicas, and across this province, you’ll find that the end of the world is really just the beginning.
 

Leentje Toering