4x4 Off Road Adventure: Escondido & Fagnano Lakes from Ushuaia

4.74

(31 reviews)

What’s the experience like?

The day kicked off with a knock at my hotel door right around 9am—no need to rush breakfast. We piled into the 4x4 and rolled out of Ushuaia, heading north along National Route 3. The windows fogged up a bit from the morning chill, but you could still catch glimpses of the snowy peaks outside. Our guide, Martín, had this way of pointing out little things—like how the moss on the trees changes color after it rains.

We made our first stop in Tierra Mayor Valley. It’s quiet out there—just some distant barking from sled dogs and the crunch of gravel under boots. Crossing the Andes through Garibaldi Pass felt like slipping into another world; suddenly, Lake Escondido appeared below us, half-hidden by low clouds. The air smelled faintly of woodsmoke from a roadside café where locals grab coffee before work.

After that, things got bumpy. We left the main road and took a twisting track only these trucks can handle—mud splashing up on the windows, branches brushing past. In those forests of Ñires and Coihues, we spotted a red fox darting between tree roots and even saw a beaver dam tucked behind some reeds. Martín slowed down so we could snap photos without scaring anything off.

By midday we reached Lake Fagnano. It’s huge—windy too, so bring an extra layer if you feel the cold easily. There’s a simple wooden refuge right by the water where lunch gets cooked over coals. While our beef barbecue sizzled (they had veggie options too), I wandered down to skip stones on the shore and watched a couple of magellanic woodpeckers hammering away in the trees nearby.

Lunch was proper Argentine style: cold snacks first, then juicy beef straight off the grill with local wine or soda if you prefer. Coffee came last—strong enough to wake anyone up for the ride back. After relaxing for a bit longer than planned (nobody wanted to leave), we loaded back into the truck and headed home along Route 3 again, tired but happy.