Río Grande

Río Grande is the other Tierra del Fuego, on the windswept Atlantic coast of the island: flat grassland, a sky that takes up most of the view, and the sheep estancias that settled it at the start of the twentieth century. The river that gives the town its name is one of the great sea trout rivers in the world, and the reason many travellers come at all. North of town, the Salesian mission of La Candelaria keeps the story of the Selk'nam people.

For most journeys it is a stop on the road between Punta Arenas and Ushuaia rather than a destination. The way to use it is a day or a night at an estancia such as Las Hijas, founded by a pioneer who brought the first sheep and cattle to this part of the island, to see how the farms work and hear how they began. For anglers it is the opposite: a week at a fishing lodge on the river, and no need to go anywhere else.

The estancias receive visitors in the southern summer, from November to March. The sea trout season runs through the summer and into the autumn. Wind is a constant.