A colossal tectonic cataclysm sank the Andes Mountains into the sea, shaping a completely dismembered geography in which archipelagoes, fjords and canals from the Sine of Reloncaví to tierra del Fuego are piled up. To the east, Chilean Patagonia also comprises the edges of the Argentine steppes and to the south, most of Tierra del Fuego and its archipelagoes, to Cabo de Hornos. The gigantic North and South Ice Fields give rise to numerous glaciers and constitute the largest freshwater reserve after Antarctica. The rivers of Aysén are the most flowing in Chile, numerous volcanoes pull from north to south the mountain range: Corcovado, Hudson, San Valentín, where as the Torre, Fitz Roy, and Torres del Paine hills are challenges for the best climbers in all countries. Simply put, a world of nature is alive where there is much to explore yet, largely protected by various Parks and National Reserves.
Tierra del Fuego, like the name Magellan, has steppes in the north, mountains and forests in the south, and each ecosystem presents its best landscapes and beauties still little transformed that the climate seems to defend from hiking intruders. Ancient territory of the athletic onas or selknam for at least 6,000 years now supports the ovina livestock characteristic of Magellan.
Separated by the Beagle Canal, Navarino Island, Chile’s southernmost human settlement, will continue to tempt hikers to surround the Navarino Teeth massif or pass it south through its peatlands.