Introduction

Wulaia is a bay located on the north-west side of Navarino Island, and just a few kilometres to the north of Cape Horn. Administratively it is part of a region that has the same name, which can be found in the Magellan and Chilean Antarctic region. Wulaia Bay (which means “Beautiful Bay” in the indigenous language of Yaghan), is considered to be a heritage site firstly due to it being the land of the ancient Yaghan people, a nomadic canoeing tribe that is now almost extinct, and secondly because it is the place where these people and the European immigrants met and fought at the end of the 19th Century. Wulaia is the historic capital of the archipelago Tierra del Fuego, where various famous travellers have visited, such as the Englishman Robert Fitz Roy, who navigated the rivers and water ways, and took a local Yaghan named Jimmy Button back to England with him. Charles Darwin was part of this same voyage, and he started to contemplate his theory of evolution in this very place.

To start this trail, you will need to travel the 2500km from Santiago to get to the town of Puerto Williams, located on the northern coast of Navarino Island. The town was founded at the end of the 19th Century, when settlers arrived, attracted by the Gold Rush caused by the deposits found in Puerto Toro, on the eastern side of the island. Thereafter, the State began to encourage the breeding of livestock which brought some hundred more settlers to the area, who founded Puerto Luisa on the 21st November 1953, whose name was changed just three years later to Puerto Williams after the Irish sailor John Williams who was the founder of the fort Fuerte Bulnes by the Strait of Magellan (1842). Puerto Williams currently has a population of around 2000 inhabitants, of which only 35% are civilians and the rest being linked to the Armed Forces. This is due to the town’s strategic position between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, as well as its proximity to the Chilean territory in the Antarctic. The island is neighboured by the islets Nueva, Picton and Lennox, which were the main reason for the dispute between Chile and Argentina in 1978 where armed conflict was only just avoided due to papal intervention.

On the same island there are a number of other important routes that can be completed: the Dientes de Navarino route and the Lago Windhond circuit. It should be mentioned that along all three of these routes, you will be able to see the effect that beavers have had on the landscape, an introduced species from Canada that were brought to the region due the fur industry in the 1930s in Ushuaia, from where the animals escaped and then crossed to the neighbouring island of Navarino. Since 2001, which was the first time that these mammals were seen on the island, the population of this species has grown exponentially as there are no natural predators to contain their numbers. The beavers have changed the landscapes by felling trees, creating dams, flooding and destroying the Magellan woodland, and they are endangering the indigenous flora and fauna of the island.

Appropriate season

The best time of year to complete this trek is between December and February, when the days are longer and the temperatures are higher. Even during this period, you will still need to be prepared for the cold, wind, rain and snow.

Access

From Punta Arenas

From Punta Arenas there are two options for getting to Puerto Williams:

• By air: you will need to take a plane with DAP Airways, which you will need to book by directly contacting the company via email [email protected] or via telephone 61 2616100 (Punta Arenas). The cost of a return plane ticket is approx. CLP$ 143000 (~US$ 228), and the journey takes from 35 minutes to 1 ½ hours depending on the condition of the plane and the weather at the time. The flights leave daily from Monday to Saturday. The inhabitants of the town Puerto Williams are given three return tickets each year by the government.
• By sea: from Punta Arenas it is possible to take a ferry with the Transbordadora Austral Broom S.A. which takes around 30 hours to Puerto Williams. This beautiful journey will take you through the Patagonian fjords and the Beagle Channel. The prices are $98000 (~US$ 156) semi-cama (“half-bed”; semi luxury) y $137000 (~US$ 219) cama (“bed”; luxury) with discounted prices from children between 2 and 10 years old. There are just four journeys each month, generally departing from Punta Arenas on Thursday at 18:00, and return from Puerto Williams on Saturday at 16:00, apart from the last week of the month when the first leg of the journey departs on Sunday.

From Ushuaia

There is a boat operated by the Argentinian company Ushuaia Boting which makes the crossing from Ushuaia in about 30 minutes. You will then need to take the bus to Puerto Williams. The journey from Ushuaia leaves daily from December to February subject to weather conditions which cause the cancellation rate of this service to be relatively high. Contact [email protected] or [email protected].

Puerto Williams – Puente Lum

From Puerto Williams you will need to organise overland transport to take you to Puente Lum, which is characterised by its bridge (“puente” means “bridge” in English), and a large property with a house and a greenhouse. The journey is approx. 40km, and takes about 1 hour. To organise this transport, we recommend that you ask in Puerto Williams or contact Ushuaia Boting, as the bus that goes to Puerto Navarino also passes through Puente Lum.

Permits / Prices

You will need to advise the police in Puerto Williams of your departure.

Accommodation / Facilities

There is no accommodation or amenities.

Recommendations

• It is important to book the plane tickets in advance, especially in January and February, due to popular demand during the peak season. What’s more, there are currently lots of construction work being completed in Puerto Williams, and the workers are taking up a great deal of the available tickets.
• Remember that in Puerto Williams it is forbidden to ask for plastic bottles from the grocery stores. 
• The maximum weight of luggage on the plane is 10kg, so to avoid paying more for overweight bags it is advisable to stock up on food in Puerto Williams. Due to the complicated access to the area there are no air taxes, hence the prices not being extremely high. 
• It is possible to find gas in Puerto Williams, in a hardware store in Plaza de Armas, and also in the shop Wulaia Expediciones.
• On the last Sunday of every month there is a ferry that goes from Puerto Natales to Puerto Toro, a small village on the south-eastern side of the island, to bring supplies to the zone and to take their rubbish away. If the dates are suitable, it is possible to take the ferry for free, by signing up in the municipality of Cape Horn, located on the street calle O’Higgins #186, Puerto Williams, or by emailing [email protected].
• There is free Wi-Fi for all tourists and locals in the library in Puerto Williams.

Gear

• Use of GPS, map and compass.
• Trekking poles.
• All type of water protection. You will cross many rivers, meadows and peats, so it is almost impossible not to get wet.
• Mountain clothing and equipment. Warm, water and wind resistant.
• Water resistant footwear or a spare pair.
• Thermal wear is absolutely necessary.

Schedule

1. Puente Lum - Wulaia
2. Wulaia - Puente Lum

Alternative Itineraries

1. Puente Lum - Campsite between Waypoint 6 and Monte Vrsolovic (Waypoint 9)*
2. Campsite - Wulaia **
3. Wulaia - Puente Lum

1. Puente Lum - Campsite between Waypoint 6 and Monte Vrsolovic (Waypoint 9)*
2. Campsite - Wulaia - Campsite
3. Campsite - Puerto Lum

*You can find areas to camp between these two waypoints, and there is also drinking water available from the surrounding lakes.

**It is recommended that you camp in Wulaia Bay as it is very beautiful.