Searching for Lake Esmeralda

There is no doubt that Ushuaia encloses true paradisiacal views for hiking enthusiasts. One of them is Lake Esmeralda, ideal for beginners and for groups.

Going in search of this delightful lake is one of the possibilities offered by the people from Ushuaia Aventura. Therefore, after making all the necessary arrangements and agreeing on the time and place they would pick us up, we had to wait until the next day to go on this excursion.

And the right day came.

We went up to a large parking lot, meters away from the ski resort known as Altos del Valle (lying 18 kilometers from the City of Ushuaia, after taking Route 3), where the van left us. The group began to get the apparel and footwear ready to start the tour. A sign showed us the trail to the lake.

Thus, we reached a small forest and then one of the typical bogs in Ushuaia and almost the entire territory of Tierra del Fuego, where to our own satisfaction and surprise we could observe a group of beavers swimming around a den. When they saw us, they slowly approached us.

A small bridge crosses Esmeralda Creek and our eyes were dazzled to look around. The guide told us that was just a sample of what was about to come and that in a matter of minutes we would be in a fascinating site.

The path gets deep in the woods again and forks in two different directions. We took the one bordering the river, which would get us closer to our destination.

The color of the lake seduces even the most skeptical viewers. The snow-capped mountains, along with the surrounding woods, are perfectly reflected upon the turquoise surface of the water.

As we got closer, the guide encouraged us to go up a small hill and told us that paradise was waiting on the other side. We hit the summit and right below us we could see the perfect shape of Lake Esmeralda resting there.

Countless photographs, a moment of relax, time to behold the divine and the magic of nature followed. Rarely had we seen such a perfect place.