Cape Horn and the surrounding islands

If you have come to Isla Navarino and Ushuaia, you can make a little extra effort and continue to the very end of the Americas to Cabo de Hornos (Cape Horn). This small group of Chilean uninhabited islands has always been synonymous with adventure and romance in the old days of sailing (although usually the sailors feared the hard, brutal and cold journey). The horn was "discovered" in January 1616 by the Dutchmen Jacob Le Maire and Willem Schouten aboard the "Unity". They called it Horn, after their Hoorn, which had accidentally burned down in Puerto Deseado, Argentina on the Patagonian coast. Horn Island, where the famous cape forms its southernmost point, is only 8 km long. The cape itself rises to 424m, with striking black cliffs at the top. DAP Airways has charter flights over Cape Horn that do not land. The South Shetland Islands in the far north of the Antarctic Peninsula are some of the most visited areas of the continent, thanks to the spectacular scenery, abundant wildlife and proximity to Tierra del Fuego, located 1,000 km north across the Drake Passage. The largest of the South Shetland Islands, King George Island, has eight ski resorts on its soil. Chile established the Presidente Eduardo Frei Montalva base in 1969. Ten years later it built the Teniente Rodolfo Marsh Martin station less than 1 km across the Fildes peninsula from Frei. The human population is between 10 and 20 people, while the estimate of the penguin population is two to three million. As part of Chile's policy of trying to incorporate as much as possible of the Chilean Antarctic territory to the rest of the country, the government has encouraged families to settle in Frei and the first of several children born there was born in 1984. At present, the station accommodates a population of about 80 people in summer homes and climate-proof sterile houses.

How Much Do We Love This Place?

The Good

• Unique and isolated destination
• The end of the World
• Stunning Landscapes

The Bad

• There are no hotels or tour companies
• Difficult dirt roads
• You need a car or a bike to go there
• Bad climate conditions during winter season