Porvenir

Gold was found on Tierra del Fuego in the 1880s and the rush brought prospectors from across Europe, a large share of them from Dalmatia in what is now Croatia; the gold was thin and mostly played out within a couple of decades, but many of those families stayed, moved into sheep and trade, and Porvenir's surnames are still substantially Croatian. The town sits on the strait with painted metal-clad houses and a museum covering the gold years, the sheep estancias and the Selk'nam people, whose destruction by settlers and bounty hunters during exactly this period is the region's darkest history.

What you'll find

• A gold rush town from the 1880s - the gold thin and soon gone.
• Croatian surnames - from the Dalmatian prospectors who stayed.
• Painted metal-clad houses - the local building type against the wind.
• The Selk'nam history - the people destroyed in these same decades.

When to go

November to March. A full day including the ferry.

Things to know

The ferry takes over two hours and cancels in wind; booking a vehicle place is essential. The town is small and services are limited. Wind is constant. The Selk'nam material is handled better in some museums than others.

Nearby

The King Penguin park is at Bahia Inutil; Punta Arenas is across the strait.

Key facts