Nest trail
Penguins close by.
Steve Deger — CC BY 2.0 · dfaulder — CC BY 2.0 · Polinova — CC BY-SA 4.0 · dfaulder — CC BY 2.0
A small bare island in the Strait of Magellan, the protected Los Pingüinos Natural Monument, where tens of thousands of Magellanic penguin pairs nest in the southern summer, filling the ground with burrows and waddling little birds that call with a sound like braying donkeys. Visitors walk a roped trail among the nests for about an hour, seeing penguins a few steps away: leaving burrows, feeding chicks and marching in lines to the sea. At the island's top an old lighthouse has become a small visitor centre with a view over the whole colony and the strait. You get there by boat from Punta Arenas, either a larger ferry or a speedboat, and trips sometimes stop at nearby Marta Island, where sea lions and cormorants rest. The season runs roughly from October to March, and trips are cancelled when the wind is too strong. Patagonian wind is fierce and changeable, and conditions can turn within an hour, so dress in layers with a wind- and rain-proof jacket. Keep away from the penguins and never block their path to the sea.
Penguins close by.
Visitor centre.
Sea lions.
Strait of Magellan, north-east of Punta Arenas, Los Pingüinos Natural Monument
In the southern summer, roughly October to March, with most between December and February when chicks abound.