King Penguin Park, Tierra del Fuego

A Small Private Reserve On Bahia Inutil, On The Chilean Side Of Tierra Del Fuego, Protecting A Colony Of King Penguins That Settled Here In The Early 2010s · Porvenir, Magallanes

On the grassy shore of Bahia Inutil, the Useless Bay, on the Chilean half of Tierra del Fuego, a small colony of king penguins has made its home since the early 2010s, one of the very few places in the Americas outside the remote sub-Antarctic and Falkland islands where these birds can be seen. King penguins are the second-largest penguin in the world, standing almost a metre tall, with brilliant orange patches on their heads and chests, and the colony includes adults, moulting birds and brown, fluffy chicks that stay for more than a year before fledging. The land is a private reserve that protects the birds with a strict visiting system: visitors watch from behind a line and from hides at a respectful distance, with a limited number of people each day. Getting here is part of the experience, and a long one: a full day from Punta Arenas, crossing the Strait of Magellan by ferry and driving across the windswept steppe of Tierra del Fuego, past estancias and flamingo lagoons. It is a long day for an hour with the birds, and for many visitors it is the highlight of Patagonia.

Bahia Inutil, Tierra del Fuego, Magallanes, Porvenir, Magallanes, Chile

The reserve opens to visitors in the season, roughly October to April, with limited daily numbers and set visiting hours; bookings are needed. Most visits are full-day tours from Punta Arenas, using the ferry to Porvenir or the Primera Angostura crossing. Ferry schedules and wind can change plans.

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