Magdalena Island Penguin Colony

Los Pinguinos Natural Monument, An Island In The Strait Of Magellan Holding One Of The Largest Magellanic Penguin Colonies In Chile · Punta Arenas, Magallanes

Magdalena Island is a low, treeless island in the Strait of Magellan, about two hours by boat from Punta Arenas, and each spring it is covered by a colony of tens of thousands of breeding pairs of Magellanic penguins, one of the largest in Chile. Visitors land for about an hour and follow a roped path up to the island's red and white lighthouse, with penguins nesting in burrows on either side, standing in the path, braying and waddling to and from the sea; gulls and skuas patrol overhead. The crossing itself, through the strait Magellan sailed in 1520, often brings dolphins, and some trips stop at nearby Marta Island to see sea lions. The island is protected as Los Pinguinos Natural Monument. Punta Arenas, the base, is Chile's southernmost city, a wool-boom town with a grand cemetery of merchants' mausoleums, a statue of Magellan on the main square and replicas of historic ships. Weather in the strait decides everything: boats are cancelled when the wind rises, which it often does.

Isla Magdalena, Estrecho de Magallanes, Magallanes, Punta Arenas, Magallanes, Chile

Boats to the island run from Punta Arenas roughly from October to March, when the penguins are breeding, and are cancelled in rough weather. Visitors have about an hour ashore on a roped path. There are no visits in the southern winter.

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