Peninsula Valdes

UNESCO World Heritage Site (Peninsula Valdes, 1999); A Provincial Protected Natural Area. Coordinates Are Puerto Piramides, The Only Village On The Peninsula · Puerto Piramides, Chubut

Peninsula Valdes is a flat, dry lump of Patagonian steppe joined to the mainland by a thin isthmus, and it is one of the finest places on earth to see marine mammals from the land. From about June to December southern right whales come into the sheltered gulfs to calve, close enough to Puerto Piramides that boats reach them in minutes and on calm days you can watch them from the beach. Elephant seals haul out on the eastern beaches, sea lions breed on the rocks, Magellanic penguins nest in season, and guanacos, rheas and maras cross the gravel roads. Most famously, at Punta Norte orcas deliberately strand themselves on the beach to seize sea lion pups at high tide, a hunting technique seen in very few places; it is rare to see and needs patience. The distances are long and the roads are gravel, so a visit means a full day of driving between viewpoints, and there is almost no shade or food outside Piramides. Puerto Madryn, a hundred kilometres away, is where almost everyone stays.

Ruta Provincial 2, Puerto Piramides, Chubut, Puerto Piramides, Chubut, U9121, Argentina

The reserve is entered through a checkpoint on the isthmus, open daily in daylight. Whale-watching boats leave Puerto Piramides roughly from June to December, weather permitting. Wildlife viewing points close at dusk. Orca hunts at Punta Norte depend on high tide and happen mostly from about February to April.

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