Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
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in El Chaltén. The minimum amount of time for a wor thwhile stop at Península Valdés
is 3 days. A quick trip to Argentine P atagonia might include 2 days in E l Calafate, 2 in
El Chaltén, and 3 in Península Valdés. If you want to work in a trip to Chilean Patagonia,
add at least another 5 days.
Prices jump and cr owds swell during the summer months, fr om early N ovember to
late March, and some businesses open only during this season. I n November, the Penín-
sula Valdés is busiest with visiting for eigners, who come to see the S outhern Right
Whales. The southern ar ea around Parque Nacional Los G laciares is busiest in J anuary
and February, but these summer months are not necessarily the best time to visit Patago-
nia; calmer w eather usually pr evails in N ovember, and fr om mid-March to late A pril,
when the leav es turn gold and r ust in the autumn air , and winds generally die do wn a
bit.
EXPLORING PENINSULA VALDES/PUERTO MADRYN
In the middle of Atlantic Patagonia, in the vast province of Chubut, lies the remote and
barren Península Valdés, declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1999.
The bays and shores on this peninsula that juts out into the Atlantic serve as a marine-
life pr eserve for marine mammals such as sea elephants, sea lions, and the enormous
Southern Right Whales, which come in fr om A pril to D ecember. Penguins and or ca
whales also swim past. Visitors come here to see the whales and to walk on the beaches
and view the unusual sea elephants up close. D iving trips are also popular.
Other animals that r un wild her e include guanacos (similar to llamas),
maras
(large
wild rabbits),
choique
(similar to an ostrich), and a bevy of bir ds and smaller animals.
The region is v ery well controlled—in fact, in some ar eas, beach access is r estricted
unless y ou ar e with a cer tified “naturalist guide.” When whales ar e in the bays (fr om
July-Dec), beach activities ar e not allo wed. This is a natur e pr eserve, after all, not a
playground. Kayaks are allowed from late December to March only, when the whales are
gone. Diving is allo wed offshore throughout the y ear, but only on cer tified boats with
government-sanctioned guides.
On the peninsula itself (the entir e area is a national par k), the tiny village of
Puerto
Pirámides
(100km/62 miles fr om P uerto M adryn) is the depar ture point for all the
whale-watching and diving trips. S ome visitors opt to stay o vernight here. But most of
the tourist infrastr ucture is in
Puerto M adryn,
a small, laid-back, beachside city of
70,000 people. The town went from a tiny, sleepy hamlet of 6,000 people to a bustling
small city that serves as a center for industrial products in eastern Patagonia. It's the most
pleasant base for trav elers—a jumping-off point for day trips to the peninsula and to
Punta Tombo
(2 hr. south), where Magellan penguins come to mate ev ery year.
The typical visit to this ar ea includes a trav el day; then a jampacked day tour of the
Península Valdés, which could include whale-watching; and a thir d day to visit P unta
Tombo.
Visitors with more than 3 nights available should consider renting a car and spending
a few nights at a rural hotel on the peninsula itself, such as Faro Punta Delgada, or in the
beach town at Puerto Pirámides. This will allow you to explore the area away from the
crowds, and also to r elax. You could consider skipping P unta Tombo if y ou visit the
penguin colony at Estancia San Lorenzo instead, on the northern tip of Península Valdés.
A car is necessar y to explore the peninsula on y our own; there is no public bus system,
and distances are vast. Most of the roads are not paved, so a 4WD is a good idea.
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