Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Around Puerto Madryn
Home to a permanent sea-lion colony and cormorant rookery, the
Reserva Faunística
Punta Loma
(admission AR$50)
is 17km southwest of Puerto Madryn via a good but
winding gravel road. The overlook is about 15m from the animals, best seen during low
tides. Many travel agencies organize two-hour tours (AR$180) according to the tide
schedules; otherwise, check tide tables and hire a car or taxi, or make the trek via bi-
cycle.
Continue on the same road for
Punta Ninfas
, a cliffside marked by a lighthouse, to see
elephant seals on the beach. There's also a penguin colony forming here. Please exercise
self-restraint and snap photos at a nonthreatening distance. It's 78km from Puerto
Madryn on a dusty dirt road.
Twenty kilometers north of Puerto Madryn via RP1 is
Punta Flecha
observatory, a re-
commended whale-watching spot.
TOP OF CHAPTER
Coastal Río Negro
At the gateway to Patagonia, Viedma shares the lush Río Negro with sister city Carmen
de Patagones. With stylish riverfront cafes, Viedma, the capital of Río Negro province,
exhudes prosperity. Historic Carmen de Patagones is worth touring for its steep cobble-
stone streets and colonial stylings.
Heading south, La Ruta de los Acantilados is a beautiful stretch of Atlantic coastline.
Repeated wave action has worn the ancient cliff faces (three million to 13 million years
old) to reveal a wealth of fossils. While the area teems with activity in summer, it shuts
down in the low season.
Balneario El Cóndor
, 31km southeast of Viedma at the mouth of the Río Negro, has
the largest parrot colony in the world, with 35,000 nests in its cliff faces. Its century-old
lighthouse is Patagonia's oldest.
Some 30km further south, there's a permanent southern sea-lion colony at
La Lobería
(Reserva Faunística de Punta Bermeja), on the north coast of Golfo San Matías. The pop-
ulation peaks during spring, when males come ashore to fight other males and establish
harems of up to 10 females. The females give birth from December onward. An observa-
tion balcony sits directly above the mating beaches, safe and unobtrusive. Buses from
Viedma pass within 3km of the colony.
