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PENINSULA VALDES

ABOUT PENINSULA VALDES

The Golflos Nuevo and San Jose are separated by the Itsmo Carlos Ameghino, which leads to the narrow peninsula jutting out into the Atlantic. Peninsula Valdes has been called an "open air zoo". It is a unique wildlife sanctuary and an ideal place for close-up watching of whales, penguins, dark dolphins, elephant seals and sea lions, birds and Patagonian land-based species such as lesser rhea, mara (Patagonian hare), foxes, skunks or flocks of guanacos.

When What
August - April Magellanic Penguins
June - December Southern RIght Whale
June - December Killer Whale (Orca)
All year Southern Elephant Seal
All year Commerson's Dolphins


On the eastern tip of central Patagonia, Peninsula Valdes is a virtual island, only joined to the continent by a narrow strip of land 35 kilometers long called Ameghino Isthmus. The peninsula is 3,625 square kilometers in area, 63 kilometers long and 97 wide. An interesting basin (42 meters below sea level) contains two salt flats, "Salinas Chica", 12 km2 in area, and "Salinas Grande", 35 km2.

UNESCO has declared the Peninsula to be a Natural World Heritage.

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 At Punta Norte there are elephant seals (breeding season late Sep/early Oct); at Caleta Valdes, 27 miles south of Punta Norte, you can see Magellan penguins (Oct-Nov nesting), sea lions (Dec-Jan breeding season) and elephant seals.

At Punta Delgada the beach provides excellent viewing of elephant seals. In addition, guanacos, rheas, armadillos and other wildlife can be seen on the peninsula; wildlife viewing is at its maximum during October-November.

There are also sheep estancias, and one of lowest continental depressions in the world with the salt flats of Salina Grande and Salina Chica, some 126 feet below sea level.

But perhaps the big attraction is the southern right whale (Eubalaena australis), which frequent the shallow waters of Golfo Nuevo and Golfo San Carlos between June & mid-December to breed and bear their young; Puerto Piramdes is the departure point for whale viewing excursions.

ACCOMMODATIONS:
A multi-night stay at the lovely Rincon Chico Ranch or at the Faro Punta Delgada offers an excellent opportunity to explore the area around Punta Delgada.

Another alternative for accommodations is at Puerto Piramides where the whale watching is best. The new Las Restingas offers bayfront accommodations.

El Pedral, located on Punta Ninfas also offers multi-night stays with a variety of activities.

TRELEW
(pop 61,000) has a good regional museum and the oldest standing Welsh chapel built in 1880 with a simple interior and the cemetery has the graves of many early settlers. The airport is nearby.

PUERTO MADRYN
Puerto Madryn (pop 50,000) is a port on the Golfo Nuevo and was the site of the first Welsh landing in 1865 by 153 Welsh immigrants. It boasts a good regional museum, a giant aluminum plant and a modest port. The Punta Loma sea lion reserve is just 9 miles to the southeast; December and January are the best months for viewing.  LADATCO's recommended propertes are the Solar de la Costa Inn and Hotel Territorio.

GAIMAN
Located 11 miles west of Trelew, Gaiman (pop 4,400) is a pretty Welsh town with brick houses, excellent Welsh museum and well known for its tea houses serving tea prepared to an ancient recipe that gives it a unique flavor, accompanied by fine, home-made confectionery and pastry. Many tea houses are historic houses and are fillwed with relics and pieces from the original immigrants from Wales..

PUNTA TOMBO
This five hundred acre wildlife reserve (71 miles south of Trelew; 100 south of Puerto Madryn) is the world's largest colony of Magellan penguins. Punta Tombo is a narrow and stony strip of land penetrating some 3 ½ kilometers into the ocean; its ample beaches offer a gentle slope where penguins can easily build their nests. In 1979 Chubut province declared it a Fauna Reserve to protect the colony of Magellan penguins and the other species that share this habitat with them. The road to the preserve is bumpy, and within the preserve  wire fences protect the penguin burrows from human intrusion.In addition to penguins, though, there are impressive numbers of other seabirds, including giant petrels, kelp and dolphin gulls, king and rock cormorants, and shorebirds including oystercatchers and flightless steamer ducks. 

The season is September through March, with January & February the time when the young are taking to the water. The park closes after April - September.