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Visit a Chilean penguin colony

Penguins

Mingle with everyone’s favourite bird at the Isla Magdalena rookery on the Strait of Magellan.

Down in the southernmost reaches of South America where the landmass starts to quickly disintegrate into a tangle of islands, the Strait of Magellan weaves right from the Pacific to the Atlantic. Departing from Punta Arenas on a 2-hour boat journey, you’ll begin tracing the same route as the great explorers who made this place synonymous with seafaring adventure.

Lying adrift in the Strait of Magellan, the Isla Magdalena is a breeding ground for several species of seabird, most notably the loveable penguin. You can walk among a chattering crowd of these comical birds, whose activities vary by the seasons – visit in September or October and you’ll see the monogamous pairs reunite after a long summer at sea, while January brings baby penguins making their first attempts at swimming.

For those short of time, a visit to the Seno Otway penguin colony on the way to Torres del Paine would be a quicker alternative.

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  • Finn Clennett
    Finn Clennett - Travel Expert

  • Heloise
    Heloise Buxton - Travel Expert

    Heloise started her Latin American journey as an exchange student in Santiago, Chile. With extended summer holidays this was the perfect opportunity to backpack through Bolivia, Peru, Argentina and Brazil.

  • Chris
    Chris Rendell-Dunn - Travel Expert

    Anglo-Peruvian Chris grew up in Lima and spent much of his adult life in between London and Cusco as a tour leader, before settling permanently in our London-based Tailor-made and Group Tours sales team.

  • Maggie
    Maggie Wilson - Travel Expert

    Maggie visited Latin America on her first backpacking trip when she was 19. Since then, she has taken every opportunity to travel, and has managed to explore a lot of the region in subsequent trips.

  • Juliet
    Juliet Ellwood - Travel Expert

    After graduating with a degree in Anthropology and History and having been fascinated by Latin America since childhood by the book featuring photos of Nazca, Juliet first visited the region in 2003. Since then, Juliet has visited the majority of countries in Latin America but has particularly extensive experience with Peru, a country she loves for many reasons but not least, its incredible archaeological richness and delicious food!

  • Alex
    Alex Walker - Travel Expert

    A globetrotter since her childhood, Alex spent a year studying abroad in Guadalajara and has returned to Latin America countless times since then.

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