• Punta Bermeja
• Puerto Madryn
• Península Valdés
• Reserva Natural Punta Tombo
• Camarones
• Reserva Natural Ría del Deseado
• Bahía y Península San Julián
• Río Gallegos

Valdes peninsula*

Distant only 77 kilometers from Puerto Madryn, the Carlos Ameghino isthmus marks the point of entrance to the Fauna Reserve of the Valdés Peninsula . At this point there is an interpretation center that can be helpful to learn about the flora, fauna and geography that you will encounter during your visit. The village, Puerto Pirámides , is about 25 km ahead. The boats that take you into the ocean to be side by side with the Southern Right Whales (Ballena Franca) sail from this village. There is also great sites to observe natural life in its environment. A gravel road takes you around the Peninsula. In quite a few spots of this road you will see penguins at an arms length. Five kilometers from Puerto Pirámides you will find the Punta Pirámides a spot where Antarctic fur seal (lobos marinos) procreate and breed ( December through March ). From here you can visit Caleta Valdés , a station for southern elephant seal (elephantes marinos) and Punta Norte where both species can be found. The whole turn to the peninsula sums about 75 kilometers.
If you visit the peninsula from Puerto Madryn , consider the visit will take about 400 kilometers. From this city you should take North into the Provincial Route #1, taking after 17 km, the #2. If it is whales season (June to December) , you may prefer to take the Provincial #4 for, although it is gravel, it runs parallel to the coast, making it possible to spot some whales during the drive.
Keep always in mind that the environment you see is one of the few in the world that has been left untamed. It is very much the land that amazed Darwin 160 years ago and you should do your best to keep it that way.

HUGE AND ANCIENT LARCHES (Alerces). Los Alerces National Park preserves this type of trees, which can be more than 60 meters high and are more than 3,000 years old.

ANIMAL PENINSULA. In Peninsula Valdés, you can visit sea bird colonies, as well as sea lions and elephant seals from the South, and the Southern right whale (ballena franca austral).

SEALS AND ELEPHANT SEALS. An important colony of 800 South American sea lions lives below the steep rocks of Punta Loma, while 1,500 come to breed to Punta Pirámide Natural Reserve from December through February. Punta Norte reserve shelters the world's most important southern elephant seal continental colony. These animals get their name from the males' trunk-like nose.

ANNUAL WHALE GATHERING. Gulf Nuevo and Gulf of San José are the places where Southern right whales come to give birth and perpetuate their species from May through mid-December. Whale sightseeing tours depart from Puerto Pirámides.

PENGUINS. More than 1,500,000 Magellanic penguins and other sea bird species, such as skuas, sea gulls, gaviotines (member of the gull family) and cormorants inhabit Punta Tombo.

Other places of interest: Bosque Petrificado Sarmiento is a geological reserve formed by the outcropping of almost 65-million-year-old fossilized forests.