Puerto Madryn Trip Overview
The Estancia San Lorenzo Nature Reserve is located within the Peninsula Valdés Protected Natural Area 160 kilometers from the city of Puerto Madryn, in the province of Chubut, Patagonia, Argentina.
On its coasts there is a colony of more than 600,000 Magellan penguins that can be visited between September 7 and March 31 of each year, making it the largest continental colony in the world.
In addition to having the possibility of observing these wonderful animals in their natural habitat, in the area we can find marine fossils that float on the cliffs and canyons that drain into the sea.
Thanks to the diversity of attractions, you can choose to travel different paths that vary according to the area to visit and its difficulty.
Additional Info
Duration: 90 to 210 minutes
Starts: Puerto Madryn, Argentina
Trip Category: Sightseeing Tickets & Passes >> Attraction Tickets
Explore Puerto Madryn Promoted Experiences
What to Expect When Visiting Puerto Madryn, Patagonia, Argentina
The Estancia San Lorenzo Nature Reserve is located within the Peninsula Valdés Protected Natural Area 160 kilometers from the city of Puerto Madryn, in the province of Chubut, Patagonia, Argentina.
On its coasts there is a colony of more than 600,000 Magellan penguins that can be visited between September 7 and March 31 of each year, making it the largest continental colony in the world.
In addition to having the possibility of observing these wonderful animals in their natural habitat, in the area we can find marine fossils that float on the cliffs and canyons that drain into the sea.
Thanks to the diversity of attractions, you can choose to travel different paths that vary according to the area to visit and its difficulty.
Visit: Estancia San Lorenzo, Punta Norte, Puerto Madryn 9120 Argentina
The Magellan penguin colony of Estancia San Lorenzo has shown steady growth since its establishment almost 50 years ago. This growth exceeds the average annual 20% since 1995. Penguins arrive every year during the first days of September and leave the reserve towards the end of April.
The trails and activities to choose from are:
Experience penguins, the classic tour:
The trail runs through a sector of nesting and permanent transit of penguins. In its middle part it presents a coastal front from which you can see the immensity of the San Matías Gulf and the beach that the penguins use to enter and exit the water, also to rest. At the end of the tour you will find the ruins of the old sea lion oil factory.
The duration of the tour is 1.30 hrs.
Penguins and more:
The circuit begins in a dune. After a small slope we find Giant Oysters 20 million years old. We cross the Lower of the Skeletons in which we can observe bones of different terrestrial mammals and understand, through them, how they relate to the environment.
A few meters away we enter the Archaeological Zone, where we will find traces of former settlers who occupied that place more than two thousand years ago.
We continue through the dune, where the first penguins begin to appear under the bushes or walking through the sand. Leaving the sand behind, we enter through a corridor through which we walk surrounded by penguins to reach the Historic Ruins of the old sea lion oil factory. From this point we can continue along the Penguins Experience trail. This circuit is done in the company of a park ranger.
The duration of the tour is 2.30 hrs.
Adventure Penguins:
After touring the Penguin Experience trail, we enter walking along a track used only by researchers and park rangers, to access the “La Colmena” sector, named for the high density of nests that are concentrated in this place.
The number of penguins observed in this circuit is much higher than that of the Penguins Experience trail.
This circuit is carried out in the company of a park ranger and with small groups.
The duration of the tour is 2.30 hrs.
Land of penguins:
This tour is a mini trekking through the area of greatest concentration of animals, a sector only used by Researchers and Park Rangers and accessed in small groups and in the company of a ranger from Estancia San Lorenzo.
The sector of “The Hive” is visited, named for the high density of nests that gather in this place and the Cañon Pingüinera, an obligatory passage of penguins that must pass through it to access different nesting sectors.
One of the most beautiful sectors is the cliff area, which has also been occupied by penguins to make their nests.
During the return we travel through the high area of the coast to return to the starting point.
The duration of the tour is 2.40 hrs.
Experience penguins and fossil canyon:
20 million years ago there was a marine igulsion that covered a large portion of Patagonia and the South American continent. In this warm sea lived vertebrate whales, sharks and typical reef species that we can find today on this path.
It is a circuit of low difficulty that consists of 12 stations in which fossilized animals that lived in that ancient sea are observed.
Depending on the daily behavior of sea elephants, some days they can be seen on the beach.
The duration of the tour is 3 hours.
Trekking piquillines:
It is the ideal circuit for lovers of this type of excursion and the most complete in terms of the observation of flora, fauna, fossils, archaeological sites, historical ruins and penguins.
It is essential to be in good physical condition, wear comfortable shoes, sunglasses and water.
The tour takes place in the company of a park ranger.
The last section of the trail is made through a wide penguin sector until it ends with the Penguins Experience trail.
The duration of the tour is 3.30 hrs.
