>>Punta Tombo

One hundred and eighty kilometers away from Puerto Madryn, and 120 km. away from Trelew, you can find the biggest Magallanes penguin colony in the world, with more than 250,000 couples.

In this fauna reservation you can walk among these elegant birds, watch their lifestyle, follow their steps, see the way in which they preserve their nests and offspring among the bushes, and see how they swim in the sea.

Punta Tombo is a narrow and stony zone that goes about 3,5 km. into the sea; its wide beaches are slightly sloped, and so the penguins build their nests there. The birds came here every year, to build nests, mate, have their young, and mutate, to then, set off back the North West of South America, and come back the following year, in a cyclic way.

The visitors are surprised by the way in which they go about looking for their nests, or running after their young. The penguin is a sea bird. It has wings, but can not fly: they are adapted to swimming. This bird spends most of its life in the water, it even sleeps there. Swimming, it can go 8 km per hour, although it can go faster jumping over the water for short distances.

An adult penguin is about 20 cm. high, and weighs 5 km. The characteristic feathers of the species are with in the chest, black in the back and a double black and white collar. Their voice is similar to that of the donkeys. They use it to make strangers go away, and to attract their partner. Instead, the young, claim to be fed, with a sound similar to the one made by chickens.


What you can see according to the time of year.

August or September: You can see the arrival of male and female penguins, the fights for the territory, and the way in which they build their nests.

October: Incubation period of the eggs. Between 30 and 45 days.

November: Birth and first cares of the pigeons. December: Growth, an intense activity on the beach, and the seagulls and skuas lie in wait around the nests.

January: The pigeons get out of the nest, they change their feathers, and begin getting into the sea.

February: Young penguins change their feathers, take over the beaches, it becomes difficult to reach the sea.

March or April: Mutation of the young penguins ends, and the one of the adults, begins, and they start migrating to the North.

May, June, July and August: During this tome of the year you can not see the Magallanes penguins, because they are permanently eating in the sea.