Punta Arenas, Chile is the capital of the Magallanes region and it is located along the Straits of Magellan at the southern latitude of approximately 54º south. The city of Punta Arenas which was founded in the mid 19th century is the most sought after tourist destination in the world. In the course of time, the city developed into an important center of commerce and culture which contributed largely in spreading its influence over the entire Chile region. Punta Arenas, Chile was named after the translation of the English term “Sandy Point”. The term was used by John Byron who visited the area in the 17th century.
Getting to Punta Arenas, Chile is very convenient by flights. If you are going there from Santiago, you make avail of a 3hours 20 minutes flight or a 4 hours flight which go to Punta Arenas. There are also 3 airlines that operate their flights daily from Santiago to Punta Arena. If you are going to Punta Arenas from Buenos Aires, you can take a flight from there to Rio Gallegos. It will take you around 3 hours. From there you can take a bus through Magellanic Pampa. Visitors from other parts of the world can also reach the magnificent city of Punta Arenas by air quite conveniently.
The city of Punta Arenas and its neighboring areas offer much delightful tourist attractions and some of them have a world-wide reputation. Some of the most sought after tourist destinations in and around Punta Arenas are as follows:
- Penguin colonies in Seno Otway and Magdalena Island
- Rey Jorge Island Natural Sea Park
- Torres del Paine National Park near Puerto Natales
- Seno Skyring
- Maggiorino Borgatello Museum
- Punta Arenas Cemetery
Penguin colonies in Seno Otway and Magdalena Island:
Seno Otway and Isla Magdalena shelter a couple of penguin colonies. These colonies have a wide reputation of being the nesting sites for Magellanic penguins. At the penguin colonies, you will come across very interesting behavior of the penguins. One of the pairs of penguins heads out to fish while the other stays back. They work in 2 shifts in a day. One leaves in the morning at around 10 am while the other leaves the nest at around 5 pm. You will be able to see the penguins here from September to late March and again from November to February.
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