Isla Martín García

Isla Martín García is a knob of ancient bedrock in the Río de la Plata, geologically part of the same shield as Uruguay and utterly unlike the muddy delta islands around it. Its position at the meeting of the Paraná and Uruguay rivers made it strategically important for centuries, and it served as a fortress, a quarantine station, a naval base and a prison that held several Argentine presidents in the twentieth century. It is now a provincial nature reserve, with subtropical gallery forest, more than two hundred bird species, and the crumbling remains of its institutional past: the old theatre, the bakery, the naval buildings and a cemetery. Day trips from Tigre include a guided walk, and a few people stay overnight.

History

Juan Díaz de Solís's expedition found the island in 1516 and named it after its storekeeper, Martín García, who died on board and was buried here, and Spain and Portugal long disputed it for its place in the main channel at the mouths of the Paraná and Uruguay. It was a penal colony from 1765 to 1886, fortified by the first viceroy, Pedro de Cevallos, and in 1814 Admiral William Brown landed and defeated the royalists, leaving it to the United Provinces; it saw battles in the wars of independence and the Cisplatine War, an Anglo-French attack in 1838 and more changes of hands in the 1840s, when troops under Giuseppe Garibaldi took it for Montevideo in 1845, until its strategic role ended after the Battle of Caseros in 1852. In 1973 Argentina and Uruguay agreed that it is Argentine territory, to be used only as a nature reserve (Wikipedia, Martín García Island).

Highlights

• The historic buildings - old naval structures, theatre, bakery and cemetery.
• The gallery forest - subtropical woodland with rich birdlife on the trails.
• The rocky shore - bedrock beaches unlike the delta's mud islands.
• The river crossing - the long catamaran ride through the delta and estuary.

When to go

October to April for warm weather and calmer water; trips are cancelled in strong winds at any season. Boats run on fixed days, usually a few times a week, and must be booked ahead. The island can be very hot with limited shade in midsummer.

Before you go

The round trip takes most of a day with roughly six hours on boats for a few hours on the island. Services on the island are minimal, with one or two simple eating places. Cancellations due to weather are common.

Nearby

Tigre is the departure point; the Uruguayan coast lies close across the water.

Key facts