Isla Pingüino

Isla Pingüino lies some twenty kilometres offshore from Puerto Deseado, a low island in the Atlantic that holds a colony of southern rockhopper penguins, small birds with yellow crests and red eyes that nest among the rocks and hop rather than walk between them. This is the only colony of the species on the Argentine continental coast, all others being far south in the Falklands and Tierra del Fuego waters, and it is the reason boats make the crossing. Magellanic penguins nest here too, along with cormorants, skuas and gulls, and sea lions and fur seals use the shore. An old lighthouse stands on the island, and southern right whales and orcas are seen on the crossing.

What you actually see

• The rockhopper colony - crested penguins nesting among the island's rocks.
• The Magellanic penguins - the larger burrow-nesting species alongside them.
• The sea lions and fur seals - colonies on the island shore.
• The old lighthouse - the tower standing above the rocks.

When to go

October to April, matching the rockhoppers' breeding season; they leave for the open ocean afterwards and the island's main draw disappears. December and January are the fullest. Crossings run only in settled weather.

Honest expectations

The crossing is exposed, often rough, and cancelled frequently by wind, sometimes for several days running. Trips are expensive and require minimum passenger numbers. Time ashore is limited and guided, and the walking is over uneven rock.

Nearby

Puerto Deseado is the departure point; the ría and its dolphins are on the same coast.