Monte León National Park

Monte León became Argentina's first coastal national park in 2004, created from a former sheep estancia bought and donated for the purpose, and it protects some forty kilometres of Santa Cruz shoreline where the steppe simply ends in cliffs. Below them the tide falls a long way, exposing platforms, caves and a sea stack, the Monte León itself, that was once joined to the mainland by an arch. A Magellanic penguin colony of many thousands nests here through the summer, sea lions haul out on the rocks, cormorants line the cliff ledges, and guanacos and pumas live on the plateau behind. The old estancia house works as a small inn. Visitor numbers stay low, which is much of the appeal.

History

Hunter-gatherers used the rich coast here 10,000 to 13,000 years ago, and their descendants the Tehuelche widened its use and their trade with distant groups, until European settlement brought dependence on trade, loss of land and migration west. In 1876 Buenos Aires began licensing guano digging 35 kilometres south of the Santa Cruz River, where Luis Piedrabuena had set up an outpost 17 years earlier, and amid rivalry with Chile over Patagonia Chilean forces boarded the French ship Jeanne-Amélie, licensed by Argentina, and two years later seized the American ship Devonshire here, bringing the two countries to the edge of war. The naturalist Francisco P. Moreno and the palaeontologist Carlos Ameghino explored the area late in the 19th century, and the national park was created on 20 October 2004 (Wikipedia, Monte León National Park).

The landscape

• The penguin colony - thousands of Magellanic penguins nesting near the shore.
• The sea stacks and caves - rock formations exposed by a large tidal range.
• The sea lion haul-outs - colonies on rocks below the cliffs.
• The empty steppe - guanacos and open plateau above the coast.

When to go

November to March, when penguins are ashore and the access road is at its best; the park is largely closed or inaccessible in winter. Beach access depends entirely on the tide, and the timing must be checked before descending.

Before you go

Access is by gravel road and the descent to the beach must be planned around tides, since the sea cuts off sections. There are no shops or fuel inside the park. Wind is severe, and services in the nearby towns are limited.

Nearby

Comandante Luis Piedra Buena is the nearest town; Puerto Santa Cruz lies north.

Key facts