Nao Victoria Museum
Full-size replicas of four ships that mattered in these waters, built on a windswept shore outside Punta Arenas.
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The museum is a shipyard as much as a museum: a private project that has built full-size sailing replicas on the shore north of Punta Arenas and left them there to be walked through. The first was the Nao Victoria, the only ship of Magellan's five to complete the circumnavigation in 1522, returning with eighteen men out of some two hundred and forty. Beside it are the schooner Ancud, which carried the party that claimed the Strait for Chile in 1843, the HMS Beagle that brought Darwin to these waters, and a replica of the James Caird, the lifeboat Shackleton sailed to South Georgia in 1916.
What you actually see
- Magellan's Nao Victoria - the only ship of five to get home in 1522.
- The schooner Ancud - which claimed the Strait for Chile in 1843.
- The Beagle - the ship that brought Darwin here.
- Shackleton's James Caird - the lifeboat that reached South Georgia.
When to go
November to March. Half a day.
Honest expectations
The ships are outdoors on an exposed shore and the wind is severe - visiting is cold in any month. They are replicas, not historic vessels. Interpretation is limited. It is a short drive out of Punta Arenas.
Nearby
Punta Arenas is south; Fuerte Bulnes is further down the strait.
What to pack for Nao Victoria Museum
Chosen from what this place is for. Tap a kit for the full checklist.
Opening times, ticket prices and seasonal closures change - check the official source before you go: official site.
