Whale Watching

We drive to the Valdes Peninsula, designated an UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1999, which comprises over 1,500 square miles of headlands, salt water lakes, depressions and rocky  cliffs jutting 30 miles into the Atlantic. The surrounding shallow bays, gulfs and beaches make the Peninsula one of the most diverse bio habitats in the Southern Peninsula.  Over half of the world's Southern right whale population frequent the waters off the Valdes  Peninsula, which are also home to major colonies of seals, sea lions and sea birds. Puerto Pirámide the Peninsula’s only village, located 59 miles east from Puerto Madryn, an excellent base for exploring the Peninsula. Visited by right whales between mid-June and  mid-December, its sandy white beaches, the clear waters of the Golfo Nuevo and the  amazing cliffs full of fossils are of great interest.

The incredible experience of whale-watching aboard a boat is done from these shores, close enough to admire their beauty, size and activity. They are the most tame and friendly creatures, they pass swimming gently under the boat, swim alongside, stick their heads out of the water, or show off their beautiful sculptured tail, mother and cub swimming together, the small one learning and playing, at a longer distance you can watch them breach in series, an astounding sight. In the 19th century there were more than 700 whalers sailing in these waters. An international protection treaty was signed in 1935, and since then the recovery of the mammals has been slow but steady. Naturalists estimate the present population to be only 2,000 strong. Averaging 12 meters in length and weighing more than 30 tons, right-whales are baleen whales, they feed on plankton and krill (small crustaceans) as seawater filters through plates in their jaws. At the same time, you can observe the sea-lions and cormorant colonies at the foot of the pyramid-shaped cliff that gives this location its name, and incredible sunsets. Killer-whales (Ornicus orca), their bodies black with white underbellies, frequent the waters around Peninsula Valdés in pods. Their ominous dorsal fin is up to two meters high. Before returning to the ship, we will enjoy an appetizer with local wine or beer at one of the Paradores of the village.

• Language: English
• Included: Appetizer with local wine or beer at one of the  Paradores of the village.
• Walking information: Only on venues, wear practical shoes and clothing
• Max participants: 240 (divided into two departures)