Cabo dos Bahías: Penguin Colony
Independent historical guide to Lupa Corporation’s digital tourism projects in Argentina. Not affiliated with the former operator.
Cabo dos Bahías
Cabo dos Bahías (Chubut, Argentina) is a coastal protected area on the South Atlantic, celebrated in provincial materials for red-rock shoreline contrast against deep blue water and for extraordinary fauna — Magellanic penguins, sea lions, guanacos, cormorants, and seabirds that use the site as a sole breeding ground.
The marine park covers on the order of 132,000 hectares of coastal, island, marine, and airspace territory between Isla Moreno and Isla Quintano, along the northern Golfo San Jorge between Camarones and Comodoro Rivadavia. It was established in August 2007 by national decree under President Néstor Kirchner and Chubut governor Mario Das Neves, with aims of conservation and rational use of marine and terrestrial species habitats.
A major visitor draw is walking among penguins inside their habitat without disturbing them: tourist infrastructure was kept away from nesting zones to limit impact. Historical copy stressed that although visitors could approach within centimetres, the area remains strictly protected — penguins defend themselves with sharp bills if threatened.
Overland access historically ran via Ruta Nacional 3 to km 1,640, then Ruta Provincial 30 east to the village of Camarones (hotels and seafood restaurants), with the reserve about thirty kilometres south. Lupa Corporation included Cabo dos Bahías in its Pingüinos broadcast network as part of wider Patagonian wildlife coverage; the original cabodosbahias.html page introduced the site before and during live streams.