Either before or after the tour around the Península Valdés Natural Reserve, it is convenient to stop for a while at the Interpretation Center and learn more about the sea fauna that has turned this site into their habitat.
The Interpretation Center located at the access to the Valdés Peninsula gets visitors ready to understand the characteristics of local biodiversity and shows the interaction between animal species, geography and man.
We took a few minutes to tour around its rooms, which give a very educational and amusing account of the ecological features of the region and the sea fauna species that dwell the Patagonian coastline.
The colonies located all along the peninsula are explained and illustrated, thus showing the real actors of the natural reserve: elephant seals, South American sea lions, killer whales, right whales and dolphins. But there is also reference to Patagonian fauna living on solid ground, such as guanacos, rheas, Patagonian hares, piches, wild cats, red and grey foxes. All this image is completed by Patagonian sea birds like penguins, white-breasted cormorants, southern sea gulls and terns, mockingbirds and rufous-collared sparrows.
We watched a map displaying the areas where visitors can have free access to make visual contact with the protected sea species. There are also intangible areas and areas of special use which cannot be visited by tourists. It is in these locations that specialists study the ecosystem and protect it from natural predators or men.
Finally, at the narrowest area on Carlos Ameghino isthmus, we accessed a tower that featured a view of Golfo Nuevo (New Gulf) towards the south and Golfo San José (Saint Joseph's Gulf) to the north, with its deep blue waters and the strong sound made by thousands of birds that inhabit the proximity and did not want to go unnoticed.
Contact
Áreas Protegidas de Chubut
9120 Puerto Madryn - Chubut – Argentina
Tel: 54 280 4485271 / 1113 / 5272