Every year, between June and December, these South Atlantic giants arrive at the protected bays of Península Valdés to give birth to their offspring.

These small whale calves weigh three tons at birth. During their first three months, they start to explore the marvelous marine world around them. At the end of the season, they will have doubled in weight and will be sufficiently strong to begin the great adventures that will lead them to the mysterious depths and freezing waters of the South Atlantic.

Boat excursions for whale sightings leave from Puerto Pirámides, inside Península Valdés. The proximity of these giants and their tame and friendly behavior are truly moving. Seeing them jump and observe you on the surface of the water is an unforgettable experience.

Schools of orcas patrol the Patagonian shore and elephant seals rest on the Atlantic coast all year round. The concentration of sea mammals reaches its climax between September and mid December, when elephant seals, sea lions, Magellan penguins and whales congregate for their yearly reproduction season.

In June arrive the Southern Right Whale for their yearly reproduction season and in September join in the first male Magellan penguins, occupying their breeding caves and waiting for the females to arrive.

By mid December the whales disappear in the depths of the South Atlantic Ocean and by now it is time for the male sea lions to set up their harems and start their turbulent reproduction process.

In April the Atlantic coasts finds it’s calm again, but only until June when the first whale fins appear in the sheltered bays of Península Valdés.

The coast of Bahía Bustamante and protected Malaspina Cove features one of the greatest diversity of seabirds in all Patagonia. Sea lions and Magellan penguins find the ideal conditions for their yearly breeding and reproduction cycles and occasionally orcas, dolphins, elephant seals and even whales visit the crystal clear waters of the sheltered bays.

The lodge offers varied activities such as nautical safaris to the sea lions and penguin colonies, birdwatching tours, visit to the nearby petrified forest and the seaweed production facilities, participation in typical Patagonian farm activities, hiking, trekking, mountain bike tours and horseback rides.

In the middle of the arid and windy Patagonian steppe, enormous tree trunks converted to stone are mute witnesses of an era when the region was covered by vast forests and inhabited by dinosaurs, in a warm and humid environment.

The most accessible forests are near Bahía Bustamante and Sarmiento, two and a half hours from Comodoro Rivadavia. The most important nevertheless is Monumento Natural Bosque Petrificado, considered to contain some of the oldest and biggest fossilized trees in the world.

Cueva de las Manos (Hands Cave) archaeological site is located on Río Pinturas Canyon at the foothill of the Andean Cordillera.

Numerous colored negative and positive hand impressions give name to the cave. They were painted alongside animals and hunting scenes as early as 7300 B.C.

The archaeological importance and beauty of the paintings and the magnificent canyon are well worth a visit.