Argentina's Whale Capital — Peninsula Valdés and the annual southern right whale gathering, Magellanic penguin colonies, orcas hunting sea lions on the beach, and Patagonian lamb asado at the end of the world
Puerto Madryn is a coastal city in Patagonia, gateway to the Península Valdés — a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the world's most important marine wildlife sanctuaries. Between June and December, thousands of southern right whales gather in the sheltered Golfo Nuevo and Golfo San José to breed and calve — boat trips bring visitors close enough to watch mothers and calves surfacing beside the hull. Magellanic penguins nest in 200,000-pair colonies at Punta Tombo (the largest in mainland South America) and Punta Ninfas. The Punta Norte and Caleta Valdés beaches are one of the only places…
Puerto Madryn was founded in 1865 by a group of 153 Welsh settlers — Cymry — who sailed from Liverpool seeking a place to preserve their language and culture from English assimilation. The Welsh landed on the Chubut coast and established the first permanent European settlement in Patagonia, naming the bay Puerto Madryn after Love Jones-Parry, Baron Madryn from Gwynedd, Wales, who helped organize the expedition. The Welsh established a second colony inland along the Chubut River — Gaiman and Trelew — where Welsh language, chapel culture, and the distinctive Patagonian Welsh tea tradition survi…