- Where
- South Atlantic, off Puerto Deseado
Santa Cruz Province, Patagonia - Coordinates
- 47.91° S
65.72° W - Protected
- Parque Interjurisdiccional Marino Isla Pingüino
about 159,000 hectares - Penguins
- Southern rockhopper and Magellanic
- Getting there
- Authorised boat trips
from Puerto Deseado - Best visited
- October to March (the visiting season)
The boat bounced out past the river mouth to a flat island of naked rock, a lighthouse striped like a barber’s pole standing over it. Ashore, small penguins packed every ledge, wild yellow eyebrows and red eyes, hopping from rock to rock with both feet together, like children on a pavement game. They looked furious and were not. I sat very still and was hopped past.
The short answer
Isla Pingüino is an island off Puerto Deseado, a port town on the Atlantic coast of Santa Cruz Province in Argentine Patagonia. It is the best-known island of the Parque Interjurisdiccional Marino Isla Pingüino, a marine park of more than 159,000 hectares, with several islands and islets, run by Argentina’s National Parks Administration with the province, the administration’s own pages report in indexed text. Its main attraction is a colony of southern rockhopper penguins, called pingüinos de penacho amarillo, yellow-crested penguins, in Spanish; the parks administration describes it as the only colony of them on the whole continent that tourists can visit.
Why it's worth knowing
Penguins with eyebrows. Rockhopper penguins have red eyes and yellow plumes on the sides of their heads, and they move over the rocks in two-footed hops. They arrive at Isla Pingüino in October to breed and stay until about April, Argentine press reports; the colony is described as the most northerly breeding colony of the species on the continent and the easiest to reach. Its size is given differently: one guide in Tiempo Argentino speaks of more than 3,000 birds, other Argentine reports of about 30,000. Magellanic penguins, grey cormorants, sea lions, southern elephant seals, skuas, petrels, terns and oystercatchers share the island, the parks administration reports.
An island of old industries. Among the birds stand the remains of a factory that once rendered sea-lion fat and an old Argentine Navy lighthouse, by the parks administration’s account. Puerto Deseado itself has a long sea history: Spanish settlements and fishing posts were set up here from 1780, among them one on the penguin island, and in 1833 HMS Beagle, with Charles Darwin aboard, called at the port, Wikipedia records.
The field notes
Visiting only by boat
Access to Isla Pingüino is only by the boat excursions the park authorises, which generally run from October to March, when the weather is kinder and the animals most active, the parks administration states. The park’s office is in Puerto Deseado. The island lies about 22 kilometres from the town, by a guide in Tiempo Argentino.
A wider marine park
The park is one of three marine parks on the Santa Cruz coast that the province promotes together, Argentine press reported in July 2026. Its waters take in several islands and islets besides Isla Pingüino.
Southern rockhopper penguins on the island’s rocks, January 2019.
Photograph: Eva bindhi · CC BY-SA 4.0
A rockhopper penguin on a clifftop above the surf at Puerto Deseado, March 2013.
Photograph: Noelia Locicero · CC BY-SA 4.0
A Magellanic penguin among lichen-covered boulders, the South Atlantic behind.
Photograph: Andreacav7 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · cropped
Rockhopper chicks in down, calling for food.
Photograph: Eva bindhi · CC BY-SA 4.0
- Book with an authorised boat operator, and hold an extra day in reserve for the wind.
- Try noting each penguin’s hairstyle. The list abandoned the effort at the third and now reads, simply, magnificent.
- Keep to the route the guide shows you, well clear of the nests. You are in their house.
- Wear every layer you brought for the boat. Take nothing off until you are ashore again.
- Sit still and let them pass you by. They have places to be.
The old lighthouse. The disused Argentine Navy lighthouse that stands over Isla Pingüino’s rocks, among the penguin colony and the remains of the sea-lion oil works, by the National Parks Administration’s account. It is seen from the landing and the colony path, on an authorised visit.
Tally, in the marginI photographed the lighthouse as the island’s tallest resident before noticing that the penguins nested right against its foot, entirely unimpressed, as though it were one more rock that had got ideas.
Getting there
How to get there. Puerto Deseado is a port town on the Atlantic coast of Santa Cruz Province, reached by road. From the town, operators authorised by the park take visitors by boat out of the Ría Deseado to the island for a guided visit to the colony.
When to go. October to March, the visiting season; the rockhoppers are on the island from October to about April. The wind and the sea decide the boats on any day, so allow spare days.
What to arrange ahead. A place with an authorised operator, booked ahead in summer, and warm, windproof and waterproof clothing for the open boat.
Safety. The State Department has Argentina at Level 1, exercise normal precautions (advisory dated 10 July 2026 in its feed, read 5 October 2026); its warning about trafficking violence names Rosario, more than 1,500 kilometres north. The hazards here are the place’s own: cold water, strong wind, and slippery rock at the landing. Avian influenza has affected wildlife on the Argentine coast in recent years; follow the park’s rules on distance from animals.
Mark this place
Common questions
Where is Isla Pingüino?
Isla Pingüino is an island off Puerto Deseado, on the Atlantic coast of Santa Cruz Province in Argentine Patagonia, about 22 kilometres from the town by a guide in Tiempo Argentino. It is the centre of the Parque Interjurisdiccional Marino Isla Pingüino, a marine park of more than 159,000 hectares.
What penguins live on Isla Pingüino?
Southern rockhopper penguins, called yellow-crested penguins in Spanish, breed on Isla Pingüino from October to about April, alongside Magellanic penguins. Argentina’s National Parks Administration describes the rockhopper colony as the only one on the continent that tourists can visit.
How do you visit Isla Pingüino?
Only by boat excursions authorised by the park, from Puerto Deseado, generally between October and March. Operators take visitors out of the Ría Deseado for a guided visit to the colony, weather permitting.
How many rockhopper penguins are on Isla Pingüino?
Figures differ: a guide in Tiempo Argentino gives more than 3,000 birds, while other Argentine reports speak of about 30,000. Both are reports, not an official census of the Isla Pingüino colony.
What else can you see on Isla Pingüino?
Magellanic penguins, grey cormorants, sea lions, southern elephant seals, skuas, petrels, terns and oystercatchers, by the National Parks Administration’s list, as well as the remains of a sea-lion fat factory and an old Argentine Navy lighthouse on Isla Pingüino.
Did Charles Darwin visit Puerto Deseado?
Yes. HMS Beagle, with Charles Darwin aboard, called at Puerto Deseado, then Port Desire, in 1833, Wikipedia records. The port had earlier Spanish settlements and fishing posts from 1780, including one on Isla Pingüino.
When is the best time to visit Isla Pingüino?
October to March, when authorised boat trips run and the rockhopper penguins are breeding; they arrive on Isla Pingüino in October and leave around April.
Is Isla Pingüino the same as other Penguin Islands?
No. Many islands are called Penguin Island; this one, Isla Pingüino, is off Puerto Deseado in Santa Cruz, Argentina. It is not Isla Martillo near Ushuaia, Penguin Island in Western Australia, or Penguin Island in the Falklands.