Nature's Colossal Beauty

There’s something exhilarating about engaging with Mother Nature’s magnificent creatures in their natural environment. It’s perhaps for this reason that more than 80,000 visitors flock every year to Valdes Peninsula in Patagonia, among South America’s best wildlife reserves for marine mammals. Situated on Argentina’s Atlantic coast, the reserve is over 3,600 square kilometres in size—a colossal beauty. The star attraction here is the endangered southern right whale, but equally fascinating are the orcas, elephant seals and Magellanic penguins. From Puerto Pirámides, the peninsula’s urban centre, authorized boats frequently embark on a whale watching adventures—they’ll be hard to miss as they leap out of the water before diving back in with a splash! You could also head to Punta Delgada at the edge of the peninsula to spot elephant seals, take a peaceful stroll, or refresh with a drink.