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PUNTA ARENAS IN SOUTHERN PATAGONIA
PUNTA ARENAS IN THE END OF THE WORLD

Situated on the northern bank of the Strait of Magellan, Punta Arenas is a clean, modern city with an unusual history based on maritime trade, sheep ranching, and more recent petroleum extraction. This is the most common departure point for maritime cruises to Tierra del Fuego, the Patagonian fjords and glaciers, and Antarctica. Just north are Puerto Natales and Parque Nacional Torres del Paine.

CITY OF PUNTA ARENAS AND ITS MAIN ATTRACTIONS
Urban center sits at the seashore of Magellan Strait, in Brunswick peninsula, 53° 08' degrees south and 70° 55' degrees west. Punta Arenas, city capital of Magallanes Region and Chilean Patagonia, was named after the translation of the English term "Sandy Point", given to this place by John Byron, who explored the area on 17th century. Punta Arenas, founded in 1848, was to become the urban center from which would come the commercial, cultural and social development that would spread all over the Magellan territory.

EXCURSIONS IN PUNTA ARENAS
From Punta Arenas it is possible to do excursions to the main tourist attractions of the Region. Resources are mostly natural beauties that may be visited by land, sea and air. The tourist has an extensive range of possibilities, with tours scheduled by local travel agencies, but he also has the opportunity to organize himself travels according to his interest. For that purpose Magallanes has indescribable beauties, including the appeal of visiting the southern city in the world down to the Chilean Antarctic territory.

From Punta Arenas it is possible to travel around Seno Otway (km. 70 north), a place with tourist and scientific appeal where is located the Penguin Colony, with about 6,000 specimens of Magellan species, such as Aptenodytes Forsteri, Spheniscus Magellanicus, Pygoscelis Adeliae, Aptenodytes Patagonicus.

The road to Rio Verde and Seno Skyring is also attractive for sport fishers and, in general, as a ramble that allows watching a varied fauna, outstanding rheas, condors, swans and flamingoes. This country area of beautiful landscapes has an assorted offer of rural tourism.

South of Punta Arenas it is possible to follow the central coast of Brunswick peninsula the historic rout par excellence. Once discoverers and conquerors, natives, colonists and pioneers went past it. That road leads to Fuerte Bulnes and Puerto del Hambre (Port Famine), full of legendary reminiscences.

FORT BULNES AND PUERTO DEL HAMBRE
Sixty kilometers south of Punta Arenas, in Punta Santa Ana, is Fuerte Bulnes. It is a reconstruction of the historical fort in which Chile established the first Patagonian settlement and took possession of the Strait and the adjoining lands (1843).

Close to it is Puerto del Hambre, at the seashore of Bahia Buena. Here captain Sarmiento de Gamboa founded the city Rey Don Felipe, in March of 1584. This attempt of Spanish settlement had a tragic end: its inhabitants died of starvation. Years later, British corsair Thomas Cavendish reached port here and rechristened the place as Port Famine, Puerto del Hambre in Spanish, name that still keeps.

ISLA MAGDALENA: A PENGUINS´ WORLD
This island, that has a lighthouse in its northeast point, is together with Marta small island, a natural reserve of penguins, cormorants, seals and other birds. Both islands make up conservation area "The Penguins", 25 nautical miles north of Punta Arenas. The estimated penguins population is about 50,000 couples of Magellan specie.

RÍO VERDE
Main city of the commune of same name. It is located 87 kms. northeast of Punta Arenas on the banks of Skyring gulf. It is a little cattle town surrounded with natural beauties, outstanding Fitz Roy Channel, Otway Gulf and Rio Verde. Every year there is a rodeo competition. There is a ferry that links Rio Verde with Riesco Island, located between Otway gulf and Skyring.

VILLA TEHUELCHES
Tehuelches villa is the main town of Laguna Blanca commune, located 100 kms. north of Punta Arenas. The village has facilities enough to satisfy the basic needs of its approx. 400 inhabitants and visitors. Tehuelches is a typical country village whose inhabitants work mostly on cattle activities.

HISTORICAL ROUND AT LAGUNA BLANCA
Leaving Punta Arenas through 9 North road, at kilometer 100 is Villa Tehuelches, main town of Laguna Blanca, a place mainly of cattle and forest nature, with natural attractions that invite the visitor. At Villa Tehuelches there is an ecumenical church, a library museum, a rodeo field and public services.

Nine kilometers further is the entrance to "Las Nieves", a place with variated landscapes that runs along the basin of Penitente river, rich with species that invite to sport fishing. Carrying on to the high sector, there are areas of native trees woods and moist pastures. At the end of the round there is a panoramic view of Pinto mountain chain.

Getting back to the road, at kilometer 113 is Laguna Blanca, where there are several estancias that belonged to the ancient Sociedad Ganadera de Laguna Blanca (cattle corporation). 18 kilometers to the south is the Canadon Cueva de la Leona (lioness cave gully), a natural conservation area that has cave paintings from the Aonikenk ethnic group that dates back to some 1,600 years.

At the left side of road, km.135 is the estancia Penitente River, where the visitor finds the beauty and the charm of a typical Magellan ranch, whose origin goes back to 1891.

Back to the route, at kilometer 145 is the natural conservation "Morro Chico", a promontory in whose hillsides there are cave paintings and a beautiful general view of exceptional attractive that shows the Patagonian steppe ands the Penitente river.

Laguna Blanca has several typical attractions in spring-summer season, like breaking in animals, the traditional Chilean rodeo and the Shearing festival, a feast with all the country works: shearing, movement of sheepdogs and other activities besides shows and typical gastronomy, every third weekend of January.

More excursions from Punta Arenas...

Thanks to: Sernatur