Monte León National Park
Get close to a peninsula that looks like a lion and gives its name to the first Coastal National Park in Argentina.
More than sixty-two thousand hectares of life are waiting for you between the Patagonian steppe and the Argentine Sea. Where will you start touring them? Open your eyes at Cabeza del León viewpoint. Walk around its paths and appreciate its biodiversity. Walk through sand and gravel beaches at the foot of the cliffs. Watch a colony of more than sixty thousand couples of Magellanic penguins at the Pingüinera path.
On the beach, discover seagulls and terns, rock shags and Patagonian sea lions, southern giant petrels and plovers. During the low tide, watch octopuses and mussels, snails and shrimps, sea anemones and sea urchins, crabs and starfish. In the steppe area, explore landscapes of grasslands and mata negra [flowering plant]. Follow the trail of guanacos and rheas, foxes and armadillos, skunks and cougars. Enjoy it all in the vast Patagonia.
Geographic location: Located on the coast of the Argentine Sea, south of Comandante Luis Piedrabuena (35 km) and north of Río Gallegos (210 km), in the province of Santa Cruz.
How to get there: By car, the access to the national park is at km 2400 of Ruta Nacional 3, 540 km South of Comodoro Rivadavia (province of Chubut) and 210 km North of Río Gallegos (province of Santa Cruz). Other means of transportation: the nearest cities are Comandante Luis Piedra Buena, 35 km away, and Puerto Santa Cruz, 54 km away. Both are connected by bus lines with almost all the country. From there you can access the park by taxi or authorized drivers.
Area: 62,169 hectares. Climate: Cold and semi-dry.
Recommended length of stay: 2 to 4 days.
What to do: Tour the different paths of the National Park, the Cabeza del León viewpoint and the path to Pingüinera. Flora and fauna watching.
Tips: Camping or staying overnight in the national park is not allowed.