Penguins! Parque Nacional Monte Leon | Tourist Attraction

April 9th, 2024 by numerousfix37

All the pinguins have already left. Only dead bodies left :(

March 1st, 2024 by La_Fordtuga

Tons of penguins down on the beach (bring binoculars) and a handful along the path! So cute! Lots of gulls and cormorants too. Good signage in English and Spanish. Penguins are here September-April according to the signs. Lots of dead penguins along the path also (signs say this is normal due to land predators but fyi if you have kids). It’s good practice to disinfect your shoe soles if your planning to visit any other penguin sites to not spread disease/avian flu. Super flat easy walk 5km round trip.

December 1st, 2023 by on.vagabonde

5km in total to see the penguins. Now there are babies !
You have to register for free at the visitor centre (6km north of the gate)

April 9th, 2023 by @alyvanblake

no penguins around today. lots of dead ones by the nests you have to walk through to get to the view point which was kind of disturbing.

December 29th, 2022 by Justy

A very nice place to see the penguins! the are walking arround the path. they are really close! Highly recommended and a unique experience!
Before you can enter the park you have to register you at the park centre.
They close the park if it is raining!

November 19th, 2022 by al.latus28

What an amazing park! It is stunning to see so many penguins sitting on their eggs and we already saw some mothers protecting their new born babys. Definitly worth the visit. Bring some time and be respectfull to the great nature and animals. And it's free - unbelievable.

March 22nd, 2022 by Lord_Ford

Still there, still free, still amazing! End of March still loads of penguins directly next to the foot path!

February 5th, 2020 by evifoulaki

Great park with so nice views to the beach and with low tide the rocks with seashells and caves are uncovered for exploration. La Pingüinera was so nice! First week of February and we saw so many penguins! They were literally right next to the sendero and didn't get afraid, as they seem kind of used to humans, so we got some great photos. Absolutely worth it!

January 22nd, 2020 by EverUpwardsTravel

there are soooo many penguins right now! hundreds! so close to the path. definitely worth the small detour!

January 17th, 2020 by johanna.kardel

Nice National Park for free: Good place to see Magellan Pinguins (very close) and sea lions (further). But also impressive landscape and beaches.

September 6th, 2019 by phonography.world

Nice park! begining of the pinguin season , we saw 4 of them arriving on thé beach. Nice walk and easy drive to come here. free! just need to register from the ranger station.

April 26th, 2019 by isabella.townshend

Penguins have all gone now as well as the sea lions. Still beautiful scenery but no animals besides sea birds till beginning of next season

April 19th, 2019 by zaemeumdwelt.ch

Park is closed today. We spoke to the very friendly parkranger (visitor center Ruta 3)

- The road down to the shore is just open when it is dry. So they check the street every day and decide than if they open the dirt road for public or not.

- Penguins are gone during this time of the year (they will spend winter in Brazil). Maybe you can see a few lonely ones but the most of them are not here anymore. Penguins will return in September.

April 19th, 2019 by zaemeumdwelt.ch

Park is closed today. We spoke to the very friendly parkranger at the visitor center (Ruta 3).

- The road down to the shore is just open when it is dry. So they check the street every day and decide than if they open the dirt road for public or not.

- Penguins are gone during this time of the year (they will spend winter in Brazil). Maybe you can see a few lonely ones but the most of them are not here anymore.

April 12th, 2019 by zizipark

the gate was closed when we arrived here, and need to register before entering the park, but we didnt go therw to register instead we open the gate by ourselves.hihihi and enter the park, the road is way better than the usuall rough road. i dont know why they closed it and there was no road constructions inside. no need 4x4 car,any car is possible, its not aspalt or cement but its good..no people inside only us, but about 5:30 pm there is park security arrive beside our car and asked us if we register and we said no. and then he said ok the park will close at 6pm. when we leave we saw the gate is open. this is only our experience, we dont recomend to do it also but we just shared our experience today. heheh.

April 11th, 2019 by stinekiki

The road is open but there is no penguins anymore.
There is a sign saying the road is closed but it was knocked down.

April 11th, 2019 by idea

Wonderful national parc ! Amazing landscape and many animals ! We recommand ! Enjoy !

February 2nd, 2019 by office

very beautiful
road was open
recommendable

January 19th, 2019 by nalajcie

The road is closed again for works and there is no possibility to see the penguins.

We tried to drive the road nevertheless and were turned back by the workers about 10km from the beginning of the path.

January 18th, 2019 by johnandmandi

As of January 18 the park road is closed for at least 15 more days. Please be aware that when the park is open you must check in at the park office which is on the highway a few kilometers north of this access road.

January 16th, 2019 by ptrsniels

Park is closed now. We tried to get there but unfortunately park ranger send us away. They’re rebuilding the road! For now I suggest only drive there with a 4x4 because road condition is very bad and mountainous.

January 11th, 2019 by leoundfabi2016.de

The road is accessible again up to the penguin path but closed behind this point. So you can see the penguins but not the sea lions. The penguins are well worth the trip. The colony is really big and you see them very close. We loved it here.

January 10th, 2019 by heikeundoskar

The road is now open again. Its a gravelroad and only open in dry weather.
You can only drive to the parking where the walk to the pinguins beginn. Its an easy 2,5 km walk one way. Thousends of pinguins nesting here very close to the walkway. And its free. The road further, the other walkway and the campground is still closed.

January 5th, 2019 by carolesellem

Free entrance to the park. Registration is 8km away from road leading to the penguins. Gates closes at 4pm but you can unlock it easily. Road to camping still closed. Loads of pinguins and their fluffy babies. Really close to the path. It's awesome.

December 28th, 2018 by karin_kleiboer

Neither the information center nor the park is closed! However, inside the park you can only visit the penguins. After the parking lot at the starting point of the short walk to the penguin beach, the road was closed off, probably because it's still in bad condition. The park is open from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. (the ranger closes the gate at 4 p.m., but you can open it to let yourself out). Even only visiting the penguins is definitly worth your while!

December 13th, 2018 by lostfordays.com

The main road was open and of gravel. The gate further along the road that leads to a vista of the sea is still temporarily closed. To the right from here is a walking path that is open from 0900-1700. It's a 2.2km hike to a penguin colony. Several puma warnings though we were advised an encounter is rare especially during the day. We did not do this hike for lack of time. There were a bunch of small flies while we parked and ate lunch.

November 29th, 2018 by carrothospital

As of right now (November 29th) the park is closed. They had a lot of rain in the winter and the road is in bad condition. They said maybe in a few weeks the road will be repaired. Bummer!

December 11th, 2017 by doussecelia

Amazing place for see Magellanic pinguins. More than 500 pinguins and you can see them really close. The landscape is just fabulous. Please respect this environment. Easy walk of 2 km and free entrance.

July 21st, 2017 by 4runner4adventure.com

Just as an FYI this place is only open from November to April.

December 12th, 2016 by aufumwegen.ch

Really nice!
Take the time to observe the penguins get in and out of the water - right now they have to feed the young so it's very busy.
They caution to only be on the trail between 9 and 17 because of the pumas. Nevertheless we were there until 20 - didn't see any pumas but many penguins who were not as lucky : (

December 8th, 2016 by alex.holt

Amazing place, definitely worth the visit. Viewing times are 9-5 however we arrived at 5 and had no issues, there were also a few groups on the trail until 6:30.

November 3rd, 2016 by schweinzkopf

Amazing place to see Magellanic penguins and also very close. There was even a nest right on the trail so be respectful. Right now they have the eggs and the chicks hatch around the end of November. The trail is an easy 2km walk. There is also another walk where you can see sea lions. FREE - I still can't believe it.