Excursions outside the City

    ¤ Punta Loyola and Isla Deseada ( 37 km)

    Punta Loyola is situated on the Atlantic ocean on the south east margin of the estuary, a place 37 km. to the south east through route 40 where you can go fishing . On the coast you can observe some old ships and in the cove you can see Isla Deseada or Penguins Island, distant 10 sea miles from the coast, a small islet that is a reference for sailors, with a migratory colony of penguins, cormorants, seagulls and gulls what makes it a natural zoo.


    Hill Station Island passing by Guer Aike (64 km.)

    To get to Guer Aike Bridge you must drive 30 km. along route 3 from Río Gallegos, go on north along the same route and after 4 km. take debris route 58 parallel to the north margin of the estuary to the right. You will arrive at the old Estancia Hill Station, built in 1899 by William Haliday and administered by their descendants, where there is a museum with original objects that belonged to their founders, and where you can take part in farming activities or fish trout.


    ¤Laguna Azul Natural Reserve ( 60 km)

Laguna Azul Natural Reserve is situated in a crater in the south end of the continent. To get there you must leave from Río Gallegos to the south along Provincial Route 3 and drive 60 km.

    ¤Cape Virgins ( 130 km) and Visit to a 1904 Light House and Penguin Colony

    Between Río Gallegos and Cape Virgins there are neither services nor gas station, for what you should take precautions. If you leave from the city along route 3 you will soon find a turning on the left to provincial route 1, which you must take to go to Cape Virgins, distant 126 km.
    The Cape is situated in the outlet of the Strait of Magellan and has a tragic history, since on 11th February 1584 Pedro Sarmiento de Gamboa founded the colony Name of Jesus, but the extreme harshness of the winter and the lack of food ended with the scarse population. The survivors were gathered by the English corsary Thomas Cavendish, who gave the colony the name of Port Famine.
    Three centuries later gold sands were fortuitously discovered after the shipwreck of a French ship, what originated a gold fever even in the central government. In a few months Cape Virgins turned into a mining campsite with stores and services, but after a short time all human vestiges disappeared due to the harsh living conditions added to the scarse results in the gold search, and the place returned to desolation.


    ¤Cóndor and Cerro Redondo (80 km) Gas Deposits

    On your way to Cape Virgins you will pass by this important gas reserve and visit the gas pipe "El Cóndor-Pico Truncado".


    ¤Nautic Outings Ría del Río Gallegos

    Ship: Bibiana II: Tel: 0966-21102. Fax: 0966-20889. CC 728.
    Leaving from Club Náutico Se.M.A.

    TRUCHAIKEA

     If you take Route 3 and drive 30 km. from Río Gallegos you will find on Gallegos river the cask of Estancia Truchaikea, transformed into a Fishing Lodge since 1988, with five bedrooms with private bathroms.
    The north margin of the river Gallegos, for an extension of 18 km., belongs to the estancia and has a beautiful park where you can enjoy creole asados and picnics.
    There are excellent fishing opportunities in the rivers Gallegos, Chico and Coig.



    Photograph: Victor Hugo Murgia Tel: 54 2966 43-7492