Far from urban bustle, the Magellan Peninsula offers a peaceful retreat within wild nature. It is a land of contrasts and adventure situated at the tip of South America. You can extend your visit to the peninsula's highest point, Cerro Buenos Aires. Ready to discover an entirely different part of Patagonia? Let's go!

Its history

In 1879, Lieutenant Juan Tomás Rogers, sent by the Chilean government to explore the upper basin region of the Santa Cruz River, named this peninsula after Magallanes. The initial idea was to establish an agricultural and pastoral colony under the Chilean flag, but the 1881 treaty with Argentina ended the project. Climatic challenges and isolation also contributed to the sparse permanent population.

The name Magallanes pays homage to the corvette of the same name, designed for the Strait of Magellan, in honor of Ferdinand Magellan. This peninsula has no cities; only a few areas such as "Puerto Bahía Tranquila" and "Punta Bandera" to the northeast, as well as the "Moreno Glacier zone" to the southwest, host tourism facilities and a hotel.

Geographic discovery of the Magellan Peninsula in Chilean Patagonia

The Magellan Peninsula is a vast territory of nearly 39,000 hectares. It is located southwest of Santa Cruz Province in Argentine Patagonia, within the Lake Argentino department. This expanse presents an almost circular shape and measures approximately 23 km in length and 19 km in width. It is framed to the north and west by Canal de los Témpanos, and to the south by Brazo Rico, the southern section of Lake Argentino, rising 185 meters above sea level.

The peninsula's geography is distinguished by three mountain ranges separated from the Andean cordillera. To the north, the Sierra Cattle stretches from west to east. Toward the south lies Sierra Buenos Aires, aligned in the same direction and home to Cerro Mitre, which reaches 1,565 meters in elevation. West of the lake, the Occidental range runs from north to south, offering the peninsula's highest point, Cerro Buenos Aires, which peaks at 1,602 m and is snow-covered much of the year.