Chile: What to see and do in Porvenir
The small town of Porvenir on the island of Tierra del Fuego offers a lot more than a stop on the way to see the penguins. Most visitors arrive on a tour to see the nearby king penguin colony, maybe visiting the museum but usually not much more. I recommend at least two nights in Porvenir and I also recommend visiting the penguin colony with a local tour agency so that you are supporting businesses on the island of Tierra del Fuego. You can take the ferry from Punta Arenas as a foot passenger or with a car.
Where to stay? My first time in Porvenir I happened to find Hospedaje Shinka and liked it so much I’ve stayed there on two subsequent trips.
Porvenir Mirador
Across the bay from town is a mirador that has two fantastic wooden statues of Selk’nam men looking down at Porvenir. The plaques also have some great information about the history of the town.
Local tour agency Kewanix
You don’t have to hire a tour agency in Punta Arenas, especially if you want to support local businesses in Porvenir. Kewanix has tours all over the island of Tierra del Fuego, even combining tours of both the Chilean and Argentine sides of the island. They do small group and private tours.
Birdwatching
There are many small lakes nearby with all kinds of migratory birds, depending on the season. Even in winter (May - August) you can see flamingoes nearby.
Have you heard of stromatolites?
Porvenir is one of the few places on earth where you can find stromatolites: microbiotic organisms that are some of the oldest living things on Earth. According to the Bush Heritage Australia : The microbes are active on the surface layer of the Stromatolites, while the underlying build-up is a lithified remnant of former microbial surface communities, that could be interpreted as a trace-fossil. These deposits built up very slowly: a single 1m structure may be 2,000 to 3,000 years old. But the tiny microbes that make up modern Stromatolites are similar to organism that existed 3.5 billion years ago!
Just a five minute drive north of town, Laguna de los Cisnes has a thriving colony of stromatolites. It’s absolutely worth going to check out!
Look for ghosts at Percy
An hour north of town is the ghost town of Percy. It was once a port for the ships that came to load tanks of crude oil. There were several drilling stations on the northern part of Tierra del Fuego and also several company towns in the drilling heyday.
Recommended guides
For boat tours of glaciers in Tierra del Fuego, contact Viejo Lobo de Mar Expediciones on Instagram or vldmexpediciones@gmail.com
For personalized tours anywhere in the region, contact KaNaturaleza kanaturaleza@gmail.com or WhatsApp+56923960855
KaNaturaleza owners Katalina Carretta & Ignacio Carrasco have three Instagram accounts @katarukinka @nachoexplorador @kanaturaleza
