Whale watching
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We offer opportunities to view these gentle giants in the remote waterways of southern Chile where whales can be observed between December and March in their natural marine environments, some with towering glaciers and sub-antarctic forests as the backdrop. With trip options lasting one day or longer you will learn about the local biodiversity from specialist naturalist guides and the marine biologists who protect and preserve it. Whales can also be observed in Argentina and Antarctica during specific seasons, ask for information and if you want to include whale watching in your southern itinerary.
Whale Watching in Chile’s first protected marine environment
We invite you to join us on a visit to Chile’s first protected marine environment, the Francisco Coloane Marine Park on the Brunswick Peninsula in southern Chilean Patagonia.
Created in 2003, the Park is located in the Magallanes region of Chile in the Straits of Magellan between Santa Ines and Riesco Islands. The Park was created due to its importance as a biological corridor and the habitat for migrating humpback whales. Today it is possible to see whales during their feeding season between December and March.
Located 75 kms south of Punta Arenas, Cape San Isidro lighthouse is the southern most habitable lighthouse on the American continent. It has more than 100 years of history that is part of the cultural heritage of the zone. The area consists of a mountainous landscape offering a great diversity of species and habitat including sub-antarctic native beech forests, peat bogs, alpine zones and valleys formed by glaciers. Its rivers, lakes and seas are home to humpback whales, Chilean and peale dolphins, penguins, sea lions and a vast variety of sea birds.
The area is reached by land through a historic route up to the point of embarkation at the Santa Maria river and then a boat trip through the Straits of Magellan where observation of dolphins and different species of marine birds from circumpolar habitats is common.
See below for two of our most popular whale watching options in southern Chile.
Watch our Travel Inspiration page for new trips in the pipeline or contact us if you would like to see whales in Antarctica or Argentina.
The whales
The whale most often sighted in this part of Chile is the humpback whale. These whales travel great distances to take advantage of the best breeding grounds and feeding spots. They undertake seasonal migration between productive high latitude areas where they feed in summer and low latitude tropical waters where mating and calving occur during winter. In the eastern south Pacific, the species breeds off Colombia and Ecuador, and feeds primarily in the western Antarctic Peninsula and in the waters of the Strait of Magellan. The duration of the whale’s trip between these migratory destinations is 88 and 99 days. The humpback whale enters the channels of the Strait of Magellan and stays here for almost five months to eat and rest.
These gentle giants are famous for their singing abilities – belting out seductive ballads to attract mates or to challenge other would be suitors. But they also have other talents. Their unique hunting skill, called bubblenet feeding, involves a group of humpbacks working together to capture schools of herring.
Each whale has a part to play in the process: one whale swims in a circle while blowing bubbles under a school of herring. When the bubbles rise, the school of herring can not escape and form into a tight ball in the centre. Other whales vocalize – grunting or screaming – to scare the herring to the surface. The whales then rise with their mouths wide open to capture large amounts of fish.
The sei and minke whales are also sometimes seen as is the magnificent orca (killer whale). Dolphin species include Commerson’s, Peale and the Chilean dolphin.
Full Day Kayak with Whales
1 days
