The Strait of Magellan Park – Fuerte Bulnes

Half day (from Punta Arenas)

Tour Description

The Strait Park, shows the first Chilean settlement of the Southern Patagonia, Fort Bulnes, founded in 1843. In addition to a modern museum where you can learn about the history and geography of the Strait of Magellan and its surroundings.

The Tour starts around 09:30 a.m. All the participants will be picked up at their accommodations and we will go about 60 km south of Punta Arenas. The route goes along the Strait of Magellan allowing to observe a varied marine birdlife: seagulls, caiquenes, bandurrias, cormorants and others. The journey lasts approximately one hour. Our first stop will be the Milestone that marks the Geographic Center of Chile, where you can take pictures. Then we will continue to the Fort Bulnes.

First we will visit the park’s museum, located in the highest part of the sector, where you can get to know the processes of territorial formation, life forms and settlement. It also has a panoramic viewpoint where you can see the Strait of Magellan and Puerto del Hambre.
Fuerte Bulnes was founded in 1843, it forms a symbolic enclave. In that place, on the Santa Ana hill, the State of Chile took possession of the Strait of Magellan.
In this reconstructed fort, you can see the church, the jail, the chaplain’s room, water wells, the powder magazine, mail and stables that belonged to the first Chilean garrison in 1843.
During the tour you will have the opportunity to admire a real variety of fauna and flora. Birds of almost all the Chilean territory live in this zone. The flora has a great variety of species too.
We will stay for about an hour inside this fort and then we will begin the return. We will stop by another historic place in the area of Bahía Buena (Mansa), which is located a kilometer and a half from Fort Bulnes. Here we will visit the King Don Felipe City, founded in 1584 by Don Pedro Sarmiento and later renamed Puerto del Hambre (currently it is not possible to visit it, it is closed due to some archaeological excavations), where you can also take photos, and learn about the history of this place. We will be back in the city of Punta Arenas around 2:00 p.m. approximately.

The Tour starts around 09:30 a.m. All the participants will be picked up at their accommodations and we will go about 60 km south of Punta Arenas. The route goes along the Strait of Magellan allowing to observe a varied marine birdlife: seagulls, caiquenes, bandurrias, cormorants and others. The journey lasts approximately one hour. Our first stop will be the Milestone that marks the Geographic Center of Chile, where you can take pictures. Then we will continue to the Fort Bulnes.

First we will visit the park’s museum, located in the highest part of the sector, where you can get to know the processes of territorial formation, life forms and settlement. It also has a panoramic viewpoint where you can see the Strait of Magellan and Puerto del Hambre.
Fuerte Bulnes was founded in 1843, it forms a symbolic enclave. In that place, on the Santa Ana hill, the State of Chile took possession of the Strait of Magellan.
In this reconstructed fort, you can see the church, the jail, the chaplain’s room, water wells, the powder magazine, mail and stables that belonged to the first Chilean garrison in 1843.
During the tour you will have the opportunity to admire a real variety of fauna and flora. Birds of almost all the Chilean territory live in this zone. The flora has a great variety of species too.
We will stay for about an hour inside this fort and then we will begin the return. We will stop by another historic place in the area of Bahía Buena (Mansa), which is located a kilometer and a half from Fort Bulnes. Here we will visit the King Don Felipe City, founded in 1584 by Don Pedro Sarmiento and later renamed Puerto del Hambre (currently it is not possible to visit it, it is closed due to some archaeological excavations), where you can also take photos, and learn about the history of this place. We will be back in the city of Punta Arenas around 2:00 p.m. approximately.

More info…