Réserve provinciale Isla de los Estados, Nature reserve in Tierra del Fuego Province, Argentina.
The Isla de los Estados and Año Nuevo Archipelago reserve is a protected area along Argentina's southern coast featuring isolated islands with diverse marine life and wild landscapes. The islands and surrounding waters create habitats for seabirds, seals, and other species that thrive far from human settlements.
The archipelago was bought by the national state under law 8940 of 27 September 1912 and reserved for the Argentine Navy by decree 78029 of 10 March 1936. On 9 August 2016 President Mauricio Macri issued decree 929/2016 creating the wild nature reserve under National Parks Administration, with a joint commission of Navy and Parks representatives. In 1884 Augusto Lasserre had founded the subprefecture and the Faro del Fin del Mundo at Puerto San Juan de Salvamento.
In 1884 Augusto Lasserre set up a subprefecture at Puerto San Juan de Salvamento and inaugurated Argentina's second lighthouse, the Faro del Fin del Mundo, with a penal colony that moved to Puerto Cook in 1889. Archaeological remains of prehistoric human presence lie in Crossley and Flinders bays.
Access to the reserve requires special permits from provincial authorities and advance coordination with official agencies. Visitors should contact local administrators well ahead of their planned visit to arrange necessary approvals.
The reserve's southern rockhopper penguin colonies hold 26% of the world population of this vulnerable species, alongside Magellanic penguin colonies. Giant petrels, also vulnerable, and black-necked cormorants nest here too. The only native land mammal is the ratón de los guindales, found nowhere else.
The community of curious travelers
AroundUs brings together thousands of curated places, local tips, and hidden gems, enriched daily by 92,654 contributors worldwide.