Punta Tombo, Protected area in Patagonia, Argentina.

Punta Tombo is a protected coastal area in Patagonia where rocky shores meet windswept grassland. The terrain features sparse vegetation and exposed rock formations where penguin colonies dig their breeding burrows.

Management as a nature reserve began in the 1960s, but formal protection came in 1972, when a decree created it as a tourist nature reserve. In 1979 the Chubut government declared it a protected natural area with controlled access and a permanent staff of wildlife wardens, and a 1985 law made it a provincial wildlife reserve. In 2015 the Punta Tombo Marine Protected Area added about 31,000 hectares of coastal waters.

British sailors in the 19th century called the headland "Tombas", the origin of the name Punta Tombo. Each September to April the reserve fills with visitors, around 100,000 in the 2015-2016 season, many of them foreign, who walk the boardwalks above the burrows. Nearby estancias offer rural tourism with local food and excursions.

The best time to visit is September through April when penguins are present and gathered in groups along the shore. Wear sturdy shoes and wind-resistant clothing since the exposed location experiences changing weather throughout the day.

Punta Tombo is the second-largest continental breeding colony of Magellanic penguins: about 150,000 active nests, roughly 400,000 birds in 2017. The largest is Estancia San Lorenzo reserve, with some 210,000 nests that year. The colony once exceeded a million birds in 1982, and an August 1991 oil spill killed at least 16,000 penguins, some washed ashore oiled here.