The seven best places in Antarctica to see penguins

Penguin-spotting in Antarctica is among the highlights of an expedition cruise to the world’s highest, driest and coldest continent.

Dwelling to a number of species of the flightless birds, with half of the world’s 18 species of penguin discovered on Antarctic coasts and sub-Antarctic islands, the area is gaining in reputation as travellers search seeing animals within the wild.

Luxurious cruise operator Panache Cruises says it has seen a growth in bookings for penguin recognizing excursions, a pattern that it has known as “the Sir David Attenborough impact”.

“The recognition of David Attenborough’s TV programmes has introduced the wonders of penguins to our dwelling rooms and now hundreds of us wish to see them of their pure habitats,” stated James Cole, founder and managing director of Panache Cruises.

“Embarking on an expedition cruise to Antarctica is a good way for wildlife-lovers to see the character in all its glory whereas having fun with a hassle-free organised tour.”

Expedition cruising is a method that nature lovers can entry a number of the world’s remotest areas, and Panache’s small ships are designed to have minimal impression on the fragile surroundings through which they function. For travellers eager to identify a penguin within the wild, the corporate has revealed the seven greatest locations to catch a glimpse of the flightless birds.

1. Antarctic Peninsula

Stretching out greater than 1,500km in the direction of the tip of South America, the Antarctic Peninsula is the northernmost a part of the continent. It is also probably the most standard and accessible locations within the area, the place travellers will discover the best number of wildlife species and essentially the most breathtaking surroundings. One in every of The Peninsula’s essential points of interest is its abundance of penguins, seals and seabirds. It is also the warmest area of the continent, so its the place many analysis stations arrange base.

2. Antarctic Sound

Solely 15kms extensive at its narrowest half, the Antarctic Sound is a channel on the north-eastern finish of the Antarctic Peninsula. Often known as Iceberg Alley, it connects the Bransfield Strait to the Weddell Sea and is among the greatest locations within the area to see Adelie penguins as greater than 135,000 breeding pairs dwell on Hope Bay. The Sound can also be a very good place to identify giant Emperor penguins, seals and whales.

3. Penguin Island

Given its identify, it is no shock this tiny isle is among the greatest spots for penguin fanatics. Named throughout an 1820 British expedition due to the huge numbers of penguins that might be seen alongside its shoreline from the ship because it handed by, the 2km lengthy island can also be known as Georges Island and is among the smallest of Antarctic’s South Shetland Islands.

It is a nesting and breeding place for Adelie penguins and the customarily gregarious chinstrap penguins. The animals are protected by a 100-person restrict on the shore and guests should not allowed to roam freely, however guided excursions are provided, together with to the 170 metre cone of Deacon Peak, an inactive volcano.

4. Elephant Island

Elephant Island will get its identify from the big elephant seals that dwell there, nevertheless it’s additionally dwelling to colonies of gGentoo penguins and nesting chinstrap penguins. Solely distant, ice-covered and mountainous, the island is among the most desolate places on the earth, mendacity 250 kms off the tip of the Antarctic Peninsula. This place is a must-go for polar fanatics as that is the place Ernest Shackleton and his Endurance expedition crew took refuge for a number of months in 1916.

5. Deception Island

Deception Island in the midst of the South Shetland Islands is among the world’s most unusual vacationer locations. It’s a ring-shaped island with an enormous crater at its centre, fashioned by a volcanic eruption. A part of the crater has collapsed, leaving a pure harbour-like formation that is standard with marine lifetime of all types.

It is also dwelling to one of many world’s largest colony of penguins, with greater than 100,000 breeding pairs. The volcano on the island continues to be lively and scorching clouds of steam usually rise above the shoreline of the black sandy seashores. Travellers can even go swimming right here, because the water is heat regardless of the area’s sub-zero temperatures.

6. South Georgia

“The Attenborough impact” is probably at its strongest in South Georgia, the place the British broadcaster narrates the area’s guests information. Referred to as the “Gateway to Antarctic”, South Georgia is situated 2,000 kms off the tip of South America, surrounded totally by the southern Atlantic Ocean.

The area is recognised for its organic significance, biodiversity and breeding populations of seabirds and marine mammals, together with petrels, seals, whales, albatross and loads of penguins. The area has featured in a number of documentary collection, together with Frozen Planet, Blue Planet and Planet Earth.

7. Drake Passage

Named after English explorer Sir Francis Drake, regardless of the very fact he by no means sailed by his namesake waters, the Drake Passage offers a connection between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Identified for its tough seas and one of many main routes to Antarctica, it is also the place travellers can spot quite a lot of marine life. Its waters are wealthy in plankton, which attracts whales, seals and ever-popular emperor penguins.

Up to date: December 17, 2022, 4:27 AM