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Magdalena Island penguins: how many, and how the colony is kept safe

The quick take

Official counts differ: CONAF counts the nesting pairs on Magdalena Island in the thousands, Sernatur counts the island's birds in far larger numbers, and both describe one of Chile's main Magellanic penguin colonies.

Colony facts

  • About 7,000 pairs, says CONAF1
  • More than 120,000 penguins, says Sernatur2
  • At most 150 visitors ashore at once4

Map of 19 stops

Magdalena Island, the Strait and the penguin coast

Tap a route first, then a pin or stop, for its note and Google Maps.

Map of the Strait of Magellan north of Punta Arenas with Magdalena Island and its lighthouse, Isla Marta, Cabo Negro, Laredo Bay and the city piers

  1. The lighthouse of 1902 that crowns the island walk; rangers keep an exhibition in the old keeper's house.

    Google Maps

  2. Breeding ground of imperial cormorants and sea lions; landing is banned, so you watch from the boat.

    Google Maps

  3. The cape on the mainland that the two islands face, the cape the two islands face; the islands lie 35 km northeast of Punta Arenas.

    Google Maps

  4. Where the site tour's speedboat leaves for the islands, after a coach ride of 30 minutes.

    Google Maps

  5. The other city pier Sernatur lists for boats to the islands.

    Google Maps

  6. Punta Arenas pier named by Sernatur as a departure point for boats to the monument.

    Google Maps

  7. Where the site tour finishes after the return coach ride.

    Google Maps

Mapping data © OpenStreetMap contributors

Official figures for the Magdalena Island penguins range from counts of nesting pairs to far larger counts of birds. Here is what each one measures, and how CONAF protects the burrows you walk past.

Editorial team, magdalenaislandtour.com · Updated November 12, 2026 · Reading: 8 min

Key facts

  • PairsAbout 7,000 pairs nest on the island, says CONAF.1
  • BirdsSernatur puts the island's penguins at more than 120,000.2
  • ProtectedA natural monument run by CONAF since its reclassification in 1982.3
  • VisitorsNo more than 150 passengers ashore at once.4
  • Time ashoreA stay is capped at 1 hour.5

How many penguins live on the island

Ask how many Magdalena Island penguins there are and you will get very different answers, all from serious sources. CONAF, the forest and parks service that runs the island, puts the breeding population at roughly 7,000 pairs of Magellanic penguins.1 Sernatur, Chile's national tourism service, describes the island as home to more than 120,000 Magellanic penguins.2 The two figures are far apart, and they do not measure the same thing.

A count of nesting pairs measures nests: the adults that hold a burrow and try to raise young in a given season. Sernatur's figure is a round total of birds, and its page does not say how or when it was counted. CONAF runs the island, so its count of pairs is the one we lead with, and any single number is best read as a snapshot rather than a census.

Tour listings quote larger figures of their own, which we leave aside: a sales page is not a census. What every source agrees on is the scale you feel on the ground: Sernatur calls it one of the largest Magellanic penguin colonies in the world, and in 2023 it named the islands the country's main colony of the species.6,7

Counting the colony

Who says how many penguins

SourceFigureWhat it counts
CONAFAbout 7,000 pairsPairs nesting on Magdalena
SernaturMore than 120,000Penguins living on the island
SernaturOne of the largest in the worldA ranking, not a count
Sernatur, 2023The country's main colonyA ranking within Chile

Official figures from CONAF and Sernatur.1,2,6,7

Burrows, nests and a crowded hillside

On Magdalena the burrows are the landscape. CONAF describes vegetation on the island as scarce, with some grasses taking hold only in patches free of penguins and dolphin gulls.11 What you see from the trail is bare, worked soil, dotted with entrances and birds standing guard beside them. Its neighbour Isla Marta is barer still, a desert community with no plant cover at all.12 Between the islands, there is very little green for the eye to rest on.

Nests are reused. At Punta Tombo in Argentina, the provincial tourism ministry explains, the males come back ahead of their partners to clean out a burrow they have used before, and the females join them weeks later, pair off and normally lay 2 eggs.13,14 It is the same species as on Magdalena, so expect similar habits: a bird standing at a burrow mouth is usually guarding a home it knows well.

That is why the paths matter so much. Argentina's national tourism portal warns that at Punta Tombo leaving the paths can break the penguins' nests.15 CONAF asks visitors on Magdalena not to go near the burrows, not to approach nests and not to leave the trail, rules that protect ground you cannot always see is hollow.16,17 A careless step off the marked line can collapse a tunnel with an egg or chick inside, so stay on the path even for a photo.

Breeding pairs

Magdalena beside the big Atlantic colonies

  • Magdalena7,000
  • Monte León40,000
  • Isla Pingüino60,000
  • Isla Observatorio105,500
  • Punta Tombo zone180,000

Pairs from CONAF for Magdalena, Argentina's parks administration for its parks and Chubut province for Punta Tombo; Monte León is given as more than 40,000.1,18,19,20,21

How Magdalena compares with the big Atlantic colonies

The Magdalena Island penguin colony in Chile is easy to reach, but it is not the biggest of its kind. On the Atlantic side, Argentina's Chubut province says the enlarged Punta Tombo protected area takes in a zone with a total of 180,000 pairs.21 Argentina's national tourism portal calls Punta Tombo the most important mainland colony of the species.28 The difference matters if you are choosing between the Chilean and Argentine sides of Patagonia for penguins.

Argentina's national parks administration lists more large colonies. Monte León National Park holds a colony of more than 40,000 pairs, and the Isla Pingüino marine park protects 13 colonies with 60,000 pairs.18,19 Further south, its Isla de los Estados reserve protects 1,600 pairs on the main island, 105,500 on Isla Observatorio and 15,000 on Isla Goffré.20 By any of these measures Magdalena is a medium-sized colony with outstanding access.

Access is the real point. CONAF places the island 35 km from Punta Arenas, to the northeast, near enough for a boat trip of 5 hours from the city.29 The parks administration also stresses that it monitors population size, colony trends and breeding success inside its protected areas, the kind of long-term counting that turns a single number into a trend.30 For a visitor, a smaller colony walked in an hour can feel just as dense as a giant one.

Your part

How can you help the colony?

Pick what you want to do right, and here is how.

  • If I want close-up photos

    Wait on the path and let birds come

    Approaching closer than 2 metres is not allowed.22

  • If I want to see sea lions breeding

    Look at Isla Marta from the boat

    Sea lions breed there, but landing is forbidden.23,24

  • If I want the reserve's story

    Find the rangers' exhibition

    It is in the old keeper's house by the lighthouse.25

  • If I see a sick or dead bird

    Tell the guide; do not touch it

    The SAG asks people never to handle such birds.26

  • If I want the most time ashore

    Use the whole hour calmly

    The stay is capped at 1 hour for the birds' sake.5

On the walk

Parts of the colony you cross

Busiest crossing

The landing stretch

First part of the trail

  • LengthAbout 300 metres
  • Watch forAdults carrying food
  • RuleLet them pass
Check dates

Nests underfoot

The burrow fields

Along the marked path

  • GroundBare, little vegetation
  • RuleStay on the trail
  • Distance2 metres from birds
Check dates

Rangers' base

The lighthouse hill

End of the walk

  • InsideCONAF exhibition
  • Built1902
  • AlsoPublic toilets
Check dates

Who protects the colony

The island is part of Los Pingüinos Natural Monument, which takes in Magdalena and Marta islands.29 Chile first protected it by decree on 22 August 1966, as a national park for tourism, and renamed it a natural monument in 1982, the status it holds today.3 CONAF gives its area as 97 hectares in the commune of Punta Arenas.55 CONAF in Magallanes has begun celebrating the monument's 60 years with a travelling exhibition of 22 paintings of the islands.56,57

Rangers live with the colony through the season. Rangers are permanently stationed on the island, CONAF says, with an exhibition room in the former keeper's house, toilets for visitors and a path laid out to bring people near the birds.25 At the anniversary event CONAF honoured ranger Roberto Fernández, who was retiring after 47 years of service and whose work on Isla Magdalena reached into environmental education for schools.58

Visitors are part of the protection plan too. Sernatur says you must book a maritime tour registered with Sernatur to reach the island, and CONAF only lets you ashore with tourism guides it has certified and trained in the species' behaviour and the visiting protocol.59,60 When your guide stops the group to let a penguin cross, that is the protocol at work rather than a photo stop, so wait until the bird has passed.

Protecting the islands

How the colony came under protection

  1. 1966

    Park created

    Decree founds a national tourism park on the islands.3

  2. 1976

    Lighthouse listed

    The island's lighthouse becomes a Historic Monument.8

  3. 1981

    CONAF takes over

    The Navy lends the lighthouse to CONAF.9

  4. 1982

    Natural monument

    The park is reclassified as a natural monument.3

  5. Today

    Capped visits

    At most 150 passengers ashore at once.4

  6. Season

    Summer only

    Open 15 October 2026, closing 31 March 2027.10

Gulls, skuas and other neighbours

Penguins are the stars, but they do not have the island to themselves. From September to March, CONAF counts more than 7 bird species living side by side on Magdalena and Marta, the dolphin gull and Chilean skua among them, alongside the penguins, gulls and cormorants.61,1 Watch the skies as you walk: the gulls and skuas patrol low over the burrows, and their presence is part of how the colony works.

Some neighbours are predators. Sernatur puts skuas and giant petrels at the top of the list of land-based hunters, with orcas and seals doing the same job offshore.62 Even the sea lions next door on Isla Marta are a risk, with a diet that runs mostly to fish, squid and crustaceans plus the odd penguin, Argentina's biodiversity records say.63,23 Bear that list in mind when a skua circles low over the trail.62

Isla Marta is the colony's quieter twin. On CONAF's account, Marta is where imperial cormorants nest and where sea lions and fur seals raise pups on the southwest tip; Magdalena is merely a haul-out for them.23 No one may set foot on Marta, which CONAF treats as a strictly protected zone reserved for nesting seabirds and breeding sea lions.24 Tours that include it watch from the water, and the site tour lists 30 minutes of wildlife viewing there, weather permitting.

Video

Walking with penguins on Magdalena Island

BackPacker Steve on YouTube · Video data is requested only when you tap play.

Upon landing on Magdalena Island, you will walk along a trail surrounded by thousands of Magellanic penguins and their chicks, sharing the scenery with imperial cormorants, dolphin gulls, and skuas.
Sernatur, Chile National Tourism Service (chile.travel)27

Colony etiquette

On the burrow trail

Around the burrows3

  • Do not go near burrow entrances or nests16
  • Keep 2 metres between you and any penguin22
  • Never block a bird's path to the sea16

Keep it quiet3

  • No music, shouting or loud noise53
  • No flash photography16
  • No smoking or fire of any kind54

Why landings and hours are capped

The limits you meet on the island are written into CONAF's visiting rules. No more than 150 passengers may be ashore on Magdalena at the same time, plus the guides each company must assign.4 A stay lasts at most 1 hour, which CONAF says is to limit interference with the birds' feeding and breeding cycles.5 That is why tour boats arrive in a sequence and why your guide watches the clock.

The daily window is set around the penguins too. CONAF's page gives a single visiting window from 8:00 in one paragraph and landings from 9:00 in another, both ending at 18:00, and adds that the timetable follows the penguins' activity patterns.64,65 For the summer ahead, CONAF has fixed the opening for 15 October 2026 and the last landings for 31 March 2027.10 Ask your operator which landing slot your boat holds rather than assuming the earliest.

The most sensitive ground is right at the start. On the first stretch of the trail, about 300 metres from the landing, penguins pass carrying food for their chicks, and CONAF asks for extreme care, never blocking them and never forcing them to regurgitate.66 The viewing rule is simple: do not come closer than 2 metres to a penguin, to avoid stressing the birds.22 Combined, these limits explain why a visit feels calm rather than crowded.

Bird flu and the health of the colony

The colony's newest threat is a virus. CONAF's page for the monument carries a notice that Chile is going through an outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza, with prevention measures for visitors.67 In a joint review with Peru, CONAF reported that outbreaks reached 11 of 16 Chilean regions, including 7 protected areas, and that more than 30,000 wild animals died, 62% of them sea lions and 6.7% Humboldt penguins, by its tally.68

Your part is small but specific. Chile's farm and livestock service, the SAG, wants sick or dead birds left untouched where they lie and reported to it.26 For a penguin that is hurt or cannot move properly, the environment ministry's contact is Sernapesca, the national fisheries and aquaculture service.69 On a guided visit, tell your guide or a ranger and keep walking; never pick a bird up, however distressed it looks.

Longer-term pressures come from the sea. Interviewed on Argentina's government portal, an Argentine penguin researcher put the warming climate, industrial fishing and pollution of the sea, now plastic more than oil, at the top of the threat list.70 The Magdalena Island penguins depend on the Strait's waters for every meal they carry up the path, so the health of the colony you see on land is decided largely out of sight, offshore.

FAQ

Questions answered quickly.

How many penguins are on Magdalena Island?
It depends on what is counted.

CONAF says about 7,000 pairs nest there; Sernatur cites more than 120,000 penguins on the island.1,2

Is it the biggest colony in Chile?
Sernatur calls it the main one.

In 2023 Sernatur named the islands the country's main Magellanic penguin colony.7

Who runs the island?
CONAF, Chile's parks service.

It is a natural monument created in 1966 and reclassified in 1982, with rangers on site.3,25

Why is the stay on the island so short?
To protect feeding and breeding.

CONAF caps the stay at 1 hour to limit disturbance to the birds.5

How many visitors can land at once?
There is a cap per landing.

CONAF allows at most 150 passengers ashore at the same time, plus guides.4

Can I visit Isla Marta too?
Only from the boat.

CONAF keeps it off-limits so seabirds and sea lions can breed undisturbed.24

Is bird flu a risk on the island?
CONAF has issued a warning.

Its page carries a notice about the avian influenza outbreak in Chile; never touch sick or dead birds.67,26

Sources

  1. CONAF, Chile National Forest Corporation (conaf.cl) · Monumento Natural Los Pinguinos ↩
  2. Sernatur, Chile National Tourism Service (chile.travel) · Travel guide to Los Pinguinos Natural Monument ↩
  3. CONAF, Chile National Forest Corporation (conaf.cl) · Monumento Natural Los Pinguinos ↩
  4. CONAF, Chile National Forest Corporation (conaf.cl) · Monumento Natural Los Pinguinos ↩
  5. CONAF, Chile National Forest Corporation (conaf.cl) · Monumento Natural Los Pinguinos ↩
  6. Sernatur, Chile National Tourism Service (chile.travel) · Travel guide to Los Pinguinos Natural Monument ↩
  7. Sernatur, Chile National Tourism Service (chile.travel) · Penguins from Chile: where to see these diving birds ↩
  8. Consejo de Monumentos Nacionales de Chile · Faro Magdalena ↩
  9. Consejo de Monumentos Nacionales de Chile · Faro Magdalena ↩
  10. CONAF, Chile National Forest Corporation (conaf.cl) · Monumento Natural Los Pinguinos ↩
  11. CONAF, Chile National Forest Corporation (conaf.cl) · Monumento Natural Los Pingüinos ↩
  12. CONAF, Chile National Forest Corporation (conaf.cl) · Monumento Natural Los Pingüinos ↩
  13. Ministerio de Turismo y Áreas Protegidas del Chubut · Provincia realiza obras en el Área Natural Protegida Punta Tombo ↩
  14. Ministerio de Turismo y Áreas Protegidas del Chubut · Provincia realiza obras en el Área Natural Protegida Punta Tombo ↩
  15. Argentina.gob.ar (Viajá por Argentina) · Caminar entre pingüinos de Magallanes ↩
  16. CONAF, Chile National Forest Corporation (conaf.cl) · Monumento Natural Los Pinguinos ↩
  17. CONAF, Chile National Forest Corporation (conaf.cl) · Monumento Natural Los Pinguinos ↩
  18. Administración de Parques Nacionales, Argentina · Día Mundial del Pingüino: el rol de Parques Nacionales en la conservación de estas aves ↩
  19. Administración de Parques Nacionales, Argentina · Día Mundial del Pingüino: el rol de Parques Nacionales en la conservación de estas aves ↩
  20. Administración de Parques Nacionales, Argentina · Día Mundial del Pingüino: el rol de Parques Nacionales en la conservación de estas aves ↩
  21. Ministerio de Turismo y Áreas Protegidas del Chubut · Finalizó la temporada de Pingüinos de Magallanes en Punta Tombo ↩
  22. CONAF, Chile National Forest Corporation (conaf.cl) · Monumento Natural Los Pinguinos ↩
  23. CONAF, Chile National Forest Corporation (conaf.cl) · Monumento Natural Los Pinguinos ↩
  24. CONAF, Chile National Forest Corporation (conaf.cl) · Monumento Natural Los Pinguinos ↩
  25. CONAF, Chile National Forest Corporation (conaf.cl) · Monumento Natural Los Pinguinos ↩
  26. SAG, Chile Agriculture and Livestock Service (sag.gob.cl) · Influenza aviar ↩
  27. Sernatur, Chile National Tourism Service (chile.travel) · Los Pinguinos Natural Monument
  28. Argentina.gob.ar (Viajá por Argentina) · Caminar entre pingüinos de Magallanes ↩
  29. CONAF, Chile National Forest Corporation (conaf.cl) · Monumento Natural Los Pinguinos ↩
  30. Administración de Parques Nacionales, Argentina · Día Mundial del Pingüino: el rol de Parques Nacionales en la conservación de estas aves ↩
  31. Consejo de Monumentos Nacionales de Chile · Faro Magdalena
  32. Sernatur, Chile National Tourism Service (chile.travel) · Los Pingüinos Natural Monument
  33. Solo Expediciones (operator page for its own tour) · Magdalena and Marta Island
  34. Sernatur, Chile National Tourism Service (chile.travel) · Los Pinguinos Natural Monument
  35. Consejo de Monumentos Nacionales de Chile · Faro Evangelistas
  36. Consejo de Monumentos Nacionales de Chile · Faro Evangelistas
  37. Consejo de Monumentos Nacionales de Chile · Faro Bahía Félix
  38. Consejo de Monumentos Nacionales de Chile · Faro Bahía Félix
  39. Consejo de Monumentos Nacionales de Chile · Faro San Isidro
  40. Consejo de Monumentos Nacionales de Chile · Faro San Isidro
  41. Consejo de Monumentos Nacionales de Chile · Faro Punta Delgada
  42. Consejo de Monumentos Nacionales de Chile · Faro Punta Delgada
  43. Consejo de Monumentos Nacionales de Chile · Faro Punta Delgada
  44. Consejo de Monumentos Nacionales de Chile · Faro Posesión
  45. Consejo de Monumentos Nacionales de Chile · Faro Posesión
  46. Consejo de Monumentos Nacionales de Chile · Faro Posesión
  47. CONAF, Chile National Forest Corporation (conaf.cl) · Monumento Natural Islotes de Puñihuil
  48. Sernatur, Chile National Tourism Service (chile.travel) · Penguins from Chile: Where to see these amazing diving birds
  49. Sernatur, Chile National Tourism Service (chile.travel) · Penguins from Chile: where to see these diving birds
  50. Ministerio del Medio Ambiente de Chile · ¿Cómo llegó un pingüino de Magallanes hasta Río de Janeiro?
  51. Ministerio del Medio Ambiente de Chile · ¿Cómo llegó un pingüino de Magallanes hasta Río de Janeiro?
  52. Ministerio del Medio Ambiente de Chile · ¿Cómo llegó un pingüino de Magallanes hasta Río de Janeiro?
  53. CONAF, Chile National Forest Corporation (conaf.cl) · Monumento Natural Los Pinguinos ↩
  54. CONAF, Chile National Forest Corporation (conaf.cl) · Monumento Natural Los Pinguinos ↩
  55. CONAF, Chile National Forest Corporation (conaf.cl) · Monumento Natural Los Pinguinos ↩
  56. CONAF, Chile National Forest Corporation (conaf.cl) · Con exposición itinerante CONAF inició celebración de los 60 años del Monumento Natural Los Pingüinos ↩
  57. CONAF, Chile National Forest Corporation (conaf.cl) · Con exposición itinerante CONAF inició celebración de los 60 años del Monumento Natural Los Pingüinos ↩
  58. CONAF, Chile National Forest Corporation (conaf.cl) · CONAF begins the 60th anniversary of Los Pinguinos Natural Monument ↩
  59. Sernatur, Chile National Tourism Service (chile.travel) · Travel guide to Los Pinguinos Natural Monument ↩
  60. CONAF, Chile National Forest Corporation (conaf.cl) · Monumento Natural Los Pinguinos ↩
  61. CONAF, Chile National Forest Corporation (conaf.cl) · Monumento Natural Los Pinguinos ↩
  62. Sernatur, Chile National Tourism Service (chile.travel) · Penguins from Chile: where to see these diving birds ↩
  63. Sistema de Información de Biodiversidad, Administración de Parques Nacionales, Argentina · Otaria flavescens ↩
  64. CONAF, Chile National Forest Corporation (conaf.cl) · Monumento Natural Los Pinguinos ↩
  65. CONAF, Chile National Forest Corporation (conaf.cl) · Monumento Natural Los Pinguinos ↩
  66. CONAF, Chile National Forest Corporation (conaf.cl) · Monumento Natural Los Pinguinos ↩
  67. CONAF, Chile National Forest Corporation (conaf.cl) · Monumento Natural Los Pinguinos ↩
  68. CONAF, Chile National Forest Corporation (conaf.cl) · Chile y Perú avanzan en cooperación binacional para afrontar el impacto de la influenza aviar ↩
  69. Ministerio del Medio Ambiente de Chile · ¿Cómo llegó un pingüino de Magallanes hasta Río de Janeiro? ↩
  70. Argentina.gob.ar (Ministerio de Ciencia, Tecnología e Innovación) · El pingüino es un gran disparador de debates y soluciones a nivel global ↩

Further reading

More for planning your Magdalena Island day

GuideWhat the Magdalena Island tour costsGuideWhich penguin trip from Punta Arenas, and is it worth itGuideThe tour from Punta Arenas hour by hourGuideMorning or afternoon sailing

Before you go

Hold a seat, pay later.

Hold a place on the penguin boat with nothing to pay yet; cancelling stays free up to a day ahead, and open sailings are listed by date.

See open dates