Location Guide - The Strait of Magellan

Will Gray (PER) / 15.02.2012

With the teams now heading to the Strait of Magellan, find out about one of Chile’s most iconic bodies of water ...

This is the gateway to Patagonia’s deep south – and for the racers the represents a symbolic crossing towards the ‘end of the world’.

Named after Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan – the first European to navigate these treacherous waters in 1520 – it’s 570 km long and separates the main American continent from the islands to the south.

In 2009, the race ended on its shores at the southernmost tip of the American continent, Cabo Froward – marked by a giant white steel cross - and that is just one of many landmarks on this southern stretch of water.

From Punta Arenas, a short crossing reaches Isla Magdalena, home to a large colony of Magellanic Penguins. It’s the one place that turns teams into tourists, with many keen to make the trip if they get a chance before or after the race.

In the past, the race has also travelled through the whale-filled region of Francisco Coloane Marine Park past San Isidro lighthouse and through the spectacularly wild Brunswick Peninsula, all of which are easy to access via the Strait from Punta Arenas.

But for this year’s teams, it’s now off for a rare opportunity to visit the site of one of Chile’s darkest legends – the former penal colony of Dawson Island.

[Click here to read more about the Strait of Magellan.]

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