Bahia Bustamante was originally settled by seaweed gatherers who built a village once occupied by 400 people but now by 40. Visitors stay in various village houses to enjoy the unspoilt nature and isolation.
There is an incredibly rich marine fauna in the area, with around 3,500 sea lions, killer whales, and dolphins. Right whales and elephant seals can also sometimes be seen on their way to and from the Valdes Peninsula. The coast of Bahia Bustamante and Malaspina Cove has the greatest diversity of seabirds in all Patagonia, with 21 breeding colonies. There are two endemic species found in large concentrations – the Chubut steamer duck and Olrog’s gull, a Magellanic penguin colony numbering 100,000 individuals, and significant colonies of blue-eyed cormorant and rock cormorant.
Bahia Bustamante has been part of the Patagonia Austral Marine National Park since December 2009, created to protect all species found within one nautical mile from shore and on about 50 islands.
