Parque Nacional Monte León

The only national park on Argentina's long Atlantic coastline, Monte León is a beautiful stretch of steppe and shore, south of Piedrabuena. It includes 40 km of coastline, where there are many species of seabirds, the world's fourth largest colony of penguins and colonies of sea lions in its many caves and little bays, as well as the tiny island Monte León, an important breeding area for cormorants and terns. It was acquired for the Argentine nation by North American millionaire Douglas Tompkins (who also owns Parque Pumalín in Chile, and

in Los Esteros del Iberá), and looked after by the organization

, before being made a national park in 2004. It's not easy to access the park, but your efforts to get here will be rewarded by wonderful walks

along wide isolated beaches with their extraordinary rock formations, and cliffs riven with vast caverns, fabulous at low tide. The park also protects an important habitat of sea-shore s

teppe, which is home to pumas and wolves as well as guanacos and choiques. Improved access is one part of the plan for the national park, which will also include turning the old shearing shed into a visitor centre.