PUERTO MADRYN

The city of Puerto Madryn was founded in 1865 when the first white inhabitants, the Welsh, arrived to the area.

The first effective settlement took place with the construction of the railroad which was inaugurated in June, 1889, for the purpose of carrying the settlers? farming products from the valley to the port.

A further period of growth started with the installation of ALUAR aluminum plant in 1971, when the number of inhabitants barely amounted to 6,500 souls. As from that moment, the population rate of increase stood out among that of the remaining Argentine cities.

According to the last censu carried out in 2001, 57,571 persons, of an average 25-year-old age, dwell in Puerto Madryn although a significant increase has been reckoned over the last few years.

At the same time, there has been a marked growth in educational institutions ranging from pre-school to tertiary and university academic levels with the Universidad Nacional de la Patagonia “San Juan Bosco” and the Universidad Tecnologica Nacional offering, among others, specific context-related courses of studies such as the First Degree in Marine Biology and Barren Zones and Fishing Engineering.

Likewise, at the Centro Nacional Patagonico CENPAT – CONICET (a Nacional Center of Scientific and Technical Research), scientific research as well as doctoral and post-doctoral work are carried out with the participation of students and sponsored researchers and guest scientists from different parts of the World.

Puerto Madryn has indisputable tourist value and a strategic location that make it the largest service center in the Patagonian coast and the entrance door to Peninsula Valdes, a World Heritage declared as such by UNESCO in 1999.

The main income proceeds from the fishing industry, aluminum production and tourism, an activity that was born in the ?60s when the Bahia Nueva Subaquatic Tourism Promotion Comittee was created for the purpose of designing and building up artificial reefs within the Nuevo and San Jose Gulfs. These places are now visited by tourists to have their subaquatic baptism in this so-called National Scuba Diving Capital.

Whale and Summer Seasons

Along the 5 km length of beaches that border the city, there are 7 bathing resorts that work, for the most part, as restaurants and bars throughout the year and during the summertime offer facilities for the practice of nautical sports.

In winter, when returning from their tours, tourists usually take bicycle rides through town, walk along the seaside promenade or visit the shopping center, all of them being ideal alternatives to experience the peace and security the city offers them.

During the whale watching season (June through December) whales can be often seen from the coast and their characteristic sounds heard at night.