Esperanza Base

With penguins as neighbors.

Antarctica's northernmost permanent research station with essential facilities and year-round studies.

4.8

out of 5

Esperanza Base is the most southerly permanently staffed scientific research station in the world and the only one on the Antarctic Peninsula. It lies at the northern tip of the Antarctic continent, on the shore of Hope Bay. The base is a small but vibrant oasis of life amidst the vast polar desert that is Antarctica.

Esperanza offers only limited and essential amenities. The base consists of 43 buildings including schools, hospital, and research facilities.

Average temperatures during the day in Esperanza Base.

November

-2°

Dec

0°

Jan

1°

Feb

0°

Mar

-3°

Apr

-7°

May

-10°

Jun

-11°

Jul

-11°

Aug

-10°

Sep

-7°

Oct

-4°

What people say about Esperanza Base

4.8

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What to do in Esperanza Base

Where to see the Northern Lights: The ultimate guide

Article from October 2023 with 10 places

Southern hemisphere doesn’t offer nearly as much favorable places to go see Aurora as the northern half of the world. There is not much land close to the South Pole, and to have a great change of seeing the lights, we would need to go to Antarctica. Let’s go then!

Esperanza Base in Antarctica is an outlier on this list in more ways than one. It's one of only two civilian settlements on the continent, home to about 55 people in winter and only over 100 in summer. Yet it has a school, a hospital, and even a post office!

Getting to Esperanza usually involves flying to Ushuaia in Argentina, boarding a ship to the Antarctic Peninsula, and then taking a helicopter to the base. It's a long, costly journey. For that reason, if your goal is to see the Northern lights, Esperanza is not your best choice.

The best places for people to see the Northern Lights are roamed by reindeer or polar bears, not penguins.

Articles about Antarctica

Where to see the Northern Lights: The ultimate guide

October 2023,

Humbling experience Traveling to see the Northern Lights is worth every mile, every hour on the road or in the air. Imagine standing under the dark sky, surrounded by silence, when suddenly the black

Articles about Antarctica

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