Punta Ballena is a small peninsula (''punta'') and a resort (''balneario''), as well as an important tourist attraction on the coast of

Río de la Plata The Río de la Plata (, "river of silver"), also called the River Plate or La Plata River in English, is the estuary formed by the confluence of the Uruguay River and the Paraná River at Punta Gorda. It empties into the Atlantic Ocean and fo ...

in the

Maldonado Department The Maldonado Department ( es, Departamento de Maldonado; ), with an area of and 164,300 inhabitants (2011), is located to the southeast of Uruguay. Its capital is Maldonado. Geography and climate Neighbouring departments are Rocha to the Eas ...

of southeastern

Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...

. It comprises an approximately long stripe of beaches and landforms and extends on both sides of Route 10.

Location and geography

Punta Ballena borders the resort

Chihuahua Chihuahua may refer to: Places * Chihuahua (state), a Mexican state **Chihuahua (dog), a breed of dog named after the state **Chihuahua cheese, a type of cheese originating in the state **Chihuahua City, the capital city of the state **Chihuahua Mu ...

to the west, it includes the Casapueblo citadel, the promontory of Punta Ballena, and the beach Playa Las Grutas to the east of it. Further east it borders the resort Pinares - Las Delicias with the oblong lake, Laguna del Diario, as the natural limit between them. To the northeast it borders the Park and Arboretum Lussich and the small populated centre Las Cumbres directly north of the park, while another small populated center, Los Corchos, lies to the south of the park.

History

Established by

Antonio Lussich Antonio Dionisio Lussich (March 23, 1848 in Montevideo – June 5, 1928 in Punta del Este) was an Uruguayan sailor, arboricultorist and writer. Family background His father was Filip Lukšić, a Croatian Merchant sailor who arrived in Montev ...

, who purchased the land and in 1896 founded his namesake arboretum, Punta Ballena and the neighboring resort city of

Punta del Este Punta del Este () is a seaside city and peninsula on the Atlantic Coast in the Maldonado Department of southeastern Uruguay. Starting as a small town, Punta del Este later became internationally known as a resort for the Latin and North American j ...

grew to become leading destinations for

tourism in Uruguay Tourism in Uruguay is an important part of the nation's Economy of Uruguay, economy. Uruguay's tourist destinations include: Punta del Este, Piriápolis, Montevideo, Colonia del Sacramento, Salto, Uruguay, Salto, Lavalleja, Rocha, Uruguay, Roch ...

during the summertime high season (December through February).

Population

In 2011 Punta Ballena had a population of 750 permanent inhabitants and 2,375 dwellings. Source: ''Instituto Nacional de Estadística de Uruguay''

Points of interest

The town's best-known point of interest is the '' Casapueblo''

citadel A citadel is the core fortified area of a town or city. It may be a castle, fortress, or fortified center. The term is a diminutive of "city", meaning "little city", because it is a smaller part of the city of which it is the defensive core. In ...

, sculptor

Carlos Páez Vilaró Carlos Páez Vilaró (1 November 1923 – 24 February 2014) was a Uruguayan abstract artist, painter, potter, sculptor, muralist, writer, composer and constructor. Life and work Carlos Páez Vilaró was born in Montevideo, Uruguay, in 1923. He to ...

's onetime residence and atelier. Páez Vilaró began his "living sculpture" in 1958, sometimes adding a new room to host a particular friend, and eventually created a lodge within Casapueblo. The surrounding promontories are also popular

hang gliding Hang gliding is an air sport or recreational activity in which a pilot flies a light, non-motorised foot-launched heavier-than-air aircraft called a hang glider. Most modern hang gliders are made of an aluminium alloy or composite frame covered ...

spots. Punta Ballena was known for whales such as breeding

southern right whale The southern right whale (''Eubalaena australis'') is a baleen whale, one of three species classified as right whales belonging to the genus ''Eubalaena''. Southern right whales inhabit oceans south of the Equator, between the latitudes of 20 ...

s hence was named. They are becoming more regular along the coast during wintering seasons and

whale watching Whale watching is the practice of observing whales and dolphins (cetaceans) in their natural habitat. Whale watching is mostly a recreational activity (cf. birdwatching), but it can also serve scientific and/or educational purposes.Hoyt, E. 2 ...

is a popular attraction. The region is also notable for holding presences of

orca The orca or killer whale (''Orcinus orca'') is a toothed whale belonging to the oceanic dolphin family, of which it is the largest member. It is the only extant species in the genus '' Orcinus'' and is recognizable by its black-and-white ...

s that are seldom in most of Uruguayan areas.Willy E.D
Las orcas visitaron Punta del Este
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Other names

The resort northwest of the peninsula of Punta Ballena and east of Chihuahua, as well as the beach are also known as Portezuelo and Solanas, a name derived from the Hotel Solana del Mar. The name "Playa Portezuelo", is sometimes given to describe all the long stretch of the beach up to Punta Negra.

References

External links

INE map of Punta Ballena, Los Corchos and Las CumbresArticle on Solanas, Official Portal of the Uruguayan Government
{{Maldonado Department Headlands of Uruguay Populated places in the Maldonado Department Beaches of Uruguay Seaside resorts in Uruguay