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Cruises visiting Elephant Island

43 upcoming Antarctic expeditions with Elephant Island on the route, from $10,500 per person.

Elephant Island is hallowed ground in polar history: Shackleton's 22 castaways survived four and a half months under two upturned boats at Point Wild after Endurance sank. Voyages pause offshore at the memorial to Piloto Pardo, whose ship finally rescued them.

The island is bleak, storm-lashed and usually too rough to land on — which is precisely the point. Seeing it from a Zodiac makes the story real.

Wildlife you can spot here

Wildlife

Leopard Seal

The leopard seal is the Antarctic's second-largest seal after the elephant seal, built long and muscular with a spotted, leopard-like coat. It is the region's top predator, hunting penguins, fish, and even other seals along the ice edge.

Wildlife

Chinstrap Penguin

Named for the thin black band under its chin, the chinstrap penguin looks as if it is wearing a helmet. Listen for it before you see it: it has one of the loudest, harshest calls of any penguin.

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