Must-see attractions in Antarctica

Russia set up Bellingshausen station in 1968 and it is now separated from Frei base by a small stream. After a fuel-tank farm was established,…

On the fast ice about 400m from the low ice cliffs on Snow Hill Island’s south coast is Antarctica’s northernmost (and most accessible) emperor penguin…

Symbolically numbered ‘Building 1,’ this center, usually called the ‘Crary Lab,’ is named for Albert P Crary, a geophysicist and glaciologist who was the…

The Southern Cross expedition’s zoologist, Norwegian Nicolai Hansen, died on October 14, 1899, probably of an intestinal disorder: the first human death…

The Geographic South Pole (Geodetic Pole) marks the spot at one end of the Earth’s axis of rotation (the other being the North Pole). It is indicated by a…

Poland’s Arctowski station, opened in 1977, was named for a geologist on Adrien de Gerlache’s Belgica expedition and houses 40 people. Female visitors…

Mawson intended to have two separate huts, one housing 12 men, the other six. But it was decided to join the two, creating an accommodation area and a…

At the coast, Italy operates summer-only Mario Zucchelli Station, which accommodates 90 people. The station, a collection of blue buildings with orange…

Building 155 is McMurdo’s indoor Main St, and the long central corridor is known as Hwy 1. Along it are the dining facility (still known as the Galley…

Brazil’s Commandante Ferraz Station on Admiralty Bay, opened in 1983–84, is located between an old whaling station and the site of the abandoned British…

When entering this wonderful museum, be sure to look up to see the wandering albatross mounted overhead. Unless you’re a scientist, this is the closest…

In early 2008 a six-tractor caravan left China’s Zhongshan Station, covering the 1300km traverse to Dome A in three weeks to set up the PLATO Observatory…

East Base was built during aviator Richard Byrd’s third Antarctic expedition, the US Antarctic Service Expedition of 1939–41. It was also used in 1947–48…

Australia's Mawson Station was established in February 1954. Named for Douglas Mawson, an Australian Antarctic explorer, it is the oldest continuously…

The restored Whalers’ Church, consecrated on Christmas Day, 1913, is a typical Norwegian church. Indeed, it was originally erected in Strømmen before…

Goudier Island is home to 800 pairs of gentoos. Monitoring of their breeding success since 1995 has found no discernible impact from tourists, who tramp…

Maitri, Hindi for friendship, is a long, U-shaped, tan-colored building with a large Indian flag over the entrance. Maitri’s winter and summer complement…

Vernet’s lieutenant Matthew Brisbane was murdered by gauchos after British naval officer JJ Onslow left him in charge of Port Louis in August 1833. In…

The white Chapel of the Snows, a 64-seat house of worship with a pretty, penguin-motif stained-glass window and an organ, is the third chapel raised at…

The Adélie rookery just offshore is often visited in conjunction with Palmer Station. Since 1974, however, the Adélie population here has dropped by 60%…