France
Kerguelen Islands
Windswept subantarctic wilderness where glacial fjords cut through volcanic peaks in the Southern Ocean
The Kerguelen Islands emerge from the Southern Ocean as a raw landscape of glacial valleys and volcanic ridges, where constant winds shape every surface. Research stations dot this isolated archipelago, connected by rough tracks that cross tussock grasslands and skirt the edges of ice-carved fjords. This is wilderness in its most uncompromising form, where the boundary between land and sea shifts with each storm.
What draws people here
- —dramatic fjords carved by glaciers into volcanic bedrock
- —vast colonies of seals and seabirds along rocky coastlines
- —endless tussock grasslands stretching toward ice-capped peaks
- —complete isolation in one of Earth's most remote archipelagos
Island character
nature•wildlife•cold weather
Island rhythm
morning
Research stations wake to howling winds as scientists check weather instruments and plan fieldwork around the day's conditions
afternoon
Expeditions venture across boggy grasslands or along fjord edges, moving carefully in the unpredictable subantarctic weather
night
Station lights glow against the endless twilight while winds rattle buildings and waves crash on distant shores
Best ways to experience Kerguelen Islands
- 01walk the rough station tracks between research facilities across windswept moorlands
- 02boat through deep fjords to witness glacier-carved valleys and towering sea cliffs
- 03hike across tussock grass plateaus toward the ice fields of Cook Ice Cap
- 04follow coastal paths to massive seal colonies on black volcanic beaches