Chile | Quest for the Puma and Wonders of Patagonia

Depart for Santiago, Chile on your overnight flight

Welcome to Chile! After clearing Immigration and Customs, we will check in to our domestic flight to Punta Arenas. Upon arrival we will collect our luggage and meet our guide - who will be with us until we fly back to Santiago - outside of the airport. We will transfer to our hotel and have the rest of the afternoon free to rest and relax. Dinner will be on our own tonight and depending on how we feel, we can either use the hotel's restaurant or go explore what the city of Punta Arenas offers. Our guide will be available to make suggestions. Check in starts at 3 p.m.

After breakfast we will start our transfer to Torres del Paine National Park. On our way, we will visit the Patagonian ranch Olga Teresa, which is probably one of the most accessible locations in the world to see and photograph the world's heaviest flying creature: the majestic Andean Condor. Reachable by car in approximately 60 minutes from Punta Arenas, the ranch protects, researches, and showcases a population of 100+ Andean Condors that soar, socialize, and sleep at a 20-meter-tall, vertical rock face that itself is embedded in a steep, 200-meter-high (700-foot-high) hill. In the Patagonian Andes, Condors are a common sight but the conditions at Ranch Olga Teresa are usually extraordinary. We will look for them in the field, watch them flying or resting on the cliffs, with the help of binoculars and spotting scopes. The photographic opportunities are usually great but you will need a suitable long lens (400mm or larger) for better results. After lunch we will continue with our transfer, which will take about another 4 hours. There will be stops on the way to stretch our legs and enjoy the scenary. Upon arrival we will check into our hotel that will be home for the next 7 nights. Before dinner, our guide will give us an orientation to next days events

The next 6 days we will have a busy schedule where we will search for the Pumas of Torres del Paine. We will inspect the guanaco-rich puma hunting grounds located to the east - beyond the park limits - into the private ranch Estancia Laguna Amarga, where Pumas occupy the same habitat as in the park. The area comprised of the northern coast of Sarmiento Lake, Laguna Amarga, and Laguna Azul is well known for holding one of the world's largest concentrations of pumas in the wild. A typical day in the field starts quite early and this depends on the season of the year. We have to remember that Patagonia is a high latitude location (51°S). We will have longer daylight hours during the spring and summer and much shorter field days during autumn and winter. We will have an early breakfast and will drive right after for approximately 30 minutes, from our hotel to the puma search area at Estancia Laguna Amarga. Beforehand, our guide will have communication with the puma tracker in order to determine where individual pumas are concentrating. Our puma tracker will patrol puma corridors by car and on foot, and using this information we will plan our 1.2/2-mile hikes inside the ranch, where we will have flexibility and freedom to walk off-trail, looking for pumas. These are moderate walks, so a minimum degree of fitness is required in order to be able to keep up with the group. Topography is usually not too demanding but there might be differences in altitude of around 160-1,000ft sometimes, although our group will walk at a slow and gentle pace. Maximum elevation during this trip will be 1,000ft above sea level. Participants must be able to carry their own gear. If this is difficult for you, we ask you to coordinate this in advance with us in order to arrange some help.

Pumas of Torres del Paine - 2nd day - - Pumas are normally quite active at night, early in the mornings and late in the evenings. Our activities will gravitate around these preferred times by cats, when they are usually patrolling their territory, hunting guanacos and other prey, interacting with their offspring or commuting from their hunting grounds to their dens. We will have two sessions each day, a morning session and an evening session. During the middle of the day, we will not be watching pumas in order to avoid disturbance at a critical time, when they are resting, sleeping after a long night hunting elusive guanaco. Normally and depending on the light and condition of the day, we can continue photographing other wildlife in the park or provide our guests with some time to rest, charge batteries and get ready for the evening puma session. Estancia Laguna Amarga model is very good in preventing overlapping among different groups of puma enthusiasts as they limit the number of visitors on a daily basis. We will investigate our own designated areas of the ranch (which will shift every day) and concentrate on individual pumas. We will have packed lunches, snacks and drinks for our field days. Later in the evening, we will have dinner back at our hotel or sometimes inside the park, depending on the daylight hours and the season.

Pumas of Torres del Paine - 3rd day - - To see a female puma and its cubs against this magnificent mountain backdrop and big sky is one of the most magnificent wildlife spectacles in this part of the world. In company of our guide and puma tracker, we will follow pumas at a prudent distance with the help of binoculars and spotting scopes. The approach distance varies but there is a 50-meter (164ft) rule. Sometimes pumas are inquisitive and indulging, being very habituated to the human presence. Those will be our stars but we must respect their space; we must be prepared in advance and bring your longest lenses (400mm +) in order to take advantage of our photographic opportunities. Bringing a tripod or monopod is always recommended; a light-weight carbon-fiber version is always the best option.

Pumas of Torres del Paine - 4th day

Pumas of Torres del Paine - 5th day

Pumas of Torres del Paine - 6th day

We will have an early start in order to be at location to photograph the Paine Massif at dawn. Today we will explore the southern and western regions of this huge national park, which comprises an extent of 600,000 acres. The omnipresent Paine Massif, a magnificent set of rugged peaks, formed out of granite and sedimentary rock, dominates the landscape. The long-gone Indians of Patagonia called it Paine, meaning Blue, presumably referring to its remarkable coloration when observed at a distance. We will have the opportunity to explore the Nothofagus Southern Beech forests and its diversity of plants and animals; we may find Magellanic Woodpecker, Austral Parakeet and, if we are lucky, the shy Andean Deer or Huemul. We will be marveled by seeing the contrasting mosaic of towering mountains, glaciers, wetlands, steppes and forests.

This morning we will have again an early start in order to be ready to photograph the Towers or the Horns with the first light. With the right lighting, the mountain base turns to orange colors and the scene becomes very dramatic with peculiar lenticular clouds moving fast over the peaks. At the eastern corner of Sarmiento Lake, we will reach a location that commands the most incredible views of the towering peaks of Las Torres, the pinnacles from which the park takes its name. As we move around the park, we will observe confiding herds of Guanaco, a southern relative to camels, the curious-looking Lesser Rhea and impressive Andean Condors soaring along the road. During the morning we will visit the eastern side of the park to enjoy the views of one of the impressive waterfalls of Paine River and if it's clear, of the fabulous granite columns of the Paine massif from Laguna Amarga. We will keep exploring the alkaline ponds and reed-fringed lagoons located of the eastern part of the park. There are approximately 120 species of birds in the park and we will see a considerable number of them, some with the help of binoculars and the spotting scope. The flora is also a very interesting subject for observation and photography. The park holds probably nearly 500 species of plants; the southern spring and early summer (mid-October through late January) are great to see the myriad of flowers that bloom in these magnificent landscapes. After our return to the hotel and enjoy our delicious dinner, we will have another chance to photograph the mountains and clouds at sunset.

Full day photography at Torres del Paine National Park and surrounding areas around Patagonia Camp.

After breakfast, we will have our last morning of photography around Patagonia Camp. Late in the morning we will leave Torres del Paine National Park, hopefully with many rewarding memories of our explorations and wildlife encounters on this beautiful corner of Patagonia, and start our 5 hour transfer back to Punta Arenas airport to fly back to Santiago on our 7 pm flight. At the Punta Arenas airport we will say goodbye to our guide. Upon arrival to Santiago, we will collect our luggage and find our way to our hotel. Holiday Inn Aeropuerto is very conveniently located close to the airport - just across the street from the terminal where passengers exit. Dinner will be on your own tonight. WE suggest purchasing something to eat at the Punta Arenas airport during the flight.

This morning you will find your way back to the airport from the hotel to check in for your international flight home departing early in the morning. Hotel is located right across the terminal, crossing the street. Check out is at 10 a.m.