Mammal and Birding Tour Chile: Pumas in Torres del Paine, Southern Patagonia


Dates and Costs

 

13 – 20 October 2024

Spaces Available: 5

Price: US$5,980  / £4,967 / €5,810 per person sharing (30 % surcharge to guarantee the trip with only 4-5)

Single Supplement: US$1,139  / £946 / €1,107

* Please note that currency conversion is calculated in real-time, therefore is subject to slight change. Please refer back to the base price when making final payments.

 

11 – 18 October 2025

Price: US$6,510  / £5,408 / €6,324 per person sharing (30 % surcharge to guarantee the trip with only 4-5)

Single Supplement: US$1,240 / £1,030 / €1,204

 

11 – 18 October 2026

Price: US$7,161  / £5,948 / €6,956 per person sharing (30 % surcharge to guarantee the trip with only 4-5)

Single Supplement: US$1,364 / £1,133 / €1,325


Recommended Field Guide

(Please also read our blogs about recommended field guides for the seven continents here)


Tour Details

Duration: 8 days
Group Size: 6 – 7
Tour Start: Punta Arenas, Chile
Tour End: Punta Arenas, Chile


Price includes:

Meals (from dinner on day 1 until breakfast on Day 8)
Accommodation
Guiding fees
Entrance fees
All transport while on tour (private transportation in a 4WD or van)
Tolls
Puma tracker
Boat trip to Marta and Magdalena Islands

Price excludes:

All flights
Items of a personal nature, e.g. gifts
Alcoholic drinks
Personal insurance
Boat trip to Grey Glacier (about US$ 150)
Gratuities (please see our our tipping guidelines blog)

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Mammal and Birding Tour Chile: Pumas in Torres del Paine, Southern Patagonia
October 2024/2025/2026

 

At the southern tip of Patagonia there is a vast territory crowned by the majestic Paine Massif. Its stunning granite “towers” and “horns”, surrounded by massive glaciers, turquoise lakes, and verdant forests, make it one of the most beautiful mountain landscapes on earth. This paradise is protected by the Torres del Paine National Park, “the jewel in the crown” of the Chilean national park system.

Torres del Paine is a remote refuge where the Patagonian wildlife is tame and abundant. Here we can expect to see the inquisitive Guanaco, Patagonian Fox, Patagonian Huemul (Andean deer), Large Hairy Armadillo, Andean Condor, Black-faced Ibis, and Torrent Duck, which all share the mountain landscape with the top predator of the region, Puma or mountain lion. This Chile birding and mammal tour focuses on the observation and photography of this large, elegant cat in the most spectacular area of its entire range.

Chile birding toursAndean Condor is one of the big targets in the Andes (photo Alejandro Tello).

 

Together with the Puma and other Patagonian wildlife we will also visit a small wetland near Torres del Paine National Park, where it is possible to observe the extremely rare Austral Rail.

Chile birding toursThree full days will be spent in Torres del Paine National Park searching for Puma, the “lord of the Andes”.

 

This tour is combinable with Northwest Argentina – from the foothills to puna birding tour which immediately proceeds this tour as well as Northeast Argentina – Iberá Marshlands and Iguazú National Park which

 

Itinerary (8 days/7 nights)

 

Day 1. Punta Arenas

Arrival at Presidente Carlos Ibáñez International Airport in Punta Arenas with an afternoon visit to the nearby Tres Puentes Wetland to look for Chiloe Wigeon, White-tufted Grebe, Red Shoveler, Southern Lapwing, Short-billed Miner, South American Snipe, and Austral Negrito.

Overnight: Hotel Cabo de Hornos or similar, Punta Arenas

 

Day 2. Punta Arenas to Torres del Paine National Park

Today we drive to the majestic Torres del Paine National Park, with stops at Puerto Natales for lunch as well as birding along the bay of Last Hope Sound, where we hope to find Yellow-bridled Finch and White-throated Caracara. While crossing over the impressive Patagonian steppes we will keep a lookout for Lesser Rhea and Least Seedsnipe. After arriving at Torres del Paine National Park we will do the first outing searching for Puma.

Overnight: Hostería Pehoé, Torres del Paine

Chile birding toursLesser Seedsnipe should be seen in the Patagonian steppes.

 

Days 3-5. Torres del Paine National Park

Three full days looking for the majestic “lord of the Andes”. After an early breakfast we will start searching for Puma in Torres del Paine National Park and the nearby Estancia Laguna Amarga, a ranch located on the eastern border of the park, which hosts large numbers of Puma.

Together with Puma we should also see large groups of Guanacos (wild relatives of the llama), Large Hairy Armadillo, Patagonian Fox, Upland Goose, Andean Condor, Yellow-bridled Finch, Black-chested Buzzard-Eagle, and many other species. We will also bird the Nothofagus (southern beeches) forests, where we hope to find the impressive Magellanic Woodpecker and Austral Parakeet.

Overnight: Hostería Pehoé, Torres del Paine

 

Day 6. Torres del Paine National Park to Punta Arenas

This will be our last morning in Torres del Paine National Park. We will visit a small wetland, where we might observe and photograph the very rare Austral Rail. We will stop en route for photo opportunities at Ultimate Esperanza Bay in Puerto Natales, where we may find Black-necked Swan, Crested Duck, White-tufted and Great Grebes, Magellanic Shag, Magellanic Oystercatcher, and Dark-bellied Cinclodes.

Overnight: Hotel Cabo de Hornos or similar, Punta Arenas

Chile birding toursWe may see White-tufted Grebe in Puerto Natales.

 

Day 7. Marta and Magdalena Islands

We will head across to Laredo Bay for the morning, where we will take a boat trip to two nearby islands, first to Magdalena Island to visit a colony of Magellanic Penguins and then circumnavigating Marta Island to view a colony of South American Sea Lions. In the afternoon we will visit San Juan Bay, where we might see Magellanic Diving Petrel, Black-browed Albatross, Chilean Skua, Kelp Gull, Magellanic Plover, and Blackish Cinclodes, among others.

Overnight: Hotel Cabo de Hornos or similar, Punta Arenas

 

Day 8. Departure

Transfer to the airport to board your departure flight, which will end an amazing eight days in Chile.

 

 

Please note that the itinerary cannot be guaranteed as it is only a rough guide and can be changed (usually slightly) due to factors such as availability of accommodation, updated information on the state of accommodation, roads, or birding sites, the discretion of the guides and other factors. In addition, we sometimes have to use a different international guide from the one advertised due to tour scheduling.

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