Chile – Pumas and Condors – Photo Tour

Arrive at Punta Arenas Airport, where a Neblina Forest representative will greet you and assist with your transfer to Cerro Castillo, where your hotel is located. Enjoy the scenic drive through the Patagonian steppe, with opportunities to observe wildlife along the way. Upon arrival, you will check in at Hotel Estancia El Ovejero Patagonico, where you can settle in, relax, and enjoy dinner. (L, D)

Note: The travel time from Punta Arenas to Hotel Overjero Patagónico is approximately four hours by road.

Over the next four days, you will take part in private, full-day excursions led by your specialized guide, venturing deep into one of the most iconic wildlife regions of Chilean Patagonia. Each day, you will travel toward the Laguna Amarga area, home to one of the highest concentrations of pumas in the region, offering exceptional opportunities to observe these elusive cats in their natural environment, set against a backdrop of dramatic mountains, shimmering lakes, and vast Patagonian steppes.

The journey itself is part of the experience. As you travel across this remote landscape, you will enjoy spectacular views and ever-changing scenery that define Patagonia’s wild character. Your guide will drive you to the closest access point to the puma territory. If a puma has been located, you will then begin a guided walk toward the area where the tracker is waiting.

Throughout the day, your guide remains in constant communication with the puma tracker, providing regular updates on the animal’s movements and behavior. Upon reaching the tracker, you will have time to carefully set up your camera equipment and focus on capturing compelling images of these magnificent cats, always maintaining a respectful distance and minimizing disturbance.

Our experienced tracker begins scouting early each morning, increasing the likelihood of sightings. Thanks to their expertise, pumas are observed on approximately 97% of our outings, although, as with any authentic wildlife experience, sightings can never be guaranteed every single day.

In addition to searching for pumas, you will have outstanding opportunities to admire the breathtaking scenery of Torres del Paine National Park. The region hosts a rich variety of waterbirds, and the Torrent Duck can often be observed skillfully navigating the fast-flowing rivers. There is also a strong chance of witnessing Andean condors soaring majestically overhead.

After around seven active hours in the field, you will return to your lodge in the late afternoon, where you can relax, share stories of the day’s encounters, and enjoy a well-deserved dinner before settling in for the night, ready for another extraordinary day in Puma Country.

Overnight at Hotel Estancia El Ovejero Patagonico. (B, BL, D)

After breakfast, we will drive approximately four hours south to one of Patagonia’s most extraordinary viewpoints: the Cerro Palomares Condor Roost Cliff, located within the private 20,000-acre Estancia Olga Teresa Ranch.

From there, a 4WD vehicle will take us up a slope, gaining about 700 feet (210 meters) in elevation to the summit of Cerro Palomares, a prominent outlying foothill at the southern tip of the Andes. Once at the top, we will descend along an open switchback trail, dropping roughly 150 feet (45 meters), until reaching a series of rock ledges approximately 3 meters wide and 50 meters long.

From these natural platforms, you can set up tripods and long lenses to photograph remarkable “below-horizon fly-bys” of Andean condors -the heaviest flying birds in the Americas. In the late afternoon, the roosting cliff below typically hosts between 30 and 80 condors, which soar back and forth at eye level and often beneath the horizon line, creating truly unparalleled photographic opportunities.

The dramatic backdrop of distant mountains, forests, open fields, and ocean channels provides textured, non-sky backgrounds that beautifully highlight the birds’ plumage details and distinctive head colors.

We will spend the afternoon observing and photographing these magnificent birds, before driving approximately 80 minutes to Punta Arenas. Overnight at Hotel Diego de Almagro, Punta Arenas (B, L, D).

Transfer to the airport will be arranged according to your flight schedule, ensuring timely arrival for your journey home.

Please note that hotel check-out is at 12:00 noon. Should your flight depart later in the day, luggage storage can be arranged at the hotel for your convenience. (B)

Puma tracking excursions will be operated either as full-day outings with a box lunch in the field, or divided into two separate sessions (early morning and late afternoon), returning to the hotel for lunch and rest in between. The final schedule will be determined locally by the guide, depending on group preferences, time of year, weather conditions, and puma activity patterns, in order to maximize observation opportunities. Neblina Forest reserves the right to modify or adjust the activities scheduled for these days due to operational, weather, or safety considerations. A certain degree of flexibility is built into the itinerary to maximize wildlife viewing opportunities.