Chile Birding and Puma Tour – Pumas in Torres del Paine, Southern Patagonia

This birding and puma tour visits the southern tip of Patagonia, 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 relatiely approachable 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 puma tour focuses on the observation and photography of this large, elegant cat in the most spectacular area of its entire range. We will spend three full days within Torres del Paine during our search for Puma – this picturesque park ranks as one of the best places to find Puma!

Andean Condor is one of the big targets in the Andes (photo Alejandro Tello).

Along with searching for Puma and other Patagonian wildlife we will also visit a small wetland near Torres del Paine National Park, where we hope to observe the extremely rare Austral Rail.

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