While Torres del Paine and Patagonia have become world-famous for their dramatic landscapes and the pumas that live in them, our tour will offer you just a bit more than others. We focus on pumas and their role in the ecosystem and will follow these enigmatic cats during the day and nighttime. We use thermal cameras to follow the pumas during hours of low light and try to show you all the fascinating behaviors that make these cats so interesting. As an ultimate highlight, we will try to witness live hunting and see social interactions between the pumas. Additionally, you can expect breathtaking landscapes and a range of interesting species, such as the guanaco, skunk, Geoffrey’s cat, South American grey fox, Andean condor, and king penguins, during a special excursion. Not only will we observe and photograph the pumas, but we will also learn a great deal about their behavior, guided by a carnivore specialist in conservation biology. The puma tracking will be done from the vehicle and on foot; moderate fitness is required if participants want to hike, but the hikes are not necessary to see the pumas. We choose to do our puma tracking tours in May because of the relatively low numbers of tourists in the park around that time and favorable weather conditions.

Torres del Paine is located in the far south of Chile, and, with almost 2000km2, is home to over 50 pumas. The park and surrounding areas are a conservation success story, and many of the privately owned ranches have moved from sheep farming (and killing pumas) to eco-tourism, in which the pumas are beneficial to the ranchers and now receive protection.