ANDEAN MOUNTAIN CAT PHOTO TOUR
search for Andean mountain cats and desert pampas cats
13 Days
Chile
2 Guests
Extremely Difficult
Very Difficult
Andean Mountain Cat Photo Tour
Photograph the Andean mountain cat and desert pampas cat
Search for one the world's most elusive wild cats, the Andean mountain cat, during our Andean mountain cat photo tour. When we visit the beautiful, seemingly desolate high Andes of Chile, we will also search for the desert pampas cat. These two small cats are home in this rugged, rocky terrain where they hunt viscachas and rodents. This trip is meant for guests with a deep desire to find these very difficult cats in the high altitudes of the Andes. There is a ton of searching involved, with hopes of just glimpses of the cats, but when we do see them, it is absolutely magical.
PHOTOGRAPH THE ELUSIVE ANDEAN MOUNTAIN CAT
SEARCH FOR THE DESERT PAMPAS CAT
EXPLORE THE RUGGED ALTIPLANO OF THE HIGH ANDES
MEET OTHER HIGH ALTITUDE MAMMALS LIKE VISCACHAS
SEE ONE OF THE MOST BEAUTIFUL NIGHT SKIES
LEARN HOW YOU CAN HELP ANDEAN MOUNTAIN CATS
Why we love this Andean mountain cat safari
We created this Andean mountain cat tour for the hard core cat chasers, the people who have seen many, if not most wild cats and now want to pursue seeing and photographing some of the most elusive felines in the world. This tour is not for the faint of heart. It requires putting in long hours, mostly at night, at high altitude, with little to no payoff. When we see the cats, its magic however, and this tour provides the best opportunities to see the elusive Andean mountain cat.
While not as elusive, the desert pampas cat also is very difficult to find, and this tour is located in an area where the cats occur at relatively higher densities, making it your best chance to spot this cat as well. You will do so while exploring the stunning, high altitude plateau known as the altiplano.
Though the altiplano isn't a super diverse ecosystem, it offers chances to see some rather unique animals, like the grumpy-looking viscachas, the elegant vicunas, and the majestic Andean condor. Besides the cats, we will also look for culpeo fox!
Andean cats are classified as endangered, and we strongly believe it is quintessential to learn what the threats are to the species as well as how we can help them. Both aspects are built into the tour.
Other wildlife you can see on this tour
Target wild cats during our Andean mountain cat photo tour
ANDEAN MOUNTAIN CAT (Leopardus jacobita)
The Andean mountain cat is a high-altitude specialist. Some call it the snow leopard of the Andes. Their long, very thick, striped tail distinguish it from the Desert Pampas Cat -- so does their black nose. These extremely elusive cats hunt viscachas and cover large territories in the high altitude plateau of Peru, Bolivia, Argentina and Chile. We consider this the hardest species to find in the Americas and is in the top three for most elusive cats in the world. We do feel confident we are looking in the best places to find Andean cats and have had success on previous tours!
Difficulty: Extremely Difficult
DESERT PAMPAS CAT (Leopardus colocola garleppi)
The desert pampas cat is currently considered a subspecies of pampas cat, but pending on the current review by the IUCN cat specialist group may be elevated to species status. Desert pampas cats look similar to Andean mountain cats, but are smaller, less long, and their tail too is proportionally much shorter. Their nose is pink, compared to the black nose of the Andean mountain cat. They are also less specialized on habitat and prey, and are a little bit easier to find than Andean mountain cats (though still very difficult) -- but are more shy, so are equally as difficult to photograph.
Difficulty: Very Difficult
Other possible wild cats during our safari
PUMA (Puma concolor)
Though there are mountain lions in the area of our Cats of the Andes photo tour, they are incredibly shy and elusive due to a history of persecution in the area. We may spot them at night, but they will not hang around for photos. We have seen them on previous tours to the Andes, but haven't been able to get good photographs. If you want to reliably see pumas, please check out our pumas of Patagonia tour where their rating is easy!
Easy: for the duration of the trip we will have multiple encounters with this wild cat species with good photo opportunities
Medium: we expect to see the wild cat and have at least one, but probably multiple encounters, with good photo opportunities
Difficult: for the duration of the trip, our goal will be to have one encounter with good photographic opportunities
Very Difficult: for the duration of the trip we hope to have one encounter with the cat, whether a good photo opportunity or not
Extremely Difficult: it is extremely unlikely to see this cat, so having even a glimpse of this cat is considered successYou are in good hands, we are Andean mountain cat experts
Our Andean mountain cat photo tour has been organized to absolutely maximize our opportunities to find Andean mountain cats and desert pampas cats in the high Andes. Both of these cats are extremely elusive and simply seeing one individual would be considered a successful tour. We do feel confident we have selected the best time of year, in the best location to maximize our chances of finding these high altitude felines.
Your Cat Expedition trip leaders have spent hundreds, or even thousands of hours in the Andes searching for the Andean mountain cat and desert pampas cats. They know the areas the cats like, and when they are most likely to visit them. We are there for you, every step of the way to get images of the cats in a very challenging environment.
Our local guide has spent more time looking for Andean cats than any other person in the world. He has seen them many times, though as always cautions that these cats are some of the hardest wild cats to find in the world. We rank Andean cats within the top five most elusive wild cats in the world. These cats require patience, and lots of persistence in searching for them.
The desert pampas cat, also known as Garlepp’s pampas cat is also very challenging to find, though slightly less elusive than the Andean cat. We have spotted both cat species on every tour we have run so far, but don't expect that kind of luck to hold for all future tours.
Day 1
Fly into Santiago, Chile, where you will be met by a Cat Expeditions representative and taken to our transfer hotel across the street. Settle in before we meet for a welcome dinner and presentation to discuss the details of the trip!
Day 2
We will take a very early morning flight to northern Chile, from where we will start our ascend into the Andes, crossing the Atacama desert along the way. We will arrive to our acclimatization hotel at 11,500 feet after a three hour drive. We will take it easy for the rest of the day to help with the altitude. At night, we will do some wildlife searching in the surrounding area.
Day 3
For sunrise, we will drive into the high Andes (to about 14,000 feet, where we will look for wildlife like viscachas and vicunas, doing only very short, and slow walks to help with acclimatization. We will drive back down to 11,500 feet to sleep for the night to help our bodies with the altitude.
Day 4
We will drive for two hours back up into the high Andes (14,500 feet) to settle into our very basic homestay accommodations. After lunch, we will continue to take it easy, until the late afternoon, at which point we will start our search for the Andean cats, well into the night, with a break for dinner in between.
Day 5-9
During the day, we take it easy, going out in the afternoon to look for wildlife like vicunas and culpeo fox. We then start the serious cat searching at night time, spending six to seven hours searching for the cats. If we find a cat, we will stay in the area to try and photograph it in the morning as well.
Day 10
We switch to our second location, taking a seven hour drive and dropping in elevation to settle into our new lodging. After dinner, we drive to our search area, where we will look for the cat until about midnight.
Day 11-12
We sleep in for sunrise, and rest up during the day, before spending long hours at night searching for both the Andean Mountain Cat, as well as the Desert Pampas Cat.
Day 13
We drive back four hours to our airport city for our outbound flights.
Itinerary at a glance
14 NIGHTS
13 DAYS
2 HOTELs
1 HOMESTAY
1 DoMESTIC FLIGHT
20 CAR Tours
Mountains
Altiplano
2 SMALL CATS
GAME DRIVES
WALKING SAFARIS
Andean mountain cats in the high Andes itinerary
This Andean mountain cat photo tour itinerary has been designed to give you the best possible opportunity to find one of the rarest and most elusive wild cats in the world. We travel deep into the high Andes of Chile in search of the Andean mountain cat, as well as the desert pampas cat. To our knowledge, no other photography tour specifically targets both of these remarkable felines.
We aren't going to sugarcoat it: this is a tough trip. We operate at high altitude and spend long hours searching, mostly at night when the cats are most likely to be active. If we are fortunate enough to locate a cat after dark, we remain in the area with the hope of finding it again the following morning and having an opportunity to photograph it in daylight.
The altitude, long nighttime searches, very basic accommodations, and simple food make this a trip that can be challenging both physically and mentally. We recommend it specifically for true cat chasers—feline enthusiasts with a deep desire to seek out and experience the world's wild cats. Even when we find our target species, photographic opportunities may be brief and will often occur at night.
We want to be completely transparent about these challenges so that everyone joining us arrives with the right expectations. But there is another side to the story: if seeing an Andean mountain cat or desert pampas cat is high on your wish list, we believe this trip gives you the best opportunity to do so.
And then there is the landscape itself. The high Andes are absolutely spectacular. Vast mountains, volcanoes, windswept plains, and seemingly endless horizons surround you, with few—if any—other people in sight. At times, it genuinely feels as though you've landed on another planet.
It is remote, demanding, and unpredictable—but for the right kind of cat enthusiast, that is exactly what makes this adventure so special.
Andean Mountain Cat Photo Tour Lodging
The two hotels and one homestay used during our Andean Mountain Cat photo tour are located in prime Andean mountain cat habitat, allowing us to stay as close as possible to the areas where we search for the cats. To protect these sensitive locations, the names of all three accommodations will be provided after your booking is finalized, along with photographs of the rooms. If you have any questions about the accommodations before booking, please get in touch—we are happy to provide additional information.
The homestay is extremely, extremely basic. We want to emphasize this so that you arrive with the right expectations. You will have your own private room with a comfortable bed, but lighting inside the room is limited and there is no heating. The bathroom has a flushing toilet, but there is no conventional hot shower. Instead, we heat water that you can use to wash with a bucket. Meals are good and filling, but simple and basic.
The two hotels are considerably more comfortable. Both have heating in the rooms, hot showers, and flushing toilets.
High-speed internet is available at all three accommodations. Laundry service is not available at any of the accommodations.
Conservation impact of our Andean mountain cat photo tour
Our cats of the Andes photo tour, like all Cat Expeditions, has conservation impact built into it. The Andean mountain cat is a naturally low density species, making it particularly susceptible to threats. It is also so understudied that we still don't actually know what its main threats are, though we know that there are multiple human induced issues the cat is facing. These include habitat loss through mining operations and road networks, prey depletion through local hunting, and direct persecution as they are believed to bring good luck when hung as trophies in people's homes.
A percentage of the tour proceeds are donated to the Andean Cat Alliance. The Andean Cat Alliance (Alianza Gato Andino, or AGA) is a multinational conservation network working across Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, and Peru to protect the Andean cat and its high-altitude habitat. Its work combines scientific research, community-based conservation, and education, with researchers using tools such as camera traps, genetic sampling, and radio telemetry to better understand the species’ distribution, ecology, and population connectivity. AGA also works closely with local communities to address some of the cat’s most significant threats, particularly retaliatory killing associated with livestock losses, developing practical methods that allow herders to protect their animals without persecuting native carnivores.
Other initiatives promote sustainable livelihoods, including programs that support local artisans and encourage economic activities compatible with habitat conservation. Education and training are another major focus, with AGA involving students, technicians, community members, and decision-makers in monitoring and conservation. Together, these efforts aim not only to prevent the loss of individual Andean cats, but to create landscapes in which the species, its prey, and local human communities can coexist over the long term.
Conservation at a glance
Andean Mountain Cat Photo Tour Pricing
Price per person: $13,500
Single room supplement: $1,250
The price includes:
- all transportation starting in Santiago
- lodging
- meals (excluding alcohol)
- cat excursions
- guide services of Cat Expeditions trip leader
- English speaking local guide
- conservation donation to Andean Cat Alliance
The price does not include:
- flights to Santiago
- tips
- laundry
- insurance