PUMAS OF PATAGONIA PHOTO TOUR

see Chile's mountain lions

7 Days

Patagonia, Chile

6 Pax

Easy

Difficult

Ethical Puma Photo Tour

Wild Patagonia's incredible pumas

This life-changing puma photo tour will make your heart race as you safely photograph wild pumas at close range in stunning Patagonia. You will experience the natural behavior of these normally elusive cats as you watch cubs play with one another, or adults hunt guanacos, all with the rugged and famous Torres del Paine mountains in the background.

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Puma during our Pumas of Patagonia Photo Tour

COME FACE TO FACE WITH PUMAS IN PATAGONIA

Photographers next to puma during our Pumas of Patagonia Photo Tour

SAFELY ENCOUNTER THESE TOP PREDATORS AT CLOSE RANGE

EXCLUSIVELY SPEND HOURS WITH THE CATS

HIGH CHANCE OF SEEING CUBS

SEE ANDEAN CONDORS FLY AT EYE LEVEL

STAY AT A LUXURY HOTEL CLOSE TO THE PUMAS

Why we love this puma safari

You will create lifelong memories on our puma photo tour as you meet these beautiful cats on their turf. We have designed this tour to get you safely into positions to not only photograph wild pumas, but to have the luxury of spending hours with these cats at a time, getting to watch their natural behavior.

By utilizing the best international and local puma guides and trackers we guarantee ourselves the best opportunities to find and follow the cats. Unlike other tours we also use off-road vehicles meaning we can get to the cats quicker, without the physical strain on our participants.

Nothing beats coming eye-to-eye with a wild puma in Patagonia on one of our incredible puma photo tours. You will fall in love with not just the cats, but particular individuals, like Rupestra who has raised four cubs to adulthood, or Blinka who still hunts successfully with one eye. Maybe Hermanita, who looks more like a male with her stalky body, will even make an appearance. No matter what, your adrenaline will be pumping as you walk the earth with wild pumas.

After photographing pumas at sunrise and sunset, you will get to harness the pure luxury of Los Torres hotel where you enjoy all-inclusive meals with plenty of options for your dietary preferences and beds that have direct views over the Patagonian mountains.

Pumas of Patagonia photo tour testimonials

"Sebastian knows and loves big cats. His passion for them is infectious, and he is simply a joy to be around. The consummate tour guide, he supplies us with useful information, tips, suggestions and a selfless 'can-do' attitude. He uses the best local people for tracking, guiding and accommodation. He is a walk-the-walk conservationist and ensures that significant portions of the tour costs go to local communities and conservation efforts. The fact that we had so many amazing puma encounters was down to incredible teamwork between us (the group), Sebastian, the drivers and trackers/spotters. We got everywhere in good time, and then at each location, we were instructed about the do's and the don'ts - in terms of where to go, how to act and so on. In every case, the pumas come first, and the people second. No image is worth disturbing one of these beautiful animals, and that philosophy rings loud and clear with Sebastian and his team. Sebastian is the epitome of an ethical wildlife photographer. I could not have wished for a more amazing series of encounters and photo opportunities. Hiking in the Andes mountains is not for everyone, but if you are able to join in one of these marvelous expeditions, I humbly suggest you sign up. I will have eternal wonderful memories (and pictures!) from this trip, and HUGE gratitude to Sebastian and his team for making it happen."

- Roy Dunn

"This was beyond a doubt the most incredible wildlife encounter I have ever experienced in my life and went much further than anything I expected during our eight days with Cat Expeditions. The accommodations were stunning, the food was fabulous, the spotters (Junior and Claudio) were uncanny in their ability to find pumas but I will never ever forget the amazing encounters we had with pumas and other wildlife. Sebastian, Melissa and Lailson played a critical role in keeping us positioned at a respectful distance yet always close enough and at the best angles for background and lighting for photographing. The group size was also small enough that none of us got in each other’s way and provided for a truly intimate experience in everything we encountered (the landscape, the pumas, time with the trip leaders and the other wildlife sightings we had)."

- Wendy Sparks

"I travel a great deal to encounter wildlife and this trip exceeded my expectations more than any others I've taken. The tour team, lodging, and smoothness of logistics were all fantastic. But best of all were the incredible opportunities to spend so much time with pumas, getting an intimate look at their daily lives in this spectacular landscape. I was hoping we'd be lucky enough to see a few cats and never in my wildest dreams did I dare to hope for the number of encounters we had at very close range. I am bursting with gratitude for this incredible experience!"

- Karen Povey

"This was without a doubt the best wildlife experience I have had because of the intimate, yet respectful encounters with the pumas. The top priority for our trip leaders, Sebastian and Melissa, was not disrupting the natural behavior of the cats; this approach to observing and photographing wildlife is very important to me. The trackers were superb and shared invaluable information regarding the habitat, the pumas and other wildlife found in the area. The group was small, which was ideal when tracking the cats. Sebastian always made certain everyone in the group was in a good position to observe and photograph the wildlife and he provided help if someone needed support with their camera settings. The trip was well organized and the accommodations and food were excellent. The thrill of spending time with these pumas will always be etched in my memory-truly an epic trip!"

- Jeff Torquemada

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Puma And Torres del Paine mountains

Puma And Torres del Paine mountains
Mountain Lion Stare

Mountain Lion Stare
Puma and Moon

Puma and Moon
Playing Puma Cubs

Playing Puma Cubs
Puma Feeding on Kill

Puma Feeding on Kill
Puma in Patagonia

Puma in Patagonia
Puma in Chile

Puma in Chile
Puma Kitten Nuzzling Mom

Puma Kitten Nuzzling Mom
Puma Kittens in Patagonia

Puma Kittens in Patagonia
Puma Running

Puma Running

Other wildlife you can see on this tour

Running Guanaco

Running Guanaco
Guanaco in Patagonia

Guanaco in Patagonia
Lesser Rhea in Chile

Lesser Rhea in Chile
South American Gray Fox

South American Gray Fox
Southern Caracara

Southern Caracara
Andean Condor Flying

Andean Condor Flying
Austral Parakeet

Austral Parakeet
Black-necked Swan

Black-necked Swan
Chilean Flamingoes in Patagonia

Chilean Flamingoes in Patagonia
Dwarf Armadillo

Dwarf Armadillo

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Target wild cats during our puma photo tour

PUMA (Puma concolor)

Pumas are the main and really only target wild cat for this tour. These cats are extremely elusive in other parts of their range and without the guides it would even be near impossible to see the cats even in Patagonia. However with more than two decades of combined experience, we tend to see and photograph pumas almost, if not every day of the tour.

Difficulty: Easy

Other possible wild cats during our safari

GEOFFROY'S CAT (Leopardus geoffroyi)

This wide-ranging cat does live in the area, but prefers woodland over the pre-Andean shrubland that the pumas tend to occupy. They are also more elusive in this area than other’s so this isn’t the best place to look for them. None of our guides have ever seen a Geoffroy’s cat in the area, but that doesn’t mean it can’t happen.

Difficulty: Extremely Difficult

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 success

You are in good hands, we are Puma experts

Our puma photo tour is our longest running safari that we offer and we have dialed in all the details to create a life-changing experience for you. Patagonia is by far the best place in the world to see pumas and we do so reliably during our trips. To create encounters that both benefit you and don’t harm the cats, we have chosen specific local guides as well as one of the world’s leading ethical photographers, Sebastian Kennerknecht.

Sebastian has travelled to southern Patagonia extensively having spent over three hundred hours with these cats and knows the individuals, their personalities, and their behaviors extremely well. Sebastian is a multi-award winning photographer and will help you with your photography needs. He also has a degree in behavioral ecology which allows him to predict what the animal will do next.

Besides having Sebastian by your side for guidance at all times, we have hand picked the best local guides who have spent years with Patagonia’s pumas.

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Day 1
Fly into Puerto Natales in southern Chile. You will be met by a cat expeditions representative at the airport and will be taken to the hotel. Settle into hotel before meeting everyone for dinner.

Hotel Los Torres

Mountain Lions during our Pumas of Patagonia Photo Tour

Day 2-6
Look for and photograph pumas using two pick-up trucks at sunrise. During this time you will be with your photo tour guide, local puma guide, and two trackers. Come back to the hotel for a late breakfast. Relax at hotel and have lunch. Go back out for pumas in Patagonia’s beautiful landscape at sunset. Dinner back at the hotel.

Hotel Los Torres

Double rainbow with lakes and mountains, Cuernos del Paine, Torres del Paine National Park, Patagonia, Chile

Day 7
Breakfast at the hotel. We will look for endangered huemul deer and woodpeckers in the western part of Torres del Paine National Park. From there we will drive back to Puerto Natales for your outbound flights.

Itinerary at a glance

6 NIGHTS
7 DAYS

1 Lodge

10 CAT EXCURSIONS

SHRUBLAND
MOUNTAINS
MAGELLANIC FOREST

1 BIG CAT

HIKING SAFARIS

Pumas in glorious Patagonia itinerary

This itinerary was designed to give you the best opportunity to experience wild pumas in the beautiful mountain landscape of southern Patagonia. Unlike many other big cat safaris, you get to experience these top predators exclusively on foot at their eye level.

To ensure maximum chances of seeing and photographing the pumas, we use not only the best guides, but also hire extra trackers that have extensive knowledge of the area and the mountain lions that use it. This also means that once we find a puma, we will be able to approach the cats safely to within twenty-five yards. If the cats want to come even closer, which they sometimes do, that is their choice.

Even though the surrounding mountains are beautiful, all of our hiking is done close to sea level with altitude not playing a role, and the mountains serving as a backdrop rather than an obstacle. However, the pumas do require us to hike up hills, so it pays to be in decent physical shape. We, unlike other tours, utilize four wheel vehicles however to get us as close to the pumas as possible without exhausting ourselves.

Besides providing you the opportunity to see and photograph wild cats, we at Cat Expeditions make your travel experience hassle free. Upon booking, you will be sent a full itinerary that includes what to bring and how to prepare. Once you land in Puerto Natales, you can focus on enjoying yourself as all the travel logistics are not only taken care off, but optimized to give you the most time to enjoy the spectacular beauty of the pumas of Patagonia.

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Hotel Los Torres, Patagonia, Chile

Hotel Los Torres is one of the closest hotels to the puma area. With large, beautiful rooms that look over mount Paine, it is perfectly located for our excursions. The restaurant provides delicious meals with enough flexibility for our particular schedule. The hotel provides elegance, modern amenities and warm, friendly service.

WIFI is available for free. Laundry service is available for a small fee.

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Conservation impact of our puma photo tour

Our puma photo tour, like all Cat Expeditions, has conservation impact built into it. In southern Chile, the biggest threat to pumas is being killed by livestock farmers.

Our expedition takes place on a private ranch, or estancia, adjacent to Torres del Paine National Park. The ranch, once a working farm, converted to puma ecotourism in 1996. For years pumas were seen as a threat to farming, and were often killed. Through community conservation efforts, pumas are now protected by ranchers and more are converting their properties to ecotourism.

In addition to paying for access to private puma territory, a percentage of the tour proceeds are donated to Panthera, the world’s leading wild cat conservation organization, who is running a research project in the area.

Conservation at a glance

FUNDING PUMA research

FUNDING PUMA ADVOCACY

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Pumas of Patagonia Photo Tour Dates

November 16th-23rd, 2024 (SOLD OUT)

December 5th-11th, 2025 (SOLD OUT)

November 29th - December 5th, 2026 (6 spots available)

Pumas of Patagonia Photo Tour Pricing

2025 Price per person: 14,950 USD

Single room supplement: 1,600 USD

The price includes:
- all transportation starting in Puerto Natales
- high-end lodging
- meals, basic alcohol
- puma excursions, using 4x4 vehicles
- guide services of Sebastian Kennerknecht
- guide services of Rachel Tobias
- English speaking local guide
- puma tracker
- conservation donation to Panthera

The price does not include:
- flights to Puerto Natales
- premium alcohol
- tips
- laundry
- insurance

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