Pumas, Penguins & Whales; Wildlife Tour

Day 1: Transfer to Torres del Paine; Hotel El Ovejero

After meeting your guide in Punta Arenas, either at your hotel or at the airport, you will be transferred in a private vehicle to the Torres del Paine National Park. During your journey to the park, we'll stop to try to find guanacos, southern grey foxes, and Patagonian skunks while enjoying the first of the southern beech (Nothofagus) forests. In the valleys, we'll be given a geological introduction to the origins of the Torres del Paine – one of the most iconic sights in Patagonia.

Meals: Picnic lunch, dinner
Accommodation: Hotel El Ovejero or similar

Days 2,3 & 4: Puma tracking at Amarga Lagoon; Hotel El Ovejero

There will be a busy schedule of dawn 'til dusk searches for pumas in this area. We'll inspect the known puma hunting grounds in the east of the park. The area bounded by the north coast of Lake Sarmiento Lake, Amarga Lagoon and Azul Lagoon is well-known for having one of the largest populations of pumas in the wild.

February through to April is a particularly good time to spot them as the females are actively hunting to provide food for their growing cubs. At this time of year, they are not active just by night, but also during the twilight hours. To see a female puma and her large cubs against this stunning mountain backdrop is one of the most impressive wildlife spectacles. In the company of your guide and puma tracker, you will attempt to spot puma family groups at a respectful distance with the help of binoculars and spotting scopes.

If you have time, you'll also have the chance to look for other mammals including the ubiquitous guanaco, the local Andean deer, the Patagonian hog-nosed skunk and the two canine species present in the park, chilla and culpeo foxes. You may even have a rare sighting of a huemul deer. 

Meals: Breakfast, picnic lunch, dinner
Accommodation: Hotel El Ovejero or similar

Day 5: Transfer to Punta Arenas; Hotel Diego de Almagro

During the morning we'll continue exploring different areas of the park including Azul Lagoon, on the eastern side of the park, from where we'll have fantastic views. This will be a fitting finale to this part of your adventure.

Later, you'll be transferred to Punta Arenas.

Meals: Breakfast, picnic lunch
Accommodation: Hotel Diego de Almagro or similar, Punta Arenas

Day 6: Tierra del Fuego King Penguin Reserve; Hosteria Yendegaia

We'll start our journey with a private transfer from your hotel to the ferry dock north of Punta Arenas. At around 9am we'll begin our 2-hour crossing of the mythic waters of the Straits of Magellan; these world-famous seaways are very rich in exploration history. Magellan, Drake, Cavendish, Bougainville, Fitz Roy and Darwin, among several other sailors and explorers, surveyed this region, often in extremely harsh and dangerous conditions.

We'll see an interesting array of seabirds, including black-browed albatross, southern giant petrel, southern fulmar, imperial cormorant, dolphin gull and South American tern. We're also highly likely to see interesting marine mammals such as pods of Peale's dolphin and inquisitive South American sea lions. As soon as we land you will notice that the landscape on this part of Tierra del Fuego is dominated by flat wind-swept steppes, with tussock grasses and low shrubs, and interspersed with rolling hills. We'll stop at the town of Porvenir, visiting a pioneer home, our lovely and cosy hotel, Hosteria Yendegaia. Here we'll have a quick coffee or tea with snacks.

From here we'll drive for approximately 2 hours along the shore of Useless Bay where we can expect to see a huge variety of wildlife including guanaco, southern grey fox, the ubiquitous upland goose, Chilean flamingo and a wide diversity of waterfowl and shorebirds. At sea, we might see albatrosses, petrels, gulls and skuas patrolling the choppy waters of the bay.

At King Penguin Park we'll have a short introduction on how best to visit and approach the king penguins. This is a private nature reserve which aims to preserve the small numbers of king penguins that visit the area and even remain here year-round, taking advantage of the excellent feeding opportunities in the surrounding seas. We'll have plenty of opportunity to observe and photograph the penguins from a reasonable distance – the maximum approach distance will be given by the guide and must be respected at all times during your visit.

Meals: Breakfast, picnic lunch, dinner
Accommodation: Hosteria Yendegaia or similar, in Porvenir 

Day 7: Magellan Straits; Hotel Diego de Almagro

Spend a relaxing morning exploring the surroundings of Porvenir to photograph and learn about the native wildlife and history of this remote region of Patagonia. We'll visit alkaline pools, home to large groups of migratory birds such as sandpipers and plovers, but the goal will be to photograph Chilean flamingos. Later we'll explore the coast to see some of the numerous shipwrecks that have occurred in these seas over the years.

After lunch, we'll board the ferry and sail back across the Strait of Magellan to Punta Arenas. By taking the short ferry at Punta Delgada we'll have great chances of seeing the striking Commerson's dolphin, plus other interesting wildlife.

Meals: Breakfast, picnic lunch
Accommodation: Hotel Diego de Almagro or similar, Punta Arenas

Day 8: Boat trip to Carlos III Island; Eco Camp Carlos III

Early in the morning, we'll board our boat 'Tanu' for a fascinating 8-hour journey which starts with us sailing towards the Francisco Coloane Marine Park. This magnificent park protects the marine biodiversity of the western branch of the Strait of Magellan and includes Carlos III Island which harbours a vast and unique biological diversity. This is due, in part, to the mixing of the two oceans (Pacific and Atlantic) which produce the upwelling, the strong winds, the presence of glaciers and the dismembered coastline.

This park is also home to a summer population of humpback whales and occasionally sei whale and orca which use these waters as feeding grounds.

We'll spend the night in comfortable twin-bedded domes at Eco Camp Carlos III at the Biological Station. We'll have shared bathroom facilities at this location.

Meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner
Accommodation: Eco Camp Carlos III, Carlos III Island

Day 9: Watching humpback whales; Eco Camp Carlos III

Today we'll enjoy 8-10 hours out watching humpback whales, sea lions, fur seals and Magellanic penguins.

We'll start with another humpback whale-watching session aboard our vessel in the morning and if we're lucky, we may see the endemic and scarce Chilean dolphin while sailing these waters.

We'll also visit large breeding colonies of sea lions, fur seals and Magellanic penguins. There will be a lecture by the scientists working on long-term population studies on these whales to explain several tagging and identification techniques. The whole afternoon will be spent watching these whales at close quarters and with no other visitors. This intimate experience will be enhanced by the surrounding beauty of the mountains, glaciers and pristine forests. Please note that wildlife sightings cannot be guaranteed but are highly likely during the summer.

We'll spend another night at Eco Camp Carlos III.

Meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner
Accommodation: Eco Camp Carlos III, Carlos III Island

Day 10: Transfer to Punta Arenas; Hotel Diego de Almagro

After enjoying the diversity of marine mammals and seabirds of this park, it is time to travel back to Punta Arenas. Along the 8-hour journey, we'll discover the rich diversity of seabirds on these seaways – black-browed albatross, southern giant petrel, Chilean skua and cormorants, as well as pods of Peale's dolphin and the ubiquitous South American sea lion.

If there is enough time, we'll take a trip, equipped with magnifying glasses, to discover the lichen- and moss-rich biodiversity of the sub-Antarctic forests.

Meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner
Accommodation: Hotel Diego de Almagro or similar, Punta Arenas

Day 11: Transfer to Punta Arenas Airport

After breakfast at the hotel, you'll be transferred to Punta Arenas Airport.

Meals: Breakfast