Our first full day in Chile begins with a ferry ride to Tierra del Fuego to explore the last corner of the American continent. As we cross the legendary Magellanic Strait, we’ll keep an eye out for pelagic species including albatrosses, petrels, and shearwaters. King Penguins are the second largest penguin in the world behind the Emperor. They’re usually found on remote islands, but a colony has established itself at Useless Bay. With recent protection measures, the King Penguin colony continues to grow in size. This is an excellent opportunity to observe this charismatic species with far less travel time involved. There’s also time for birding and wildlife viewing at Laguna de los Cisnes Natural Monument.

Accommodations: Hotel Cerro Sombrero

Meals: Breakfast and Boxed Lunch

We’ll depart early this morning with a 45-min ferry ride across the Strait of Magellan. From there, we’ll begin our long journey north towards Torres del Paine National Park. We’ll break up the drive with several stops along the way including at a steppe area that’s home to avian specialties including Ruddy-headed Goose, Tawny-thorated Dotterel, and Darwin’s Rhea. As we get close to the mountains, we should start seeing the first herds of guanacos. Our day ends with an authentic estancia barbecue.

Accommodations: Hotel Ovejero Patagonico

Meals: Breakfast, Boxed Lunch, and Dinner

Each day, we’ll leave the hotel at dawn to be among the first visitors to enter the national park so we can take advantage of the first hours of daylight when pumas are more active. Our puma tracker-guide has extensive knowledge of resident pumas and will take us to different hunting areas. We’ll spend full days in the field to maximize our chances of seeing a variety of behaviors and multiple individuals. Outside of puma prime time, we’ll spend time looking for other species of interest alongside our naturalist guides. After dark, we can embark on a nocturnal outing to see if we can find pumas in action, as well as owls including the Austral Pygmy-Owl, Barn Owl, and Magellanic Horned Owl.

Accommodations: Hotel Ovejero Patagonico

Meals: Breakfast, Boxed Lunch, and Dinner

We’ll depart early to make our way back to Punta Arenas. Along the way, we’ll stop at a spectacular roosting hotspot for Andean Condors, the largest terrestrial flying bird in the world. Here, hundreds of adult and juvenile condors take advantage of thermals currents to take off and explore the area in search of carcasses. The view from the edge of the canyon is amazing. Our lunch will be at a local estancia where we can share highlights from our week’s adventures together. Plan to depart at 10 pm or later. If you would like to spend an additional night in Punta Arenas before flying home, we’ll assist with those arrangements.

Meals: Breakfast and Lunch