Puma Tracking in Chile: Inside Torres del Paine National Park
I co-guided back-to-back trips to Chile in December 2024, the first time we’d offered Patagonia as a scheduled group departure for Reefs to Rockies. The first trip sold out fast enough that we added a second one right behind it, then a third the following January.
A big part of my job as co-founder of Reefs to Rockies is figuring out the right place at the right time for a given species. Big cats have always been a focal group for us. When big cats are thriving somewhere, it’s usually a sign the whole ecosystem around them is, too.
I live in Colorado, close to some of the best mountain lion habitat in the country. Same species as Patagonia’s puma, different name. And despite the hours I’ve logged in the field here, I’ve never once laid eyes on one in my home state. I imagine that I’ve been seen by at least one, though.
For years, I’d heard the stories about Patagonia’s pumas. That the pumas there were far less wary of people. That protection efforts in and around Torres del Paine had worked. That sighting success rates were running above 75% — a number we watch closely when we’re deciding whether a species earns top billing in an itinerary. We never promise a sighting; these are wild animals. But when we build a trip around one, we want the odds stacked in our guests’ favor.
Turns out, the odds held.
The estancias just outside the park get a lot of the credit for top-notch puma sightings, and from what I’ve seen and heard from local guides, they’ve earned it. But for these three trips, we chose to spend our tracking days inside Torres del Paine itself. Partly because the landscape alone is reason enough to be there even on a slow wildlife day, and partly because a day without a puma still meant condors overhead, guanaco herds scattered across the steppe, and maybe a gray fox skulking in tall grass.
I wasn’t sure what to expect, if I’m honest. Well, that’s not completely true. I did expect a sighting. What I wasn’t sure about was the quality of it. Would the cats be relaxed enough to watch for more than a few minutes? Would we get more than one look? More than one animal?
Yes, and yes, and yes.
It wasn’t until recently that a guest from that first December departure, Darren, sent along some of his photos. Going through them on my laptop, I caught myself saying “wow” out loud, alone, months after the fact. That’s usually how I know a trip worked. When out loud wows happen again. Thank you, Darren.
If pumas are on your big cat list, reach out. We’re happy to talk through the tradeoffs of tracking inside Torres del Paine versus a private estancia nearby, or splitting time between both, along with when to go and how many days you’ll want.
We have two Patagonia small group departures in development: a winter trip in July 2028 built around estancia viewing with one day inside the park — think pumas in snow. And, a longer late-spring itinerary in December 2028, timed to peak wildflower season, with three full days in Torres del Paine and a broader wildlife list: two species of penguins, condors, and pumas. Reach out if either one grabs your attention.