2025-26 Trip Calendar
2025
Pumas, Penguins & Whales:
December 11 to 21, 2025
Birding Patagonia: January 20 to 25, 2025 • October 27 to November 1, 2025
Pumas & Birds of Patagonia: December 7 to 13, 2025
Patagonia Photo Expedition: April 9 to 15, 2025 • December 10 to 16, 2025
Mammals & Birds of Patagonia:
March 5 to 18, 2025
Patagonia Explorer: January 11 to 20, 2025 • October 4 to 13, 2025
Patagonia Park & Aysen: April 15 to 25, 2025
Patagonia Botanical Tour: December 8 to 14, 2025
Patagonian Pumas Photography
Trip: April 17 to 22, 2025 • July 1 to 6, 2025 • October 23 to 28, 2025
• December 6 to 11, 2025
Tierra del Fuego Explorer: April 16 to 21, 2025
Quest for the Fuegian Snipe: November 2 to 5, 2025
Expedition to Noir Island: November 15 to 22, 2025
The Right Whales of the Valdes Peninsula: October 15 to 19, 2025
Chile’s Best Wildlife: November 3 to 21, 2025
Birding Chile: October 16 to 26, 2025
Birds & Wines of Chile & Argentina: February 16 to 28, 2025
Birding Northern Chile: October 11 to 15, 2025
Birding Chile’s Lake District: October 22 to 26, 2025
Small Cats of the High Andes: April 9 to 16, 2025 • September 9 to 16, 2025
Atacama Desert Explorer: January 5 to 10, 2025 • September 28 to October 3, 2025
Coastal Atacama Desert: September 23 to 27, 2025
Araucaria Forests: April 26 to May
1, 2025
Chiloé Island Wildlife Adventure: November 9 to 14, 2025
The Tepuhueico Woodlands: April 23 to 28, 2025 • September 17 to 22, 2025
Masatierra Island Wildlife Adventure: November 4 to 8, 2025
Birding Expedition to Alexander Selkirk Island: December 6 to 20, 2025
Birding Expedition to the Desventuradas Islands: November 1 to 14, 2025
Easter Island Wildlife Explorer
November 15 to 19, 2025
Rapa Nui Seabird Adventure: September 23 to 27, 2025 • November 2 to 6, 2025
North-Western Argentina
Photography Adventure: March 20 to 29, 2025
Birding Mendoza: October 11 to 15, 2025
Falkland Islands Wildlife Explorer: March 1 to 8, 2025
Falklands, South Georgia & Antarctica: February 20 to March 14, 2025 • October 22 to November 11, 2025
South Georgia Explorer: November 13 to 27, 2025
Weddell Sea - in search of the Emperor Penguin: November 11 to 21, 2025
Atlantic Odyssey: March 23 to April 25, 2025
2026
Pumas, Penguins & Whales: December 10 to 20, 2026
Birding Patagonia: January 19 to 24, 2026 • October 26 to 31, 2026
Pumas & Birds of Patagonia: December 6 to 12, 2026
Patagonia Photo Expedition: April 8 to 14, 2026 • December 9 to 15, 2026
Mammals & Birds of Patagonia: March 4 to 17, 2026
Patagonia Explorer: January 10 to 19, 2026 • October 3 to 12, 2026
Patagonia Park & Aysen: April 14 to 24, 2026
Patagonia Botanical Tour: December 7 to 13, 2026
Patagonian Pumas Photography
Trip: April 17 to 22, 2026 • July 1 to 6, 2026 • October 23 to 28, 2026
• December 6 to 11, 2026
Tierra del Fuego Explorer: April 15 to 20, 2026
Quest for the Fuegian Snipe: November 1 to 4, 2026
Expedition to Noir Island: November 14 to 21, 2026
The Right Whales of the Valdes Peninsula: October 14 to 18, 2026
Chile’s Best Wildlife: November 2 to 20, 2026
Birding Chile: October 15 to 25, 2025
Birds & Wines of Chile & Argentina: February 15 to 27, 2026
Birding Northern Chile: October 10 to 14, 2026
Birding Chile’s Lake District: October 21 to 25, 2026
Small Cats of the High Andes: April 8 to 16, 2026 • September 8 to 15, 2026
Atacama Desert Explorer: January 4 to 9, 2026 • September 27 to October 2, 2026
Coastal Atacama Desert: September 22 to 26, 2026
Araucaria Forests: April 25 to 30, 2026
Chiloé Island Wildlife Adventure: November 8 to 13, 2026
The Tepuhueico Woodlands: April 23 to 28, 2026 • September 16 to 21, 2026
Masatierra Island Wildlife Adventure: November 3 to 7, 2026
Birding Expedition to Alexander Selkirk Island: December 5 to 19, 2026
Birding Expedition to the Desventuradas Islands: October 31 to November 13, 2026
Easter Island Wildlife Explorer November 14 to 18, 2026
Rapa Nui Seabird Adventure: January 25 to 29, 2026 • November 1 to 5, 2026
North-Western Argentina
Photography Adventure: March 19 to 28, 2026
Birding Mendoza: October 10 to 14, 2026
Falkland Islands Wildlife Explorer: January 3 to 10, 2026
Falklands, South Georgia & Antarctica: February 16 to March
Atlantic Odyssey: April 1 to May 4, 2026
Pumas, Penguins & Whales
Departures
11-day trip from Punta Arenas, Chile
2024: March 1 to 11 • December 12 to 22
2025: March 7 to 17 • December 11 to 21
Trip Code: PAT07
This programme is operated on a fixed departure date, with a minimum of 3 participants and a maximum group size of 7 guests. This programme is also operated as a customized, private trip, with a minimum of 2 participants. Transfers from/to El Calafate, Argentina are available. Available from December until April.
Frequently
praised by visitors from all over the world as one of the most beautiful and majestic wild places in the planet, Torres del Paine National Park is a remote refuge of life where wildlife is normally quite tame and it’s not rare to see relaxed and inquisitive guanacos, foxes and other animals at close quarters; seeing the lone hunter that dwells in the vast and barren hills, the mighty Puma, is something else. This first section of our three-prong quest has been geared to seek out and contemplate this big and elegant cat in one the wildest places throughout its entire range in the Continent. The King Penguin is the second largest species of penguin after the Emperor and certainly one of the most colorful and attractive members of the group. The second part of our journey takes us to see these magni cent seabirds in their natural habitat. Few places in the world offer good access and chances to see them in the wild like Useless Bay in Tierra del Fuego, making this, the only continental American breeding colony, a very special one indeed. The third part of our trip takes us to Carlos III Island, located at the heart of the recently established Francisco Coloane Marine Park in the mythic Straits of Magellan, to find some of its most charismatic and usually elusive
inhabitants, Humpback Whales. We will see these imposing creatures and other marine mammals of the subAntarctic region at close quarters, as well as a good diversity of seabirds. Also, we will visit remote penguin colonies as well as other seabirds’ rookeries. We will be based one night at San Isidro Lodge, located besides the homonymous historic lighthouse, and two nights at the domes of the research facilities at Carlos III Island, the perfect location to see the Humpbacks and marvel at their social behavior and feeding techniques.
Itinerary in Brief
Day 1 • Punta Arenas – Torres del Paine
National Park (4 nights)
Days 2-4 • Exploring Torres del Paine NP –Puma searches
Day 5 • Torres del Paine NP – Transfer to Punta Arenas (1 night)
Day 6 • Ferry to Tierra del Fuego – Useless Bay for King penguins (1 night)
Day 7 • Tierra del Fuego – Straits of Magellan –Punta Arenas (1 night)
Day 8 • Boat trip to Carlos III Island – Afternoon looking for Humpback Whales (2 nights)
Day 9 • Carlos III Island – Whale Sound
Day 10 • Carlos III Island – Punta Arenas (1 night)
Day 11 • End of the trip
The Ultimate Patagonia Wildlife Trip
Birding Patagonia
Discovering the Birds & Landscapes of the End of the World
Departures
6-day trip from Punta Arenas, Chile
2024: January 22 to 27
• November 5 to 10
2025: January 21 to 26
Code: PAT03
This programme is operated on a fixed departure date, with a minimum of 3 participants and a maximum group size of 7 guests. This programme is also operated as a customized, private trip, with a minimum of 2 participants.
this exclusive birding journey and discover the unique bird diversity in the remote regions and dazzling landscapes of Chilean Patagonia & Tierra del Fuego. Enjoy the pace of a small group and the expertise and skill of our well-seasoned birding guides. Seabirds like Black- browed Albatross, Antarctic Giant Petrel, Magellanic Diving Petrel and Chilean Skua, waterfowl like Upland, Ashy-headed and Ruddyheaded geese, stunning waders including Magellanic Plover, Twobanded Plover, Rufous-chested Dotterel, Tawny-throated Dotterel and several seedsnipes, King and Magellanic penguins, remarkable forest-dwelling birds such as Magellanic Woodpecker, Austral Parakeet and Chilean Hawk, will be part of this trip, with the occasional presence of the imposing Andean Condor, largest of terrestrial ying birds, soaring above our heads. Chile’s Torres del Paine National Park is a UNESCO World Biosphere Reserve, regarded as one
of the world’s most beautiful national parks. A large diversity of habitats in the park includes steppes, scrub and sub-Antarctic forests, all set between mountains and glaciers in dramatic landscapes of extraordinary beauty.
Departures
11-day trip from Punta Arenas, Chile
2024: February 18 to 24 • December 14 to 20
2025: February 16 to 22 • December 13 to 19
Trip Code: PAT07
This programme is operated on a fixed departure date, with a minimum of 3 participants and a maximum group size of 7 guests. This programme is also operated as a customized, private trip, with a minimum of 2 participants. Transfers from/to El Calafate, Argentina are available.
Available from December until April.
Pumasand Birds of Patagonia is one of our most comprehensive wildlife programs, aimed to discover the rich biodiversity of the remote areas of southern Chile.
During trip we will have two full days (with four sessions) to look and photograph Patagonian Pumas, in the stunning area of Torres del Paine National Park and Estancia Laguna Amarga. In addition to that, we offer a very comprehensive birding itinerary, in order to see most of the Patagonian bird specialties: from King Penguins and Andean Condors to Magellanic Plover and Magellanic Woodpecker, among several other unique species.
On this week itinerary, we will cover a variety of productive birding habitats, including wind-swept steppes, alkaline lakes and lagoons, channels and fjords, subantarctic woodlands and dramatic mountain regions, all encompassing a fascinating cast of birds and mammals.
Besides the charismatic Puma, other mammals will be possible to ob-
serve and photograph during this trip, including Guanaco, Southern Huemul, Culpeo and Chilla Foxes, Large Hairy Armadillo, Hog-nosed Skunk, Commerson’s and Peale’s Dolphins, among others. Join us in 2024 & 2025, on this fascinating journey to the dazzling regions of Chilean Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego to discover its best wildlife, traveling in a small group and enjoying the leadership and skills of our experienced guides.
Watching Pumas, Mammals, Penguins and Birds in southern Chile Pumas & Birds of Patagonia
Patagonia Photo Expedition
Discovering the Birds & Landscapes of the End of the World
Departures
7-day trip from Punta Arenas, Chile
2024: March 19 to 25 • December 10 to 16
2025: March 18 to 24 • December 9 to 15
Trip Code: PAT01
This programme is operated on a fixed departure date, with a minimum of 3 participants and a maximum group size of 7 guests. This programme is also operated as a customized, private trip, with a minimum of 2 participants.
Transfers from/to El Calafate, Argentina are available
Landscapeand wildlife photography tour to Patagonia led by resident nature photographers. Discover the best of Patagonia on this exclusively designed, photo-oriented journey; stay at great nature lodges and historic guest houses, learn about nature photography during our photo workshops, enjoy and document the best wildlife encounters, learn from thorough natural history interpretation, and experience the comfort of travelling in a small group, with a maximum group size of 7 participants. Magellanic and King penguins, flamingos, sea lions, glaciers, breathtaking scenery, the mythical Tierra del Fuego Island and Straits of Magellan, the stunning Torres del Paine National Park and much more are all part of this, the ultimate photo journey to Patagonia.
Itinerary in Brief
Day 1 • Punta Arenas – Magdalena Island for Magellanic penguins –Torres del Paine
National Park – Torres del Paine (3 nights)
Day 2 • Torres del Paine NP (western sector) –
Boat trip to Grey Glacier
Day 3 • Torres del Paine NP (eastern sector) –
Laguna Amarga and Laguna Azul
Day 4 • Torres del Paine NP (eastern sector)
– Lago Sarmiento – Mylodon Cave Natural
Monument – Puerto Natales (1 night)
Day 5 • Pali Aike road – Ferry to Tierra del Fuego – Useless Bay for King penguins –Porvenir (1 night)
Day 6 • Straits of Magellan – Ferry to Punta Arenas – Punta Arenas (1 night)
Day 7 • End of the tour
Departures
14-day trip from Puerto Montt, Chile
2024: Mar 4 - Mar 17
2025: Mar 5 - Mar 18
Code: PAT06
This programme is operated on a fixed departure date, with a minimum of 3 participants and a maximum group size of 7 guests. This programme is also operated as a customized, private trip, with a minimum of 2 participants.
Thiscomprehensive itinerary presents us with the unique chance of exploring Patagonia and its mammals and birds. Most of the tours coming to the area are focused on beautiful landscapes and on the bigger animals that are the easiest to watch; with us, besides exploring and admiring the landscapes you will see a signi cant part of the endemic mammals and birds of the region, several of them very rare and/or dif cult to observe. Ferry crossings in Chiloe Island and the Magellan Straits are both very good for seabirds and marine mammals: Blue and Humpback whales and other cetaceans such as Chilean and Peale’s dolphins, South American Sea Lion, two species of local and highly range-restricted otters. Magni cent seabirds including several tubenoses like Black-browed Albatross, Southern Giant Petrel, Southern Fulmar and Wilson’s Storm Petrel, and up to three penguin species including Humboldt, Magellanic and King. In land, up to three species of fox including Darwin’s, Chilla and Culpeo, Puma and Guanaco, Huemul Deer, Hairy Armadillo, Patagonian Hog-nosed Skunk, Patagonian Weasel, and other mammals of the Valdivian temperate rainforest like the tiny Pudu Deer and hopefully Kodkod, one of the world’s rarest cats. Forest birds such as the magni cent Magellanic Woodpecker and endemic tapaculos, and rare waders including Magellanic Plover, Tawnythroated Dotterel, Rufous-chested Dotterel, Two-banded Plover and seedsnipes. As you can see, the variety of subjects on this quest
for the mammals and birds of Patagonia is almost endless ... like the memories you’ll keep of this memorable experience.
Day 1 • Puerto Montt – Chiloé Island and Tepuhueico Park (3 nights)
Day 2 • Tepuhueico Park for Darwin’s Fox, Pudu deer and woodland birds
Day 3 • Tepuhueico and Tantauco Parks
Day 4 • Yaldad Inlet boat trip for Chilean Dolphin – Castro (1 night)
Day 5 • Chepu river for Southern River OtterPuñihuil (2 nights)
Day 6 • Boat trip to Puñihuil and Metalqui islands for marine mammals and seabirds
Day 7 • Caulin Bay – Puerto Montt (1
Watching Pumas, Mammals, Penguins and Birds in southern Chile
Mammals & Birds of Patagonia
Patagonia Explorer
Exploring the Remote Regions of Chile & Argentina
Departures
10-day trip from Punta Arenas, Chile
2024: January 13 to 22
• October 5 to 14
2025: January 11 to 20
• October 4 to 13
Trip Code: PAT02
This programme is operated on a fixed departure date, with a minimum of 3 participants and a maximum group size of 7 guests. This programme is also operated as a customized, private trip, with a minimum of 2 participants. Transfers from/to El Calafate, Argentina are available.
Discoverthe Best of Patagonia on this in-depth nature tour and photo journey; great nature lodges, the best wildlife encounters and thorough nature interpretation. Experience the comfort of travelling in a small group. This itinerary features visits to Patagonia’s premier wildlife destinations: Torres del Paine and Los Glaciares National Parks, in Chile and Argentina respectively, as well as the Straits of Magellan and Tierra del Fuego for King Penguins. Explore colossal glaciers, Perito Moreno in Argentina and Grey in Chile’s Torres del Paine; visit Magdalena Island Magellanic penguin colony, and the fascinating paleontological site of Mylodon Cave. Meet the locals while enjoying a shearing show and shepherd dog demonstration at a typical Patagonian farm.
Patagonia Park & Aysen
A Nature & Photography Journey to Uttermost Patagonia
Itinerary
in Brief
Day 1 • Punta Arenas - Condor watching
Day 2 • Magellan Straits ferry - Exploring Tierra del Fuego
Day 3 • King Penguin reserve – Flight to Punta Arenas
Day 4 • Magdalena Island penguin colonyCerro Negro gaucho farm
Day 5 • Mylodon Cave - Torres del Paine
National Park - Hike Nordenskjöld Lake
Day 6 • Western Torres del Paine - Boat trip to Grey Glacier
Day 7 • Puma tracking - Eastern Torres del Paine - Visit Laguna Azul
Day 8 • Drive to El Calafate, Argentina - Visit Laguna Nimez Reserve
Day 9 • Visit Estancia Nibepo - Perito Moreno
Glacier
Day 10 • End of the trip
Departures
10-day trip from Balmaceda, Chile
2024: April 16 to 24
2025: April 15 to 23
Trip Code: PAT21
This programme is operated on a fixed departure date, with a minimum of
3 participants and a maximum group size of 7 guests.
This programme is also operated as a customized, private trip, with a minimum of 2 participants.
Aysén,an intriguing name for a still relatively unknown region of southern Chile. Dense rainforests, myriad of islands, vast steppes and secluded glaciers form a mosaic of habitats, transforming it in one of the most scenic regions of the whole of Patagonia. On this nature photography trip, we will concentrate in documenting these inspiring and beautiful landscapes during a very special time of the year, the southern autumn. The hillsides of the southern Andes, acquire a striking reddish coloration as the beech forests start to lose their foliage. The massive San Rafael Glacier is a highlight of this region on its own right and is always one of our guest’s favorites; massive ice growlers of sensational texture provide the habitat for a scattered colony of Leopard Seal. We will have a dedicated boat outing to photograph the fascinating colors and patterns of the Marble Caves immersed in the torquoise waters of the vast General Carrera Lake. And finally,
we will explore the newly established Patagonia National Park and nearby areas, where Guanacos and Huemul Deer thrive in this enormous area devoted to conservation.
We are certain that this comprehensive natural history and photography itinerary will be a satisfying journey of discovery to the End of the World.
Itinerary in Brief
Day 1 • Balmaceda - Cerro Castillo - Overnight Coyhaique (2 nights)
Day 2 • Coyhaique Alto
Day 3 • Cerro Castillo - Overnight Puerto Chacabuco (2 nights)
Day 4 • Boat trip to San Rafael Glacier
Day 5 • Cerro Castillo - Puerto Tranquilo (2 nights)
Day 6 • Marble Caves - Exploradores valley
Day 7 • Drive to Cochrane (overnight Hotel Ultima Paradiso)
Day 8 • Patagonia National Park and nearby areas
Day 9 • Baker River - Puerto Tranquilo (1 night)
Day 10 • Drive to Balmaceda - End of the trip
Patagonia Botanical Tour
Botanizing at the End of the World
Departures
7-day trip from Punta Arenas, Chile
2024: December 9 to 15
2025: December 8 to 14
Trip Code: PAT04
This programme is operated on a fixed departure date, with a minimum of 3 participants and a maximum group size of 7 guests. This trip is also operated as a customized, private trip, with a minimum of 2 participants, from late October until early January.
Transfers from/to El Calafate, Argentina are available.
Nature
journey designed exclusively for botanists, plant enthusiasts and flower photographers willing to discover the surprising diversity of flora and vegetation in the southernmost regions of Patagonia. On this trip you will visit Chile’s impressive and world-famous Biosphere Reserve Torres del Paine National Park and the wind-swept steppes, sub-Antarctic forests and Andean moorlands of Patagonia & Tierra del Fuego, at the south end of South America’s mainland, looking for endemic species in the genera Adesmia, Alstroemeria, Gavilea, Nassauvia, Primula or Senecio, and others with highly restricted distributional ranges. We will explore a wide range of habitats, amidst stunning landscapes and pristine areas, and will enjoy the presence of other remarkable and unique wildlife of this part of the world.
Itinerary in Brief
Day 1 • Laguna Parrillar – San Juan Bay – Punta Arenas (1 night)
Day 2 • Pali Aike road – Puerto Natales (2 nights)
Day 3 • Puerto Natales surroundings
Day 4 • Torres del Paine (western sector) –
Torres del Paine (2 nights)
Day 5 • Torres del Paine (eastern sector)
Day 6 • Torres del Paine – Drive to Punta Arenas – Punta Arenas (1 night)
Day 7 • End of the tour
Departures
2 to 5-day options from Punta Arenas, Chile
Trip Code: TDP01 This programme is operated as a customized, private trip, with a minimum of 2 participants. Transfers from/to El Calafate, Argentina are available.
Torres del Paine, Patagonia’s premier wildlife destination, at its best. This is a completely private wildlife and photo safari, entirely led by a naturalist guide from our company. This custom designed itinerary includes private transportation and guide services throughout the length of the trip, park entry fees, hotel-based accommodation and all meals. This package provides you with privacy and full flexibility to pursuit your particular interests; you will get in-depth nature interpretation and enjoy the best wildlife encounters with your experienced naturalist guide. If you are a nature photographer, a nature enthusiast, a birder, a botanist, a hiker with an interest in the natural world, or simply an adventurer, this journey of discovery is for you!
Exploring
Patagonian Pumas Photography Trip
A
Quest for the Lord of the Andes
Departures
6-day trip from Punta Arenas, Chile.
2024: April 18 to 23 •
July 6 to 11 • October
23 to 28
2025: April 17 to 22
July 5 to 10
Trip Code: TDP02
Maximum group size of 6 guests.
Atrip committed to watch Puma (Mountain Lion or Cougar) in the remote and stunning Patagonian wilderness of Chile’s Torres del Paine National Park and the adjacent Ranch Estancia Laguna Amarga. Far South Expeditions as an entirely local Chile-based tour operator have been conducting puma trips here for more than 16 years; join our expert local naturalist guides and puma trackers, in the best place in the world for watching this magnificent and inspiring predator of the Andes. Patagonian pumas, especially around Torres del Paine, are the largest race of the species in the Americas. With an uncommon higher density rate, this national Park and surroundings have become the most sought-after places to watch and photograph wild pumas on Earth. This is mainly due to the stable growing of Guanaco populations in the Patagonian steppes, and the protection that Puma has been granted in the past years. Join us on this quest, to discover the wildlife of Torres del Paine
Baguales Gaucho Camp
Remote
and Rugged Nature in the Land of Legendary Gauchos
and one of its most secretive and yet most awe-inspiring inhabitants.
Departures
2024: January 8 to 10
• March 11 to 13 • April
20 to 22 • December 7 to 9
2025: January 9 to 11 • March 12 to 14 • April 17 to 19
Trip Code PAT19
TheBaguales Range (Sierra Baguales, in Spanish) is a secluded, remote and seldom visited mountain region of Chilean Patagonia, located quite near from Torres del Paine National Park.
most interesting subject to study and photograph.
Itinerary in Brief
Day 1 • Punta Arenas – Drive to Torres del Paine National Park
Days 2-4 • Exploring Torres del Paine – Puma searches
Day 5 • An additional day to explore the park searching for pumas plus other interesting mammals such as the elusive Andean or Huemul Deer, Patagonian Hog-nosed Skunk and Patagonian Hairy Armadillo
Day 6 • Torres del Paine – Transfer to Punta Arenas – Optional transfer to El Calafate, Argentina
This programme is operated as a customized, private trip, with a minimum of 2 participants. Transfers from/to El Calafate, Argentina are available.
This rugged land was originally home of long-gone hunter-gatherers tribes and it is also full of tales of legendary gauchos who explored every corner of this formerly unknown territory. The jagged escarpment have multiple and colorful rock layers, containing rich fossil deposits formed some 60+ millions years ago; but the range itself is quite young, resulting from the uplift of magmatic material, which formed this dramatic range. Sierra Baguales is the habitat of vast herds of Guanaco as well as an interesting cast of Andean birds such as Condor, Rhea and White-throated Caracara among many other specialties. The opportunity to observe the top predator of the Andes, Puma, will be always there. During the southern summer months, from November onwards, there is a myriad of alpine flowers, creating a
The brand-new Baguales Glamping is an exciting operation which allow us to explore this remote gaucho land. We will be based in comfortable domes, all with en-suite facilities and central heating and will enjoy the exclusivity to have this huge area just for ourselves. With the help of a suitable all-terrain UTV vehicle, we will be able to approach remote corners of this property and walk back, enjoying the biodiversity and the quietness of Sierra Baguales. Additional horseback-riding adventures and fly-fishing trips can be arranged in anticipation and at an extra cost.
Itinerary in Brief
Day 1 • Transfer to the Baguales Range –Exploring La Cumbre Ranch (2 nights) Day 2 • Nature hikes in the Baguales Range: Rodas Lagoon & Verlika Valley Day 3 • Chorrillo Jabon (Soap’s Creek) – Drive back to Torres del Paine or Puerto Natales –End of the trip
Tierra del Fuego Explorer
Exploring Tierra del Fuego | Karukinka: Mammals and Birds of the Sub-Antarctic
Departures
5-day trip from Punta Arenas, Chile
2024: April 24 to 28 • December 1 to 5
2025: April 23 to 27 Trip Code PAT20
This program is operated on a fixed departure date, with a minimum of 3 participants and a maximum group size of 7 guests. This trip is also operated as a customized, private trip, with a minimum of 2 participants.
Tierra
del Fuego, the Land of Fire, was the name coined by Ferdinand Magellan himself while exploring this unchartered and wild territory exactly 500 years ago. On the other hand, Karukinka was the name given to this huge island by its originary inhabitants, the longgone Fuegians. These bands of hunter-gatherers inhabited this remote archipelago over millennia, but they couldn’t cope the sudden occupation of this territory by Western farmers and miners at the beginning of the 20th century.
This itinerary is devoted to discover the nature and landscapes of Karukinka, exploring its rich history (and pre-history) as well as its fascinating biodiversity and array of ecosystems. We will explore the Magellan Straits searching for playful pods of dolphins and seabirds; we will traverse the wind-swept steppes accompanied by Guanaco herds and flocks of the ubiquitous Upland Goose; we will visit the monarch of the
by visiting the King Penguin park at Useless Bay; we will explore the silent sub-Antarctic woodlands in search of the mighty Magellanic Woodpecker. Eventually, we will discover the staggering beauty of the landscapes of the southernmost region of the Andes, the pristine fjords and glaciers of the Darwin Range. Here we will aim to see the Black-browed Albatross nesting grounds as well as to try to see two fascinating seal species: Leopard Seal and Southern Elephant Seal.
Departures
Option A: Full day trip (8-10 hours) by plane and led by naturalist guide; available yearround (except June) from Tuesday through Friday.
Option B: Scheduled 2-day trip by ferry, special for serious photographers and people looking for more field time with the penguins. Available year-round (except June) only on weekends (Saturday and Sunday).
Trip Code: TDF01a (by plane, Tuesday through Friday) | TDF01b (scheduled, Saturday to Sunday)
Join us on this unique itinerary to discover the magnificent and awe-inspiring King Penguins of Tierra del Fuego. This tour is suitable for nature enthusiasts as well wildlife photographers of all levels of skills. Among wildlife, few groups call our attention as much as birds, and among birds, few families are as attractive and command such interest as penguins. The King Penguin is the second largest species of penguin after the Emperor, and certainly one of the most colourful and attractive members of the group. Not many places in the world offer good access and chances to see them in the wild, making this, the only continental American breeding colony, a very special one indeed. By joining our penguin photo journey, you will be able to see these magnificent seabirds in their natural habitat and learn about their natural history from our specialized guide.
Our
This programme is operated as a customized, private trip, with a minimum of 2 participants. Transfers from/to Ushuaia, Argentina, are available.
trips have a maximum of 6 participants, essential to keep the impact on the small colony that we visit to a minimum.
Itinerary in Brief
Encounters with the Lord of Patagonia
King Penguins of Tierra del Fuego
Quest for the Fuegian Snipe
A
True ‘Bird of Mystery’: Wanted by so many, observed by so few
Departures
3-day trip from Punta Arenas, Chile
2024: November 11 to 13 Trip Code: PAT11
This programme is operated on a fixed departure date, with a minimum of 3 participants and a maximum group size of 7 guests. This programme is also operated as a customized, private trip, with a minimum of 2 participants. Transfers from/to El Calafate, Argentina are available
Join us on this birding expedition to the southernmost reaches of the Americas in a quest for one of the least-known waders of Chile and the Neotropics. An endemic to southern Patagonia, the elusive Fuegian Snipe is a rare, range-restricted and local snipe, confined to seldom-visited islands of the maritime insular western slope of the Andes, from sea level up to 800m., where it nests in the tussock and other windswept patagonian grasslands and flooded peat bogs. On this expedition, we will explore the suitable boggy habitat of the western branch of the Magellan Straits to look for this poorly-known species. Enjoy the pace of a small group and the expertise and skill of our well-seasoned birding guides, who will also show you other southern Patagonian specialties like Black- browed Albatross, Antarctic Giant Petrel, Chilean Skua, Ashy-headed and Ruddy-headed geese, Magellanic Woodpecker and Austral Parakeet, all with a breath-
Expedition to Noir Island
taking backdrop of islands, channels, forests and snow-capped peaks.
Departures
3-day trip from Punta Arenas, Chile
Trip Code: TDF03
Available from December until April. This programme is operated on a fixed departure date, with no minimum of participants. Check out the updated calendar in our website.
HumpbackWhales of the Magellan Straits is a fascinating journey designed to discover some of the best-kept secrets of this imposing region of southern South America. This is a comprehensive natural history and nature photography journey to Carlos III Island, located at the heart of the recently established Francisco Coloane Marine Park in the mythic Straits of Magellan, to find some of its most charismatic and usually elusive inhabitants, Humpback Whales. We will see these grand creatures and other marine mammals of the sub-Antarctic region at close quarters, as well as a good diversity of seabirds. We will also visit remote penguin colonies as well as other seabirds’ rookeries. We will be based one night at San Isidro Lodge, located besides the homonymous historic lighthouse, and two nights at the domes of the research facilities at Carlos III Island, the perfect location to see the Humpbacks and marvel at their social behavior and feeding techniques.
Day 1 • Punta Arenas – Board M/V Tanu – Boat ride to Carlos III Island
Day 2 • Full day exploring Carlos III Island and Seno Ballena
Day 3 • Boat trip to Punta Carrera – Transfer to Punta Arenas – End of the trip
Itinerary in Brief
Subtìtulo
Humpbacks of the Magellan Straits
Encounters with
Departures
3-day trip from Punta Arenas, Chile Trip Code: TDF03
Available from December until April. This programme is operated on a fixed departure date, with no minimum of participants. Check out the updated calendar in our website.
the Gentle Giants of Patagonia
Humpback
Whales of the Magellan Straits is a fascinating journey designed to discover some of the best-kept secrets of this imposing region of southern South America. This is a comprehensive natural history and nature photography journey to Carlos III Island, located at the heart of the recently established Francisco Coloane Marine Park in the mythic Straits of Magellan, to find some of its most charismatic and usually elusive inhabitants, Humpback Whales. We will see these grand creatures and other marine mammals of the sub-Antarctic region at close quarters, as well as a good diversity of seabirds. We will also visit remote penguin colonies as well as other seabirds’ rookeries. We will be based one night at San Isidro Lodge, located besides the homonymous historic lighthouse, and two nights at the domes of the research facilities at Carlos III Island, the perfect location to see the Humpbacks and marvel at their social behavior and feeding techniques.
The Right Whales of Valdes Peninsula
The Marine Mammals and Seabirds of eastern Patagonia
Itinerary in Brief
1 • Punta Arenas – Board M/V Tanu – Boat ride to Carlos III Island
Day 2 • Full day exploring Carlos III Island and Seno Ballena
Day 3 • Boat trip to Punta Carrera – Transfer to Punta Arenas – End of the trip
Departures
5-day trip from Trelew, Argentina
2019: Sep 05-09
Trip Code: PAT12
This program is operated on a fixed departure date, with a minimum of 3 participants and a maximum group size of 7 guests. This trip is also operated as a customized, private trip, with a minimum of 2 participants.
Theworld-famous Peninsula Valdes is located in the Atlantic coast of Argentina, south of Buenos Aires; this location is a magnificent place to watch impressive geology and diverse wildlife such as Southern Right and Killer whales, Southern Elephant Seal, South American Sea Lion, Patagonian Hare, Patagonian Hairy Armadillo, Magellanic Penguin and many others. We will have a comprehensive whale-watching programme around Puerto Piramides, including two boat trips, to enjoy the usually magnificent sightings of the Southern Right Whale population, which occur seasonally (July - December) on the surrounding gulfs. Later, we will head towards Punta Ninfas and enjoy the privacy of Estancia El Pedral. This private nature reserve holds a Magellanic penguin colony and provides access to great breeding rookeries of other seabirds and mammals. We will have three nights to enjoy this property and its unique wildlife, while expe-
riencing the hospitality of a typical gaucho estancia.
Itinerary in Brief
Perito Moreno Glacier & Los Glaciares NP
Departures
3-day trip from El Calafate, Argentina Trip Code: FTE01
This programme is operated as a customized, private trip, with a minimum of 2 participants. Transfers from/to Puerto Natales or Punta Arenas, Chile, are available.
Atthe southern tip of South America, the Andes are almost entirely covered by a huge ice-sheet, the Southern Patagonian Ice-Field. This vast mass of ice feeds many glaciers and massive lakes in this part of Patagonia. Into one of these lakes, Argentino flows one of the most famous glaciers in Patagonia, the grand Perito Moreno. It is by far the most imposing glacier of the whole park, and is a feature of stunning beauty. On this photographic and natural history journey we will explore the temperate forests, windswept steppes, emerald-coloured lakes and the ancient glaciers of this incredible nature reserve and will discover its peculiar flora and fauna adapted to these extreme conditions.
Itinerary in Brief Glacier and Forests of Argentine Patagonia
Estancia Nibepo – Perito Moreno Glacier – Boat trip in Lago Argentino
Optional: Hike to Grande Glacier – El Calafate
Day 2 • Los Glaciares National Park: Full day exploring Lago Argentino and Estancia Cristina
Day 3 • Morning visit to Laguna Nimez Nature Reserve – End of the trip
Mt. Fitz Roy & Cerro Torre
The Stunning Surroundings of Patagonia’s Most Famous Peaks
Departures
4-day trip from El Calafate, Argentina Code: FTE02
This programme is operated as a customized, private trip, with a minimum of 2 participants. Transfers from/to Puerto Natales or Punta Arenas, Chile, are available.
Thesejagged granite spires, Mt. Fitz Roy and Cerro Torre, have inspired explorers and climbers from all over the world due to its collosal dimensions, its stunning shapes and colours and by its very dramatic setting, surrounded by the vast Southern Patagonian Icefield. On this nature photography trip, we will take advantage of the unrivaled location of El Chalten village to document the varied landscapes and wildlife of this section of the huge Los Glaciares National Park, in southern Argentina. We will have dedicated sunrise sessions to photograph the dramatic sunrises and sunsets; walk part of the extensive trail system leading us to some breathtaking viewpoints and cruise the Viedma lake to appreciate the magnificent front of its homonymous glacier. Join us and feel the remoteness and experience some of the best scenery of one of the most pristine corners of Patagonia.
Itinerary in Brief
Day 1 • El Calafate – Boat trip to Viedma glacier – El Chalten (3 nights)
Day 2 • Sunrise at Fitz Roy Mt. viewpoint –Walk to Mirador Laguna Capri or Laguna Torre
Day 3 • Sunrise at Fitz Roy viewpoint – Lago del Desierto – Walk to Glacier Huemul Day 4 • Drive back to El Calafate
Cape
Horn Expedition Cruise
Departures
4-night cruise options from Punta Arenas, Chile or Ushuaia, Argentina aboard M/V Stella Australis & the brand new M/V Ventus Australis.
Trip Code: TDF02a (Punta Arenas –Ushuaia) | TDF02b (Ushuaia – Punta Arenas)
This programme is operated on a fixed departure date, with no minimum of participants. Check out our website for updated departure dates.
TheStraits of Magellan, Beagle Channel and Cape Horn are important and highly signicant geographic and historical landmarks in the southern tip of the South American continent. Snow-capped mountains, huge glaciers and magnicent forests, all add to the peculiar beauty of this landscape of peaks, trees, fjords and remote islands sculpted by the strong westerly winds and the Pacific Ocean. During this journey we will sail through a signicant part of the Straits of Magellan, learning about the fascinating history of the indigenous people and the explorers of the Fuegian fjords and channels, and following in the footsteps of Darwin aboard the HMS Beagle in the 1830s. We‘ll explore the cultural remnants of the world’s southernmost people, the Yamana, and learn how they survived and adapted to this extreme geography and climate. We’ll see active breeding colonies of penguins and sea lions, and enjoy the elegant flight of the majestic albatross. Finally, we
Journey to the Patagonian Fjords
In the Wake of Explorers and Sailors
shall reach the southernmost part of our journey at the mythical and feared Cape Horn. Sail with us in the wake of Cook, Darwin, Fitzroy and many other explorers.
Itinerary in Brief
Option A: Fjords of Tierra del Fuego (4 nights)
Punta Arenas, Chile – Ushuaia, Argentina |
4-night cruise aboard M/V Stella Australis or M/V Ventus Australis
Day 1 • Punta Arenas
Day 2 • Ainsworth Bay – Tuckers Islets (*)
Day 3 • Pía Glacier – Glacier Alley (**)
Day 4 • Cape Horn – Wulaia Bay
Day 5 • Ushuaia
Option B: Patagonian Explorer (4 nights)
Ushuaia, Argentina – Punta Arenas, Chile |
4-night cruise aboard M/V Ventus Australis (Available from January 2018)
Day 1 • Ushuaia
Day 2 • Cape Horn – Wulaia Bay
Day 3 • Pía Glacier – Garibaldi Glacier
Day 4 • Agostini Sound – Águila Glacier –
Cóndor Glacier
Day 5 • Magdalena Island (*) – Punta Arenas
Aboard M/V Skorpios III
Departures
4-night small expedition cruises from Puerto Natales, Chile aboard M/V Skorpios III
Trip Code: PAT09
This programme is operated on a fixed departure date, with no minimum of participants from October until April. Check out our website for updated departure dates.
Onthis adventure we will explore the remote fjords and archipelagos, located in the wild and pristine western regions of Chilean Patagonia. Aboard the Skorpios III, a family-owned and especifically-built ice-class vessel, we will leave the picturesque town of Puerto Natales towards the Southern Patagonian Ice Field, world’s third largest ice formation after Antarctica and Greenland. This 3-night cruise traverse these remote regions every Tuesday and Friday to return to Puerto Natales every Monday and Thursday, between the months of October and April. We will cover over nearly 400 nautical miles to discover the most beautiful, and least known, tide water glaciers of the area, including Amalia, El Brujo, Bernal and Herman glaciers, and those located in the area of the impressive Calvo Sound. We will follow the footsteps of many sailors and explorers, learn about the long-gone hunter-gatherer tribes that inhabited the fjords since
6,000+ years ago and experience the rich natural history of the fjords, channels, sounds, forests and moorlands. Indeed a journey of discovery in one of the few truly pristine areas on Earth.
Itinerary in Brief
Day 1 • Kirke Narrows - Morla Vicuña and Sarmiento Channels
Guillard Fjord and Glacier
Amalia & El Brujo Glaciers - Calvo Fjord
Fjord of the Mountains - Alsina & Bernal Glaciers - White Narrows
End of the cruise
Navarino Island & Cape Horn
Departures
4-day trip from Punta Arenas, Chile
Trip Code: PAT10
This programme is operated as a customized, private trip, with a minimum of 2 participants.
Onthis trip we explore Navarino Island, right on the shores of the Beagle Channel, and the stunning and pristine surroundings of the world’s most southerly village, Puerto Williams. Commencing from Punta Arenas, Chile, we will take a short, scenic flight over the huge and beautiful island of Tierra del Fuego and the Darwin Range, southernmost portion of the Andes. Based at Lakutaia Hotel, we have many activities to carry out, including interpretation trails into the southern beech woodlands, back-horse riding options, hikes to the moors with commanding views of the surrounding waterways and mountain scenery, and short walks to discover the abundant and peculiar birdlife and flora occurring in one of the most southerly island of the American continent. Something you can consider to do is a scenic flight over the feared Cape Horn and the vast Drake Passage extending southwards. Follow the footsteps of many explorers and join us on this adventure of a lifetime.
Day Tours from Punta Arenas, Chile
Wildlife & Nature Around the Magellan Straits
Day 4 • Flight to Punta Arenas – End of the trip Optional: Sightseeing flight to Cape Horn Itinerary in Brief
Birding the Magellan Straits
Trip Code: PUQ03 • Day tour from Punta Arenas, Chile • Available year-round.
On this full day birding journey along the mythical Straits of Magellan, we will explore a great variety of habitats; from the Patagonian shorelines and wetlands, to sub-Antarctic woodlands and wind-swept steppes. We will discover the birdlife of Patagonia and its many endemic species, including the Lesser Rhea, Andean Condor and Magellanic Woodpecker plus a large array of waterfowl and range-restricted passerines. This trip includes private transportation and the services of an experienced birding guide. This tour is highly recommended for cruise passengers with restricted time at the port of Punta Arenas.
Birding the Patagonian Steppes
Trip Code: PUQ01 • Day tour from Punta Arenas, Chile • Available year-round.
On this full day photography and wildlife excursion to the picturesque Chiloé Island, with its old customs and peculiar villages, boats and churches, we’ll take a boat trip to have close views of a mixed colony of Magellanic and Humboldt penguins, plus some marine waterfowl like Flightless Steamer Duck and Kelp Goose and some marine mammals and other wildlife. Later we’ll visit a bay, which is an important stop for migrating shorebirds. This trip includes private transportation and the services of an experienced guide. This tour is highly recommended for cruise passengers on a tight schedule at the port of Puerto Montt.
Mount Tarn: Birding & Nature Hike
Trip Code: PUQ05 • Day tour from Punta Arenas, Chile • Available from November until March.
A moderately demanding but very rewarding hike up Mount Tarn, a conspicuous peak south of Punta Arenas. Located in the south-eastern edge of the Brunswick Peninsula, literally at the end of the southernmost road in the American continent, it was climbed by none other than Charles Darwin in 1834, and it was here that he found the first Ammonites fossils known to South America. This hike will present us with fantastic vistas of the Magellan Straits, the southernmost shores of the Americas and the nearby islands, and we´ll enjoy a great sample of Patagonian flora, from sub Antarctic temperate forest to alpine bogs and other open mountain habitats. Above the snowline we will look for one of the least known birds of the area, the rare White-bellied Seedsnipe, plus other Andean specialties like Yellow-bridled Finch.
Day Tours from Punta Arenas, Chile
Wildlife & Nature Around the Magellan Straits
Penguins of Magdalena Island
Trip Code: PUQ02 • Half-day tour from Punta Arenas, Chile • Available from October through March.
This trip is an excellent opportunity to observe penguins in their natural habitat and learn more about their natural history and breeding strategies. We will sail the mythic waters of the Straits of Magellan, in Patagonia, towards Magdalena Island. This protected area holds a huge Magellanic Penguin colony, holding more than 120,000 individuals. Besides the penguins, several other species of seabirds such as King Cormorant, Chilean Skua and South American Tern nest here. En route to the island, we will be escorted by magnificent Black-browed Albatross
Condors of Patagonia
Trip Code: PUQ04 • Half-day tour from Punta Arenas, Chile • Available year-round.
Olga Teresa Ranch features the most accessible location in the world to see and photograph the world’s heaviest flying creature: the famous and majestic Andean Condor. Reachable by car in only 60-70 minutes from Punta Arenas, Chile, the ranch protects, researches, and showcases a population of 100 Andean Condors that soar, socialize, and sleep at a 20-meter-tall, vertical rock face that itself is embedded in a steep, 200-meter-high (700-foot-high) hill.
Punta Arenas Nature & History Tour
Trip Code: PUQ06 • Day tour from Punta Arenas, Chile • Available year-round.
Oldest and largest settlement in Patagonia, Punta Arenas is also the southernmost city in Chile. A medium-sized, friendly city, it offers glimpses into the past through its impressive, well-preserved old mansions from mid-19th and early 20th centuries, as well as through its interesting museums. On this day tour, we will dip ourselves into the rich history and pre-history dating back to times when bands of hunter-gatherers roamed the vast steppes and sailed the icy archipelagos, to the several ages of exploration and famous names such as Magellan, Drake and Fitz Roy. We will also learn about impressions from conspicuous visitors from both the past and contemporary times, such as Charles Darwin and travel writer Bruce Chatwin.
Argentina
Beagle Channel & Estancia Harberton
Trip Code: USH01 • Day tour from Ushuaia, Argentina • Available from September through May.
Full day nature and photo journey to the famed Beagle Channel, in southern Tierra del Fuego. On this trip we will follow the wake of Charles Darwin and Captain Robert Fitz Roy’s Beagle and its survey of the area in the 1830s. We will visit sea lion and seabird breeding colonies, including cormorants and penguins. The highlight of the trip will be Estancia Harberton, a historic location that will tell us about the origins of the illfated early inhabitants of pioneers that colonized this remote part of the world.
Birding Tierra del Fuego
National
Park
Trip Code: USH02 • Day tour from Ushuaia, Argentina • Available from October through April.
During this full day birding journey we will explore the sub-Antarctic forests and montane grassland ecosystems of Tierra del Fuego National Park, searching for a wealth of specialties of southern Patagonia. We will spend several hours looking for woodland birds such as Magellanic Woodpecker, Austral Pygmy Owl, Austral Parakeet, Magellanic Tapaculo, White-throated Treerunner and Fire-eyed Diucon, among several others. The alpine moorlands above Ushuaia are the ideal habitat for range-restricted and special birds such as White-bellied Seedsnipe, Ochre-naped Ground-Tyrant and Yellow-bridled Finch. This trip includes private transportation and the services of an experienced birding guide. This tour is highly recommended for cruise passengers on a tight schedule in transit at the port of Ushuaia.
Wildlife & Nature Around the Beagle Channel
Day Tours from Ushuaia,
Chile’s Best Wildlife
The Ultimate Wildlife Photography Adventure in a Thin Country
Departures
19-day trip from Santiago, Chile
2024: November 4 to 22
2025: November 3 to 21
Trip Code: CHL10
This programme is operated on a fixed departure date, with a minimum of 3 participants and a maximum group size of 7 guests. This programme is also operated as a customized, private trip, with a minimum of 2 participants.
Onthis trip you will discover the widlife riches of this long and narrow country, extending along the west coast of South America. You will have the unique chance to explore the magnificent Andes and to see how these impressive mountains have molded contrasting habitats that will be evident as we move in latitude; from oasis valleys to puna bogs in the northern Andean plateau, from lakes, snow-capped volcanoes and lush rainforests to calving glaciers and wind-swept steppes in Patagonia. These varied ecosystems hold a unique set of wildlife and we will be privileged to observe an iconic array of animals; from guanacos and vicuñas to foxes and dolphins plus a great variety of birds ranging from the mighty Andean Condor to King Penguin. We will explore the world’s driest desert, the Atacama, and Lauca National Park, one of Chile’s gems. This impressive park is also a World Biosphere Reserve and teeming with wildlife in spite of the altitude. Further south, the land breaks into hundreds of islands and fjords. We will have a comprehensive exploration of Chile’s Lake District and the picturesque and diverse Chiloé Island. Finally Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego, a remote land crowned with granite peaks, colossal glaciers and mythic waterways, is
A Quest for Endemics and Specialties of Chile
home to penguins, cetaceans and the impressive Puma.
Itinerary in Brief
Day 1 • Fligth to Arica – Azapa Valley
Day 2 • Boat trip to Arica harbour – Drive to Putre
Day 3 • Parinacota & Lauca National Park
Day 4 • Surire salt flat
Day 5 • Parinacota – Drive to Arica
Day 6 • Flight to Santiago and Puerto Montt –Puerto Varas
Day 7 • Ferry to Chiloé Island – Boat trip off Puñihuil
Day 8 • Boat trip off Chiloé Island – Caulin Bay
Day 9 • Boat trip Chepu River – Drive to Tepuhueico
Day 10 • Tepuhueico Park
Day 11 • Tepuhueico Park – Drive to Castro
Day 12 • Flight to Punta Arenas
Day 13 • Magdalena Island – Drive to Torres del Paine
Day 14 • Torres del Paine for pumas and other wildlife
Day 15 • Torres del Paine for pumas and other wildlife
Day 16 • Grey Glacier – Drive to Puerto Natales
Day 17 • Pali Aike NP – Ferry to Tierra del Fuego
– Porvenir
Day 18 • King penguins – Ferry to Punta Arenas –
Condors of Rio Verde
Day 19 • End of the trip
Departures
11-day trip from Santiago, Chile
2024: January 11 to 21 • October 25 to November 4
2025: January 10 to 20 Trip Code: CHL01
This programme is operated on a fixed departure date, with a minimum of 3 participants and a maximum group size of 7 guests.
Birding
Chile is an exciting birdwatching journey aimed to discover the endemic and specialties of this 3,000-mile long and narrow biogeographical island and explore and enjoy its marvelous landscapes, excellent infrastructure, great cuisine and fabulous wines at a relaxed pace. Chile is a land of huge contrasts, truly a geographic extravaganza’. On this birding adventure we will explore Chile’s incredibly diverse habitats and marvel at some of the most beautiful landscapes on Earth, while enjoying topclass hotels, cuisine and wines. From arid deserts and salt lakes in the high Andean plateau to lush rainforests and coastal marshes, from the windswept steppes of Tierra del Fuego and Patagonia, to the impressive lakes and volcanoes of south-central Chile, our search for the avian specialties of this long and narrow country will take us from the high Andes to the cold and productive waters of the Humboldt Current in the Pacific. We will find many interesting species, some of them with very restricted distributional ranges and some endemic to the country.
Itinerary in Brief
3 • Maipo Estuary - Laguna El PeralQuintero Day 4 • Pelagic trip - Cachagua
5 • La Campana - Drive to Vilches
6 • Altos de Lircay - Lake Colbun
7 • Flight to Temuco Day 8 • Conguillio National Park Day 9 • Cerro Ñielol - Alerce Andino National Park
Day 10 • Ferry to Chiloé Island – Puñihuil boat trip
Day 11 • Pelagic trip off Reloncavi Sound - End of the trip
Birding Chile
Birds & Wines of Chile & Argentina
A Unique Adventure Across the Andes
Departures
13-day trip from Santiago, Chile
2024: February 18 to March 1
2025: February 16 to 28
Trip Code: CHL08
This programme is operated on a fixed departure date, with a minimum of 3 participants and a maximum group size of 7 guests.
Onthis fascinating trip we will discover the birdlife and the wines occurring on both slopes of the majestic Andes, by exploring the central regions of Chile and Argentina. Pelagic seabirds in Chile and terrestrial endemics in both countries are only a fraction of the birds you will find. We have prepared an in-depth wine tasting programme, visiting the most remarkable and traditional wineries of Maipo, Casablanca and Colchagua valleys in Chile as well as around Mendoza, in Argentina. This trip has been designed for the nature enthusiast wishing to combine some time in the field with wine tasting activities and for the birder alike. The landscapes and the culture of both countries are equally fascinating and you will have the opportunity to learn a lot about Chile and Argentina from your local leader. Salud! Cheers!
Birding Northern Chile
The Impressive Wildlife of the Atacama and the Altiplano
Itinerary in Brief
Day 1 • Batuco marshes - Cousiño Macul and Concha & Toro vineyards
Day 2 • El Yeso Reservoir and Termas del Plomo
Day 3 • Drive to Talca - Altos de Lircay Nature Reserve – Vilches
Day 4 • Colbun Lake - Santa Cruz vineyards
Day 5 • Colchagua Valley: Montes, Viu Manent and Montgrass vineyards
Day 6 • Maipo rivermouth - Matetic vineyardsIsla Negra (Pablo Neruda’s home)
Day 7 • Pelagic trip - Cachagua for Humboldt penguins
Day 8 • La Campana National Park – Emiliana and Casas del Bosque vineyards
Day 9 • Andes Crossing - Birding Uspallata and Potrerillos
Day 10 • Mendoza – Zuccardi and Escorihuela Gascon vineyards
Day 11 • Birding around Mendoza - Krontiras vineyards
Day 12 • Drive back to Santiago
Day 13 • End of trip
Departures
5-day trip from Arica, Chile
2024: January 6 to 10 • October 20 to 24, 2024
2025: January 5 to 9, 2025
Trip Code: CHL02
This programme is operated on a fixed departure date, with a minimum of 3 participants and a maximum group size of 7 guests. This trip is also operated as a customized, private trip, with a minimum of 2 participants.
Our journey to the North of Chile will take us to the fringes of the driest desert in the world, the inhospitable Atacama, on the border with southern Peru. Our base locations will be Arica and Putre, Chile’s northernmost cities. This unique area is home to highly diverse species such as the flightless Giant Coot and tiny and threatened Chilean Woodstar. We will explore the Azapa, Lluta and Chaca valleys and then drive to Putre, situated in the Altiplano at more than 10,500 feet (3,500 m) above sea level. The altiplano grasslands of Lauca National Park support wild Vicuña and Northern Huemul grazing in small herds, PunaTinamou and Lesser Rhea. Specialties such as all three Chilean species of flamingoes (Chilean, Andean and James’s), Andean Avocet, Giant and Andean coots, Chilean Woodstar, White-throated Earthcreeper, Black throated Flowerpiercer and Tamarugo Conebill will be our main targets. There is an optional trip to
Surire, one of the most impressive saltpans of the whole Chilean altiplano (highly recommended).
Itinerary in Brief
Day 1 • Flight to Arica - Putre
Day 2 • Parinacota - Lauca National Park
Day 3 • Azapa & Lluta valleys - Arica
Day 4 • Pelagic trip - Chaca and Camarones valleys
Day 5 • Flight to Santiago - End of the trip
Birding Central Chile
From the Heights of the Andes to the Pacific Coast
Departures
5-day trip from Santiago, Chile
• Optional 2-day extension to the beech forests of Altos de Lircay
2024: January 11 to 17, 2024 • October 25 to 31, 2024
2025: January 10 to 16, 2025
Trip Code: CHL04
This programme is operated on a fixed departure date, with a minimum of 3 participants and a maximum group size of 7 guests. This trip is also operated as a customized, private trip, with a minimum of 2 participants.
Wewill explore a fascinating and contrasting region of Chile holding most of the endemic bird species of the country. In the Andes we’ll look for Diademed SandpiperPlover and Andean Condor while in the coast we will concentrate in the many specialties of the Humboldt Current such as Inca Tern and Humboldt Penguin. In the scrub gullies covered by cacti, Puya bromeliads plus other xeric vegetation, we will look for Chilean Tinamou, Chilean Mockingbird and the skulking White-throated and Dusky tapaculos, Moustached Turca, Crag Chilia and Dusky-tailed Canastero.
Birding Chile’s Lake District
The Ultimate Wildlife Photography Adventure in a Thin Country
Itinerary
in Brief
Departures
5-day trip from Puerto Montt
2024: January 17 to 21 • October 31 to November 4
2025: January 16 to 20
Trip Code: CHL06
This programme is operated on a fixed departure date, with a minimum of 3 participants and a maximum group size of 7 guests. This trip is also operated as a customized, private trip, with a minimum of 2 participants.
Comprehensive birding and nature tour to Chile’s Lake District. This trip features in-depth visits to the lush temperate forests of the scenic Puyehue and Vicente Pérez Rosales National Parks, where we will bird amid magnificent snowcapped volcanoes, ancient trees and blue lakes interspersed along the Andean foothills; here we will look for the specialties and endemics of the lush Valdivian temperate Forest, a unique ecosystem and a world’s biodiversity hotspot. The woodlands of these protected areas will offer good chances to spot Rufous-tailed Hawk, Chilean Pigeon, Austral Parakeet, Magellanic Woodpecker, together with a variety of Patagonian songbirds such as Black-throated Huet-huet, Chucao, Ochre-flanked and Magellanic Tapaculos, Des Murs’s Wiretail, Fire-eyed Diucon, Patagonian Tyrant, Austral Blackbird and Black-chinned Siskin.
Itinerary in Brief
Day 1 • Flight to Temuco
Day 2 • Conguillio National Park
Day 3 • Cerro Ñielol Nature Reserve - Alerce Andino National Park
Day 4 • Ferry to Chiloe Island - Puñihuil
Day 5 • Pelagic trip off Reloncavi Sound - End of the trip
Small Cats of the High Andes
Quest for Andean and Pampas Cats in the Chilean Altiplano
Departures
8-day trip from Arica, Chile
2024: April 10 to 17 • December 1 to 8
2025: April 9 to 16 • December 7 to 14
Trip Code: XXXX
This trip is operated as a customized, private trip, with a minimum of 2 participants.
Atrueexpedition to the High Andes of northern Chile, looking for two species of a poorly-known and seldom-seen lineage of South American cats, the mythic Andean Cat (Leopardus jacobita) and the taxonomically controversial Puna Pampas Cat (Leopardus garleppi).
On this dedicated 8-day trip, mostly geared up to aim to see these elusive mammals, we will explore the vast, desert-like high plateau of the Andes, known as puna or altiplano.
At altitudes varying from 12,000 up to 16,000 ft. (3,500-4,500 m) above sea level, we will carry out day and night searches, in previously and successfully scouted areas. We will cover considerable distances on 4×4 vehicles and our guests have to be able to walk on hilly and rocky terrain, looking for these cats, accompanied and led by our highly experienced guides. The accommodation is basic and rustic, although clean, comfortable and hospitable; meals are also
Photo Safari to the Atacama Desert & the
quite basic, although our guides will ensure to have good and fresh provisions in order to supplement the meals, both in the field and back to the comfort of the lodge.
The high altitude is an important factor to consider if you are willing to join us on the trip as well as the extended periods of time in the field, looking for the cats and other wildlife. Temperatures in the altiplano can vary from 20°C/68°F down (daytime) to -10°C/14°F (in the night), so is imperative to have suitable clothing for such temperature range as well as sturdy walking boots to deal with the rugged terrain.
Itinerary in Brief
Las Vicuñas Nature Reserve, including several locations around Guallatire and the scenic Surire salt flats – Nights at Lauca
Departures
6-day trip from Santiago, Chile
2024: April 25 to 30 • November 4 to 9
2025: April 21 to 26 • November 3 to 8
Trip Code: CHL07
This programme is operated on a fixed departure date, with a minimum of 3 participants and a maximum group size of 7 guests. This trip is also operated as a customized, private trip, with a minimum of 2 participants.
Geta unique glimpse into the land, wild- life and people of northern Chile, the Atacama Desert and the Altiplano. Vast landscapes of strange and imposing beauty, unique birds, mammals and plants, and a cultural heritage that goes back thousands of years beyond the Inca empire, reflected in archaeological treasures like giant geogliphs that were left by the ancient natives in the slopes of hills dominating the valley, mostly depicting scenes reflecting the semi-nomadic life of these ancient herders, like llama caravans, shepherds, birds and other wildlife and hunting scenes. Ethnic and cultural aspects of everyday life like agricultural methods, house building and food, all more than make for superb photography and a travelling experience that will treat your senses. But it‘s not only wildlife photographers that will be delighted, for this site offers superb landscape photography as well, with its salt flat, mountains and rock
formations, some of the gems of the high Andes that will probably be one of the most enduring memories from your trip to Northern Chile.
Altiplano
Northern Chile Wildlife Adventure
Itinerary in Brief
Atacama
Desert Explorer
The
Wildlife & Scenery of the World’s Driest Desert
Departures
6-day trip from Santiago, Chile
2024: January 7 to 12 • September 29 to October 4
2025: January 5 to 10 • September 28 to October 3 Trip Code: CHL03
This programme is operated on a fixed departure date, with a minimum of 3 participants and a maximum group size of 7 guests. This trip is also operated as a customized, private trip, with a minimum of 2 participants.
Thisnature and photo itinerary reveals the dramatic scenery, wildlife and cultural riches of the world’s most arid desert, the mythic Atacama, a mosaic of habitats and an open book of rewarding explorations. This nature and photographic journey will deliver very different and exciting highlights every day of your journey, from geyser fields to lifeless sand dunes, from flamingo-filled saltpans to an amphitheatre of volcanoes, from highland lakes teeming with wildlife to seldom-visited canyons and ridges. Join us on this trip to northern Chile, with countless highlights for the nature enthusiast and the keen photographer alike.
Itinerary in Brief
Day 1 • Drive to San Pedro de Atacama – Valle de la Luna (Moon’s Valley) – San Pedro de Atacama (5 nights)
Day 2 • Petrogliph Field – Valle del Arcoiris (Rainbow Valley) – Chaxa and Tebiquinche lagoons
Day 3 • Miscanti and Miñiques Lagoos – Salar de Talar
Day 4 • El Tatio geyser fields – Vado de Putana – Puritama river
Day 5 • Pakana Monks – Salar de Tara – Salar de Pujsa
Day 6 • Pukara (fortress) de Quitor – Catarpe –Drive to Calama
Departures
5-day trip from Santiago, Chile
2024: September 24 to 28
2025: September 23 to 27
Trip Code: CHL12
This programme is operated on a fixed departure date, with a minimum of 3 participants and a maximum group size of 7 guests. This trip is also operated as a customized, private trip, with a minimum of 2 participants.
TheAtacama Desert is the driest desert on Earth, and in some inland places there is no record of rain or precipitation of any kind in historical times. There is a strip of desert between the Coastal range and the Andean plateau where there is barely, if any life at all. However, everything changes in the narrow band where the desert meets the Pacific. There is a combination of two main factors that make this a very special habitat; on one hand there is the influence of the cold Humboldt Current that condenses the moisture from the ocean and on the other the topography of the coast, steep cliffs that retain this moisture in the form of a dense mist which crawls inland and makes it possible for the growth of abundant vegetation in the form of many endemic species of cacti and flowering plants. This in turn allows for the presence of insects and other life and of course, birds such as endemic and range-restricted forms of White-throated Tapaculo
and Common Diuca Finch, and many other Passerines, raptors and coastal seabirds associated with the Humboldt cold stream like Inca Tern and Humboldt Penguin. Other fauna here includes foxes, Guanaco and Marine Otter. The weather here is warm and nice, the light is superb for photography and the landscape is of an austere beauty, the perfect framing for your nature trip.
Itinerary in Brief
1 • Flight to Copiapó - Bahia InglesaCaldera
Rich Seas, Mist and Cacti
Coastal Atacama Desert
Mediterranean Chile Botanical Tour
Botanizing Endemics from the Andes to the Pacific
Departures
5-day trip from Santiago, Chile
2024: September 20 to 24
2025: September 19 to 23, 2025
Trip Code: CHL11
This programme is operated on a fixed departure date, with a minimum of 3 participants and a maximum group size of 7 guests. This trip is also operated as a customized, private trip, with a minimum of 2 participants.
Onthis journey we will enjoy botanizing one of the areas with the highest degree of plant endemism of the world: Mediterranean Central Chile. This area holds a wealth of species that are not only unique to the country, but are in many cases very restricted in range and threatened due to loss of habitat, as this part of Chile is the most densely populated. Part of the plant rich diversity of this region is due to the different microclimates found across the country as one moves from the coastal plain to the Coastal Range to the central valley up to the Andes, with contrasting conditions and landscapes that rival in beauty with each other. Coastal communities, mountains with a strong maritime influence, plains and high Andean bogs all harbour unique vegetation formations. A great array of endemic plant genera such as Beilschmiedia, Jubaea, Echinopsis, Mutisia, Rhodophiala or Schizanthus, makes of a botanical tour in Central
Araucaria Forests
The Magical Forests of the Southern Andes
Chile a great choice if you have an interest in plants.
Departures
6-day trip from Temuco, Chile
2019: Dec 02-05
2024: April 29 to May 4
2025: April 28 to May 3
OnItinerary in Brief
This programme is operated on a fixed departure date, with a minimum of 3 participants and a maximum group size of 7 guests. This trip is also operated as a customized, private trip, with a minimum of 2 participants.
this private nature and photography journey we will visit Chile’s Lake District. Magnificent temperate woodlands, reminiscent of the distant forests of New Zealand and Tasmania, grow here covering extensive regions of the southern Andes foothills; these forests are very unique due to their ancient geographical isolation. Between the woody elements we will see species of the genera Araucaria, Fitzroya, Nothofagus or Drimys, as well as a high diversity of members of the Mirtaceae family. The undergrowth is very dense and is also dominated by woody species and several herbs and is the realm for ground-dwelling tapaculos and very rare endemic mammals. Keen birders and botanists as well as nature photographers will have delightful subjects to observe and study during this comprehensive wildlife tour. The areas to be visited are surrounded by magnificent scenery dominated by spectacular volcanoes and lakes.
Itinerary in Brief
Chiloé Wildlife Adventure
The Magical Green Island
Departures
November 9 to 14
Code: CHL15 This programme is operated on a fixed departure date, with a minimum of 3 participants and a maximum group size of 7 guests. This trip is also operated as a customized, private trip, with a minimum of 2 participants.
Chiloé
is a land of myths, legends and history, with countless and outstanding natural and cultural riches. It’s still a well-kept secret located across a channel south of Puerto Montt, in Chile’s Lake District, in the north-western corner of Chilean Patagonia. A magical realm with its own traditions, customs, legends, food and music where time has stood still since the first Spaniard settlers arrived and mixed with the native people back in the XVI (16th) century. We will dedicate five full days to explore the fascinating and enigmatic Chiloé; this island and associated archipelagoes will reveal their unique natural and cultural riches, from penguins to otters, from elusive tapaculos to raucous parakeets, from dolphins to sea lions. This green island is filled with picturesque countryside and maritime landscapes, colourful stilt houses, fishermen’s boats and wooden churches in scattered villages and small towns nestled among the fields and rolling hills; everything
The Tepuhueico Woodlands
Stronghold of Chile’s Most Endangered Mammals
framed in beautiful and dramatic natural settings, a place where people still build houses, churches and boats using the materials and ancient techniques passed from one generation to the next, and live off fishing, collecting seafood and farming cattle and sheep and growing crops like potatoes, of which this island is one of the main centers of origin and dispersion in the world, with dozens of varieties grown here.
Departures
4-day trip from
Trip Code: CHL19
Fixed departures: Monday through Thursday. This trip is also operated as a customized, private trip, with a minimum of 2 participants. Ask for custom departures.
OnItinerary in Brief
this specially-crafted wildlife adventure, we will explore the pristine and secluded woodlands of the western regions of Chiloé Island, specifically at one of its largest and most important parks, Tepuhueico. Our base during the whole length of the program, will be the award-winning, shingle-sided, homonymous wooden lodge. Here, we will thoroughly enjoy the island’s local flavors and hospitality; also we will have the opportunity to discover the unique array of wildlife that few visitors to Chiloé have the privilege to watch. Mammals such as Pudu Deer, Kodkod Cat and Darwin’s Fox are the main cast of poorly-known and endangered mammals which frequent the surroundings of the lodge – they all are very rare and challenging to spot, but we will do our very best in finding them. The birdlife is also unique and varied, and we expect to see most of Chile’s tapaculos plus intriguing species such as the endemic Slender-billed Parakeet, Ru-
fous-legged Owl, Magellanic Woodpecker and Chilean Pigeon.
Itinerary in Brief
Day 1 • Flight to Castro – Drive to Tepuhueico –Tepuhueico Lodge (3 nights) Days 2/3 • Exploring the Tepuhueico woodlands
4 • Drive back to Castro – End of the trip
Castro, Chile.
Seabirds & Whales of Chiloé Island
The diverse marine wildlife of Northern Patagonia
Departures
3-day trip from Puerto Montt or Castro, Chile
Trip Code: CHL13
This trip is operated as a customized, private trip, with a minimum of 2 participants.
Chiloé
Island is located in the north-western corner of the vast territory called Patagonia. The surrounding seas are very productive and its dramatic coastline is affected by the nutrient-rich waters of the north-bound Humboldt Current, hence its rich diversity of seabirds and marine mammals. On this dedicated itinerary we will have ample opportunities to study and photograph a great array of seabirds, including Humboldt and Magellanic Penguins, Flightless Steamer-Duck, Kelp Goose, and Peruvian Pelican. While exploring the rugged coast we will have great chances of interesting marine mammals such as Peale’s and Chilean Dolphin, Marine Otter and large numbers of South American Sea Lion. The highlight of this programme is a pelagic trip aim to find the recently-split Pygmy Blue Whale, which occurs around the archipelago during the southern summer months (December through February); Humpback Whales and
Laguna San Rafael & the Chilean Fjords
Exploring Patagonia’s Northern Archipelago
often see as well as a great diversity of tubenoses such as Black-browed Albatross, Southern Giant Petrel, Pink-footed and Sooty Shearwaters and the poorly-known Little (Subantarctic) Shearwater, which probably breeds along this remote, heavily forested part of the island. If you are a pelagic birder or a dedicated whale-watcher, this trip is for you!
Departures
5-night cruise from Puerto Montt, Chile
Trip Code: CHL14
This programme is operated on a fixed departure date, with no minimum of participants. Check out our website for updated departure dates.
GItinerary in Brief
et onboard the comfortable M/V Skorpios II and enjoy a spectacular, scenic and comfortable cruise to the gorgeous Laguna San Rafael National Park, in the heart of the Chilean Fjords. Departing from Puerto Montt, capital of Chile’s Lake District, we sail through Llanquihue Archipelago and abeam Chiloé Island, to land at Puerto Aguirre and continue navigating the maze of channels and fjords to enter the glacial lake which is the gateway into Laguna San Rafael National Park, where we can contemplate the huge glacier front and witness the active calving of huge icebergs. After this we’ll visit some natural hotsprings at Quitralco Fjord, to later depart for Chiloé Island and navigate upstream to the picturesque town of Dalcahue, where you’ll land and visit its most typical corners to get an impression of the island’s culture, peculiar architecture and tradition. Back on board we’ll navigate through the channels back to Puerto Montt, where the trip ends after our arrival at the port.
Itinerary in Brief
Robinson Crusoe Island Explorer
An Island of Castaway Natural Treasures
Departures
3 and 4-night trip from Santiago, Chile
2024: November 15 to 19
2025: November 14 to 18
Trip Code: CHL18
This programme is operated on a fixed departure date, with a minimum of 3 participants and a maximum group size of 7 guests. This trip is also operated as a customized, private trip, with a minimum of 2 participants.
Juan Fernandez is a fascinating archipelago of volcanic origin, situated about 400 miles off Valparaiso, central Chile. Robinson Crusoe, the main island of the group, is a 2-hour flight journey from Santiago, Chile. Its rich history dates back to its discovery by Portuguese explorer Juan Fernandez in 1574, but its fame relates to the prolonged residence of the Scottish sailor Alexander Selkirk who was marooned there between 1704 and 1709. His epic survival story served as an inspiration source for Daniel Defoe’s famous novel. The critically endangered temperate sub-tropical woodlands of the island, the Fernandezian forests, holds a large, diverse and rich array of flora represented by more than 130 endemic species, most of them regarded as Critically Endangered. During this trip, we shall explore these forests searching for its endemic landbirds: the remarkable Juan Fernandez Firecrown and the Juan Fernandez Tit-tyrant. We will also have the opportunity to explore the rugged coastline by boat, where we will look for its rare seabirds, including the petrels and shearwaters that nest in burrows in the secluded forests. The sub-tropical waters are very productive and we hope
to find Defilippi’s, Stejneger’s, Kermadec and Juan Fernandez petrels as well as Pink-footed Shearwater. Join us on this birding and natural history journey to this unique and special destination, to seek the natural treasures of the island of Robinson Crusoe!
Itinerary in Brief
3-night program (leaving every Tuesday)
Day 1 • Flight to Robinson Crusoe Island (c. 2 hours) – Boat shuttle to San Juan Bautista (c. 1.5 hours)
Day 2 • Forests of Robinson Crusoe Island – Walk to Alexander Selkirk viewpoint
Day 3 • Pelagic trip off Cumberland Bay
Day 4 • Boat shuttle to El Padre Bay – Flight to Santiago
4-night program (leaving every Friday)
Day 1 • Flight to Robinson Crusoe Island (c. 2 hours) – Boat shuttle to San Juan Bautista (c. 1.5 hours)
Day 2 • Forests of Robinson Crusoe Island – Walk to Alexander Selkirk viewpoint
Day 3 • Pelagic trip off Cumberland Bay
Day 4 • Forests of Robinson Crusoe Island – Walk to Plazoleta El Yunque
Day 5 • Boat shuttle to El Padre Bay – Flight to Santiago
Departures
5-night cruise from Puerto Montt, Chile
Trip Code: CHL14
This programme is operated on a fixed departure date, with no minimum of participants. Check out our website for updated departure dates.
GetExpedition to Alexander Selkirk Island
Exploring Patagonia’s Northern Archipelago
onboard the comfortable M/V Skorpios II and enjoy a spectacular, scenic and comfortable cruise to the gorgeous Laguna San Rafael National Park, in the heart of the Chilean Fjords. Departing from Puerto Montt, capital of Chile’s Lake District, we sail through Llanquihue Archipelago and abeam Chiloé Island, to land at Puerto Aguirre and continue navigating the maze of channels and fjords to enter the glacial lake which is the gateway into Laguna San Rafael National Park, where we can contemplate the huge glacier front and witness the active calving of huge icebergs. After this we’ll visit some natural hotsprings at Quitralco Fjord, to later depart for Chiloé Island and navigate upstream to the picturesque town of Dalcahue, where you’ll land and visit its most typical corners to get an impression of the island’s culture, peculiar architecture and tradition. Back on board we’ll navigate through the channels back to Puerto Montt, where the trip ends after our arrival at the port.
Itinerary in Brief
Day 2 • Moraleda Channel – Puerto Aguirre –Pilcomayo Channel
Day 3 • Tempanos Channel – Laguna San Rafael – Fiordo Quitralco
Day 4 • Quitralco hotsprings – Moraleda Channel
Day 5 • Corcovado Gulf – Chiloé Island –Dalcahue
Day 6 • Puerto Montt – End of the trip
Expedition to Desventuradas Island
An Island of Castaway Natural Treasures
Departures
3 and 4-night trip from Santiago, Chile
2024: November 15 to 19
2025: November 14 to 18
Trip Code: CHL18
This programme is operated on a fixed departure date, with a minimum of 3 participants and a maximum group size of 7 guests. This trip is also operated as a customized, private trip, with a minimum of 2 participants.
Juan Fernandez is a fascinating archipelago of volcanic origin, situated about 400 miles off Valparaiso, central Chile. Robinson Crusoe, the main island of the group, is a 2-hour flight journey from Santiago, Chile. Its rich history dates back to its discovery by Portuguese explorer Juan Fernandez in 1574, but its fame relates to the prolonged residence of the Scottish sailor Alexander Selkirk who was marooned there between 1704 and 1709. His epic survival story served as an inspiration source for Daniel Defoe’s famous novel. The critically endangered temperate sub-tropical woodlands of the island, the Fernandezian forests, holds a large, diverse and rich array of flora represented by more than 130 endemic species, most of them regarded as Critically Endangered. During this trip, we shall explore these forests searching for its endemic landbirds: the remarkable Juan Fernandez Firecrown and the Juan Fernandez Tit-tyrant. We will also have the opportunity to explore the rugged coastline by boat, where we will look for its rare seabirds, including the petrels and shearwaters that nest in burrows in the secluded forests. The sub-tropical waters are very productive and we hope
Rapa Nui Seabird Adventure
Moai Heritage & the Pacific Gadfly
to find Defilippi’s, Stejneger’s, Kermadec and Juan Fernandez petrels as well as Pink-footed Shearwater. Join us on this birding and natural history journey to this unique and special destination, to seek the natural treasures of the island of Robinson Crusoe!
Itinerary in Brief
3-night program (leaving every Tuesday)
Day 1 • Flight to Robinson Crusoe Island (c. 2 hours) – Boat shuttle to San Juan Bautista (c. 1.5 hours)
Day 2 • Forests of Robinson Crusoe Island – Walk to Alexander Selkirk viewpoint
Day 3 • Pelagic trip off Cumberland Bay
Day 4 • Boat shuttle to El Padre Bay – Flight to Santiago
4-night program (leaving every Friday)
Day 1 • Flight to Robinson Crusoe Island (c. 2 hours) – Boat shuttle to San Juan Bautista (c. 1.5 hours)
Day 2 • Forests of Robinson Crusoe Island – Walk to Alexander Selkirk viewpoint
Day 3 • Pelagic trip off Cumberland Bay
Day 4 • Forests of Robinson Crusoe Island – Walk to Plazoleta El Yunque
Day 5 • Boat shuttle to El Padre Bay – Flight to Santiago
Departures
5-day trip from Santiago, Chile
2024: September 21 to 25
2025: November 22 to 26
Trip Code: CHL04
This programme is operated on a fixed departure date, with a minimum of 3 participants and a maximum group size of 7 guests. This trip is also operated as a customized, private trip, with a minimum of 2 participants.
Joinworld’s seabird authority and photographer Hadoram Shirihai on a unique quest for the gadfly petrels of eastern Polynesia and the extraordinary moai heritage of the breathtaking Easter Island (Rapa Nui), one of world’s most remote islands. In the company of Hadoram Shirihai and Enrique Couve, one of Chile’s foremost ornithologists, we will look for five “mega rarities” of the eastern Pacific, including Henderson, Herald, Kermadec, Murphy’s and Phoenix Petrels plus several other oceanic birds visiting or breeding at Rapa Nui. We will also have the opportunity to visit the many extraordinary archaeological sites of this superlative island, in company of our seasoned and knowledgeable local guides.
before the
Itinerary in Brief
and overnight
Santiago airport hotel. (**): The schedule and duration of the boat trips need to be flexible due to weather and ocean conditions.
Petrels
Easter Island Explorer
Unveiling the Mysteries & Legacy of Rapa Nui
Departures
3- to 5-day trip from Santiago, Chile
2024: November 21 to 25
2025: November 20 to 24
Trip Code: CHL17
This programme is operated on a fixed departure date, with a minimum of 3 participants and a maximum group size of 7 guests. This trip is also operated as a customized, private trip, with a minimum of 2 participants.
Thisis our comprehensive cultural, archaeological and nature photography journey to Earth’s most remote inhabited location, Rapa Nui. During this trip you will study and experience the unique archaeological heritage of this island. This small triangle of volcanic rock, located in Polynesia, right in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, has always been subject of curiosity, study and speculation. Many explorers, researchers and travellers have attempted to unveil its secrets, but still important missing pieces remain to be discovered. What are the origins of the islanders?
How did they transport their massive moai stone heads from the quarry locations to the their platforms? Why is Rongo Rongo the only written language in Oceania? You will have extraordinary local guides, who will show you the best locations and provide all the known scientific background and interpretation. You will also have the rare chance of sharing their points of view and expectations about the future of the island and its people. Rapa Nui - past, present and future ... join us on this journey of discovery into an island of mysteries!
Day tours from Santiago/ Valparaiso, Chile
Wildlife & Nature Around the Heart of Chile
Itinerary in Brief
3-day option
Day 1 • Fly to Easter Island – Welcome at Mataveri – Half day tour to Ahu Tahai and Akivi
Day 2 • Full day tour to Moai quarry of Rano Raraku, Ahu Tongariki and Anakena beach –
optional afternoon trip to the islets or motus
Day 3 • Morning tour to Orongo village and Vinapu – Fly to Santiago
4-day option
Day 1 • Fly to Easter Island – Welcome at Mataveri – Half day tour to Ahu Tahai and Akivi
Day 2 • Full day tour to Moai quarry of Rano Raraku, Ahu Tongariki and Anakena beach –optional afternoon boat trip to the ‘motus’
Day 3 • Full day tour to Orongo village, Vinapu and Puna Pau
Day 4 • Free morning – Fly to Santiago
5-day option
Day 1 • Fly to Easter Island – Welcome at Mataveri – Half day tour to Ahu Tahai and Akivi
Day 2 • Full day tour to Moai quarry of Rano Raraku and Ahu Tongariki
Day 3 • Full day tour to Orongo village and Vinapu – Optional boat trip to the islets or motus
Day 4 • Half day tour Anakena and Puna Pau –
Optional boat trip to the ‘motus
Day 5 • Free morning – Fly to Santiago
Birding Chile’s Central Andes
Trip Code: SCL01 • Full day tour from Santiago de Chile • Available from October until March.
Birding and nature photography trip, exploring the imposing and scenic Andes dominating Santiago de Chile to discover their wealth of avian specialties. Covering most of the bird families originated around the Andes - from miners and canasteros to ground tyrants, from seedsnipes to hillstars - this comprehensive birding trip will surely be a rewarding experience for both the seasoned and novice birder alike.
Penguins and Chile Endemics
Trip Code: SCL02 • Full day tour from Santiago de Chile or Valparaiso • Available year-round.
Birding and nature photography trip to the Coastal Range and the Pacific Coast, in search of the endemics and specialties of Mediterranean Chile. We will explore the broad-leaf woods, scrubland and cacti-covered slopes, looking for skulking tapaculos, tinamous and canasteros. Along the shore we will concentrate in finding the endemic Seaside Cinclodes and coastal seabirds of the Humboldt Current, including Guanay Cormorant, Inca Tern and Humboldt Penguin. This moderate tour is suitable for cruise passengers on a tight schedule at the ports of call.
Day Tours from Santiago or Valparaiso, Chile
Wildlife & Nature Around the Heart of Chile
Coastal Marshes & the Pacific
Trip Code: SCL03
• Full day tour from Santiago de Chile or Valparaiso • Available from September until April.
Birding and nature photography tour, visiting the lowland marshes and the Pacific coast south of Valparaiso. On this tour you will discover the wealth of waterfowl and aquatic birds of Chile plus a good sample of the specialties and endemics of the coastal region of Mediterranean Chile. This easy to moderate tour is suitable for cruise passengers on a tight schedule at the ports of call.
Condors of Farellones
Trip Code: SCL04
• Full day tour from Santiago de Chile or Valparaiso • Daily departures from August to May.
We will have a full day exploring the road to Farellones and Valle Nevado that winds up the Andean foothills, where we’ll hopefully be rewarded with sightings of the Chile endemics Crag Chilia, Moustached Turca and Chilean Mockingbird plus our first Andean Condors, up in the mountain valleys we’ll look for Black-chested Buzzard-Eagle, Mountain Caracara and several other Andean specialties such as Black-winged Ground-Dove, Greyflanked Cinclodes, Black-billed Shrike-Tyrant, Yellow-rumped Siskin, Mountain Parakeet and many others.
Day Tours from Puerto Montt, Chile
Lake District Nature Trip
Trip Code: PMC01 • Full day tour from Puerto Montt or Puerto Varas, Chile • Available from September to March.
On this full day birding journey to AlerceAndino National Park and the Temperate Rainforest, we will discover the birdlife of Chile’s Lake District and its avian specialties, like Chucao and Ochre-flanked tapaculos and Black-throated Huet-huet, all framed in snowcapped volcanoes and serene, blue lakes. Stopping on our way back at the exposed sandy beach of Coihuin Bay we’ll look for flocks of migrating shorebirds. This trip includes private transportation and the services of an experienced guide. This tour is highly recommended for cruise passengers on a tight schedule at the port of Puerto Montt.
Chiloé Island Nature Trip
Trip Code: PMC02 • Full day tour from Puerto Montt or Puerto Varas, Chile • Available from September to March.
On this full day photography and wildlife excursion to the picturesque Chiloé Island, with its old customs and peculiar villages, boats and churches, we’ll take a boat trip to have close views of a mixed colony of Magellanic and Humboldt penguins, plus some marine waterfowl like Flightless Steamer Duck and Kelp Goose and some marine mammals and other wildlife. Later we’ll visit a bay, which is an important stop for migrating shorebirds. This trip includes private transportation and the services of an experienced guide. This tour is highly recommended for cruise passengers on a tight schedule at the port of Puerto Montt.
Wildlife & Nature Around Chile’s Lake District
Humboldt Current Pelagics
Pelagic Trips off Valparaiso, Chile
Departures
Day trip (c. 6 hours) from Valparaiso or Quintero, Chile
Trip Code: CHL16
This programme is operated on a fixed departure date, with a minimum of 4 participants and a maximum group size of 10 guests. Check out our website for updated departure dates.
The Humboldt Current draws cold water from the Antarctic and pumps it north along the west coast of South America, lifting nutrients from the deep sea bottom in the form of upwelling and making these waters not only the richest, most productive marine ecosystem in the Planet, but also one of the top destinations for Pelagic Birding in the world, too. On this pelagic trip, we expect to see a great variety of tubenoses such as Northern Royal, Antipodean, Salvin’s, Buller’s and Black-browed albatrosses. Chatham Island and Antipodean albatrosses are regularly recorded as well as Southern Royal Albatross. We should also find Southern and Northern Giant Petrels, Southern Fulmar, White-chinned, Westland and Pintado petrels, Pink-footed, Sooty and Buller’s shearwaters, and Pterodroma or gadfly petrels, including Juan Fernandez and Masatierra petrels. Small tubenoses of other families include Wilson’s Storm Petrel and Peruvian Diving Petrel. Other seabirds we may encounter are Guanay Cormorant, Red-legged Cormorant, Humboldt Penguin, Inca Tern, Chilean Skua and Grey (Red) Phalarope.
Pelagic Birding off Puerto Montt
Trip Code: PMC03 • Day trip (c. 8 hours) from Puerto Montt or Puerto Varas, Chile • Available year-round.
Early morning with the first light of the day, we will take a boat trip into the Reloncavi Sound to look for seabirds, particularly the recently discovered Pincoya Storm Petrel, a new species to science, overlooked during many years because of its strong similarities to sympatric Wilson’s Storm Petrels. The range of this species seems to be very local and restricted to the nearby waters south of Puerto Montt and between Chiloé Island and the Continent.
Salta Photography Adventure
Photographic Journey to the north-west of Argentina
Departures
8-day trip from Salta, Argentina
2018: Sep 9 – 16 Trip Code: ARG01
Pelagic Birding off Arica
Trip Code: ARI01 • Half-day trip (c. 6 hours) from Arica, Chile • Available yearround.
Early morning we will take a boat trip off Arica to continue our search for the endemic seabirds of the Humboldt Current. We will look for Peruvian Diving Petrel and we may also find Elliot’s and Markham’s Storm Petrels. The delightful Inca Tern will be a common sight around the harbour plus Common and South American Terns. The endangered and local Peruvian Tern is another potential species for the morning.
This program is operated on a fixed departure date, with a minimum of 4 participants and a maximum group size of 10 guests. This trip is also operated as a customized, private trip, with a minimum of 2 participants.
Onthis photographic expedition we will aim to capture the grand landscapes and intriguing wildlife of one of the most scenic regions of Argentina, the spectacular North-West. The geology of these vast and remote Andean regions is overwhelming and provides fantastic opportunities for landscape photography. We have a unique pre-extension to explore the locality of El Peñón and its unusual and surreal ash deposits and pumice fields; we will also explore the picturesque town of Cafayate, its colourful canyons and fantastic vineyards. During the main trip we will visit one of the most northerly regions of Argentina, the colourful Jujuy province, the dramatic and colourful gorges of Humahuaca valley and the vast salt flats of Salinas Grandes. Later we will explore the remote salt flat of Arizaro and the most unusual highly eroded setting of Los Colorados for spectacular sunrise and sunset shooting sessions. Join us on a truly unique
Pre-extension: Cafayate - El Peñón - Pumice fields
Day 1 • Fly to Salta – Drive to Cafayate Day 2 • Drive to
Birding Mendoza
Discovering the Bird Riches of the Cuyo region
Departures
5-day trip from Mendoza, Argentina.
2024: January 6 to 10
• October 20 to 24
2025: January 5 to 9
Trip Code: ARG01
This programme is operated on a fixed departure date, with a minimum of 3 participants and a maximum group size of 7 guests. This trip is also operated as a customized, private trip, with a minimum of 2 participants.
Mendoza province holds a fascinating mosaic of habitats with a fantastic bird diversity. It is located at the heart of the Cuyo region in western Argentina, and is renowned all over the world for the excellent quality of its wines. On this trip we will explore the Monte ecosystem, looking for specialties such as Chaco Eagle, Spot-winged Falconet, and a delightful cast of passerines including Chaco Earthcreeper, Salinas Monjita, Sandy Gallito, Crested Gallito, White-throated Cacholote, Rufous-warbling Finch and the endangered Yellow Cardinal. We will also explore the impressive foothills of the Andes mountains to look for White-collared Swift, the striking Red-tailed Comet, Whitewinged Black-Tyrant, Steinbach’s Canastero, Patagonian Mockingbird and White-tipped Plantcutter among several other species.
Falklands Wildlife Explorer
Encounters with Penguins
Itinerary in Brief
Departures
Day 4 • Potrerillos – Uspallata (1 night) Day 5 • Potrerillos – Mendoza – End of the trip
8-day trip from Santiago or Punta Arenas, Chile.
2024: January 6 to 13
2025: January 4 to 11
Trip Code: FKI01
This programme is operated on a fixed departure date, with a minimum of 3 participants and a maximum group size of 7 guests. This trip is also operated as a customized, private trip, with a minimum of 2 participants.
Onthis journey we will discover the wildlife and natural history of a remarkable and remote group of islands, located in the South Atlantic Ocean, the Falklands / Malvinas. The archipelago comprises more than 700 small islands (most of them uninhabited) and is located about 350 miles northwest of Cape Horn, in mainland South America. The Falklands are simply the most accessible place in the world to observe breeding colonies of sub-Antarctic wildlife such as tame Black-browed Albatrosses, Rockhopper and King Penguins and marine mammals such as Southern Elephant Seals and Orcas. Exceptional nature photography and wildlife tour, featuring visits to huge penguin colonies and other seabirds including cormorants and albatrosses; elephant seal and sea lions rookeries; dolphin and possibly orca sightings; land-rover tours to remote wildlife spots in the outlying islands of the archipelago, scenic
flights within the archipelago and the remarkable hospitality of the Kelpers, our hosts throughout the trip. If you are a nature photographer, a birder, a botanist, or simply a nature enthusiast or hiker, this journey of discovery is for you!
Itinerary in Brief
Day 1 • Flight to the Falklands – Transfer to Port Stanley (2 nights)
Day
Falklands, South Georgia & Antarctica
The Superb Wildlife of the Southern Ocean
Departures
Cruise 1 • South Georgia Through the Camera Lens
2024: October 19 to November 2 15-day cruise
Starts/Ends: Santiago, Chile
Vessel: M/V Sea Spirit
Cruise 2 • Antarctic Wildlife Adventure
2025: February 26 to March 20
23-day cruise
Starts: Ushuaia, Argentina / Ends Buenos Aires, Argentina
Vessel: M/V Sea Spirit
The Ultimate Seabird Cruise to the world’s remotest islands!
Wehave added two exciting and very special expeditions to our 2024-2025 trip portfolio, exploring the sub-Antarctic islands along the Scotia Arc and the always awe-inspiring Antarctic Peninsula. The Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas) are always a great introduction to the Southern Ocean marine wildlife and we will have the opportunity to explore Carcass and Saunders with its Rockhopper and Gentoo penguins and its Blackbrowed Albatross rookeries. Right after that, a couple of days sailing over the Scotia Sea will offer encounters with outstanding seabirds and cetaceans before reaching everybody’s favourite, the South Georgia Islands! This is truly one of the world’s greatest nature spectacles as every corner of their coasts is literally teeming with wildlife. Vast penguin colonies, albatrosses, petrels and elephant seals will be a true delight as we explore Prion Island, Salisbury Plain, St. Andrews and Fortuna Bays and the
historic whaling station of Grytviken.
The last portion of these expeditions will be devoted to explore the western side of the Antarctic Peninsula and its mind-blowing pristine landscapes. We will have several days to sail from the South Shetland Islands all the way south to the scenic Lemaire Channel, in the company of penguins and other seabirds, whales and hopefully Orcas.
Departures
2024: March 28 to April 19
2025: March 23 to April 14
22-night cruise
Starts: Ushuaia, Argentina
Ends: St Helena
Vessel: M/V Hondius
Itinerary in Brief
Trip Code: ANT05
This23-day cruise
Starts: Ushuaia, Argentina / Ends Buenos Aires, Argentina
Vessel: M/V Sea Spirit
is truly a unique seafaring expedition, a fantastic exploration of the Southern Ocean and some of its more formidably seabird-rich islands: South Georgia, Gough and Tristan da Cunha. Enjoying the company of Far South Expeditions Founder and Chilean ornithologist/author Enrique Couve, we will explore and discover the nutrient rich waters of the Antarctic and Sub-antarctic to look for a wealth of rare tubenoses and penguins as well as seldom-seen cetaceans. South Georgia will deliver a great sample of Antarctic seabirds including delicate Light-mantled Sooties, Wanderers, prions and Blue Petrels. Heading north, we will explore some of world’s most remote islands, including Gough and Tristan da Cunha for its Northern Rockhopper penguin and Yellow-nosed Albatross rookeries. Join Enrique on his quest for the world’s rarest seabirds, learn first-hand from him and share his passion for marine birding on the boat trip of a lifetime.
Atlantic Odyssey
Itinerary in Brief
Antarctic Peninsula Air Cruises
A Unique Cruise to the White Continent
Departures
8-day trip from Punta Arenas, Chile
Trip Code: ANT01
Vessels: M/V Ocean Nova, M/V Hebridean Sky or brand new M/V Magellan
Explorer
This programme is operated on a fixed departure date, with no minimum of participants. Check out our website for updated departure dates.
Available from Dec until Feb.
TheAntarctic Peninsula is a promontory of land and ice that breaks the apparent radial symmetrical shape of the White Continent. It begins approximately at 75°S, extending northwards to 62°S, almost reaching the southern tip of South America. Therefore, the Peninsula is the most accessible region of the Antarctic and until recently one needed to navigate for two whole days and nights through the rough seas of the infamous and feared Drake Passage. This was before this programme was designed! We now offer you the chance of visiting the most pristine corner on Earth via this unique itinerary, which combines a short and comfortable 2-hour flight from Punta Arenas (southern Chile) to the South Shetland Islands, and the comfort of a small expedition cruise across the calm waters of the Antarctic Peninsula. Join us on the most innovative circuit to discover the landscapes and wildlife of the White Continent.
Itinerary in Brief
Day 1 • Arrival to Punta Arenas, Chile –
Introductory briefing – Overnight at Punta Arenas
Day 2 • Flight over the Drake Passage to King George Island, South Shetlands – Board
Antarctic vessel (5 nights)
Days 3/6 • Cruising and exploring along the western Antarctic Peninsula and the South Shetland Islands
Day 7 • Flight back to Punta Arenas - Overnight at Punta Arenas
Day 8 • End of the trip
Our Tour Leaders & Guides
Being the people who work directly in the field with our customers, and therefore the ones who show them around and interpret for them, the leaders should not just be knowledgeable, enthusiastic, great naturalists and easy-going people, but also careful planners. Our trips have a strong educational component and our guides are truly passionate about wildlife and the natural world; they will be delighted to get out there with you and look for new birds, mammals a nd other fauna, show you the rarest orchid on a botanical trip, or take you to the best spot, in the right light, for your landscape or wildlife photography and telling you about the bird you’re looking at, or the geology of the place, while throwing in any relevant historical or cultural accounts. This is your holiday and our guides will do their best in planning ahead and avoiding any potential trouble, while sorting any inconvenience that could come up the road. You will make the most of the experience by sharing through the eyes of your local, experienced tour leader.
Rodrigo Tapia, Jorge Valenzuela, Sebastián Saiter, David Couve, Matías Ballarini, Ana María Venegas, Flavio Martínez, Cecilia Vedelago, Victor Vega, Susanne Widmer.
