Photographing Patagonia’s Wilderness

Photographing Patagonia’s Wilderness

Tour Duration
12 Days – 11 Nights
Best time to go
October to April
Tour Type
Fly-Drive

Tour Features

The southernmost tip of the American Continent is a land of vast solitudes and unexplored wilderness. Remote Patagonia is an immense geographical region in the south of Argentina and Chile. Flanked by the Atlantic Ocean on the east, and the Pacific on the west, Patagonia spans north to south from the Colorado River in Argentina and Reloncaví Sound in Chile, to the Beagle Channel and Cape Horn.

To the east of the Andes, Patagonia is mostly a dry bushy steppe, rising westwards in a succession of 13 abrupt terraces, roughly 100 metres at a time, all the way to the Andean Range. Western and Andean Patagonia are very humid. The dominant habitat is the Southern Beech forest, with secondary tree species varying slightly with latitude. There’s even a temperate rainforest called Valdivian Forest, spanning over northwestern Patagonia, mostly within Chile, but with a wedge-shaped section crossing the Andes way into Argentina.

Strong westerly winds sweep the Southern Hemisphere, between the latitudes 40 and 49. These are the famous Roaring Forties. Air displaced from the Equator towards the South Pole, which travels close to the surface between the latitudes of 30 and 60 degrees south, combines with the earth’s rotation to cause west-to-east air currents. Because there is little land below the 40th parallel south, greater wind speeds are able to build than at the same latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere. After crossing the Pacific Ocean, the Roaring Forties carry a great amount of humidity, thus turning the western coast of Patagonia into a generally wet and rainy region. These wet winds finally hit the Andean Range, producing heavy downpours on the western slope of the Andes, to drastically dry out before entering eastern Patagonia transformed into very dry, astringent winds running all the way to the Atlantic coast and beyond.

Join us on this discovery journey through the seashores, mountains, steppes and forests of mighty Patagonia, searching for their unparalleled wildlife. The Patagonian forests are home to spectacular birds like Magellanic Woodpecker and Lesser Horned Owl. A myriad of seabirds, including three species of penguin and several petrels and albatross make their home at the islands and along the shores of remote Tierra del Fuego. But Patagonia is also unique for its fantastic scenery, including spectacular glaciers, breathtaking mountains, turquoise-blue lakes and solitary seashores. This southernmost tip of the American Continent is also an incredible place for mammals. Several species dwell the steppes, seashores and forests of southern Patagonia, including two species of sea-lions, several dolphins and whales, two species of armadillos, two of fox, one skunk, two ferrets and many others. Huge herds of Guanaco roam freely throughout Patagonia and they constitute the main food resource for one of the most emblematic cats in the Americas: The Puma. This tour has been designed to capture Patagonia’s wilderness at its best. We will explore its most iconic nature reserves, looking for their unique flora and fauna, including –among many other birds and mammals– Puma and Condor in their natural habitat, but also other animals and colourful wild flowers.

Tour Highlights

The Moreno Glacier, Torres del Paine, Mount Fitz Roy, Beagle Channel, an incredible diversity of colorful flowers, Puma, Andean Condor and Magellanic Woodpecker.

INFORMATION

Tour Interest:
Photography
Tour Type:
Fly-Drive
Tour Dates:
Runs on reques
Tour Duration:
12 Days – 11 Nights
Starts/Ends:
Starts in El Calafate ends in Ushuaia
Best time to go:
October to April
Prices:
Based on group size
What’s Included?
Private transportation for all transfers and excursions. Accommodations on a twin/double basis. Single supplements on request. Full time Trogon Tours’ leader to accompany the group from day 1 on arrival in El Calafate airport to day 12 on departure from Ushuaia airport. Local guides where required by law. All breakfasts, lunches, box-lunches and dinners, from lunch on day 1 to lunch on day 12 of the tour. No drinks included. One motor catamaran excursion on shared-boat basis in Los Glaciares National Park and one on the Beagle Channel. Admission fees to all national parks and nature reserves.
What’s Not Included?
International and domestic airfares and airport taxes. Tips to guides, drivers, hotel & restaurants personnel, etc. Drinks with your meals. Personal travel and medical insurance. Anything not specified under “What is included?”

Itinerary ( 12 days )

Day

1

Arrival

Morning meeting with your Trogon Tours’ guide at El Calafate airport. Drive to El Chaltén. O/N El Chaltén.

Day

2

Mount Fitz Roy & Viedma Glacier area.

Full day photographing Mount Fitz Roy and Viedma Glacier area. O/N El Chaltén.

Day

3

Mount Fitz Roy & Viedma Glacier area.

Full day photographing Mount Fitz Roy and Viedma Glacier area. O/N El Chaltén.

Day

4

Torres del Paine.

Drive to Torres del Paine National Park. O/N Torres del Paine.

Day

5 & 6

Full day photographing.

Two full days photographing the Paine Massif and wildlife including puma and condor. O/N Torres del Paine

Day

7

El Calafate.

Drive to El Calafate. O/N El Calafate.

Day

8 & 9

Los Glaciares National Park.

Two full day exploring Los Glaciares National Park, including Moreno Glacier. O/N El Calafate.

Day

10

Flight to Ushuaia.

Flight from El Calafate to Ushuaia. O/N Ushuaia.

Day

11

Beagle Channel & Estancia Harberton.

Full day combined catamaran/bus tour to Beagle Channel and Estancia Harberton. O/N Ushuaia

Day

12

Tierra del Fuego National Park.

Morning Tierra del Fuego National Park. Late evening drive to the airport. Tour Conclusion.

From our gallery

MAP

    Contact a specialist

    The specialist who designs your trip will have explored the country many times and, in some cases, lived there. Their first-hand knowledge gives us the belief that no other travel company can match our expertise in helping you plan your trip. Your dedicated specialist will take the time to understand your preferences and build them into an itinerary to match, working to your budget. He or she will keep perfecting it until you’re completely happy and ready to book.

    OTHER TRAVEL IDEAS

    Birding Bolivia

    Birding Bolivia

    Tour Features Join us on this unique birding adventure in the heart of South America to look for Bolivia’s endemic and special birds and an incredible array of Neotropical species. Bolivia is a biological treasure nestled between Argentina, Brazil, Peru, Chile and...

    Birding Southern Pampas

    Birding Southern Pampas

    Tour Features The Pampa is an extensive humid plain shared by Argentina, Uruguay and Brazil. In Argentina, the Pampas Grasslands cover an area of more than 50 million hectares (193,000 sq. mi.) in the central part of the country. This unique habitat is well...

    Birding Eastern Patagonia

    Birding Eastern Patagonia

    Tour Features Join us on this unique birding adventure in the southernmost end of the American Continent. Patagonia is certainly a land of extremes. This southernmost tip of the American continent is a geographical region that covers the south of Argentina and Chile...

    Birding Argentina’s Northwest

    Birding Argentina’s Northwest

    Tour Features Northwestern Argentina is a land full of spectacular landscapes and with a vast cultural heritage. Remnants of buildings and roads from the “Great Inca Empire of the Sun” can still be found everywhere here, and many cultural events and pre-Hispanic...

    Birding Argentina’s Northeast

    Birding Argentina’s Northeast

    Tour Features Our journey begins in Buenos Aires, Argentina’s capital city and the main gateway to this country. This is the heart of the Argentine Pampas, a habitat that stands out among Argentina’s most productive birding areas. The richest birding area in the...

    Birding Argentina’s Central Hills

    Birding Argentina’s Central Hills

    Tour Features Argentina’s Central Hills are well reputed among birders due to the fact that they hold most of this country’s endemic birds. The central Argentinean provinces of Córdoba and San Luis host some of the most fantastic birding destinations in southern South...

    Birding Colombia from Andes to Santa Marta

    Birding Colombia from Andes to Santa Marta

    Tour Features The Andes are, by far, Colombia’s most relevant geographical feature. In the southwestern departments of Cauca and Nariño, the Andes divide in three different mountain ranges, known as ‘cordilleras.’ The Cordillera Occidental (western range), spans from...

    Cacti of Bolivia

    Cacti of Bolivia

    Tour Features Landlocked Bolivia is a biological paradise nestled in the heart of southern South America. Surrounded by Argentina, Chile, Peru, Brazil and Paraguay, Bolivia’s rich and diverse territory is clearly split into a wet eastern slope -where the Bolivian...

    Cacti of Chile

    Cacti of Chile

    Tour Features Chile’s unusual, ribbon-like shape -4,300 kilometres (2,700 mi) long and on average 175 kilometres (109 mi) wide- has given it a hugely varied climate, ranging from the world’s driest desert -the Atacama- in the north, through a Mediterranean climate in...

    Birds and Wildlife of Northern Peru

    Birds and Wildlife of Northern Peru

    Tour Features Peru counts 84 different types of ecosystems, but forests are Peru’s main geographical features. They range from cloud forest in the south to low-lying plains Amazon forest in the north, spanning over nearly two-thirds of its territory. It is believed...

    Ushuaia

    Ushuaia

    Tour Features Tierra del Fuego, the southernmost tip of America, is a large archipelago spread out in the southern boundaries of the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. Its main island, called Isla Grande, is shared by Argentina and Chile. On the northern shore of the Beagle...

    Birding Argentina’s Cordoba Hills & Pampas

    Birding Argentina’s Cordoba Hills & Pampas

    Tour Features One of the eldest geological formations in the continent, the group of mountains known as Córdoba Central Hills, uplifts in the middle of the Argentine Chaco-Pampas Great Plain. Pampa de Achala, sheltered by these hills, is a plateau crossed by streams...

    Birding Cuba

    Birding Cuba

    Tour Features The Republic of Cuba is a country comprising an archipelago of islands in the northern Caribbean Sea, sitting only 150 kilometres (93 miles) south and across the Straits of Florida to the closest tip of Key West, the southernmost point of the United...

    Cacti of Northwestern Argentina

    Cacti of Northwestern Argentina

    Tour Features Northwestern Argentina is a land full of spectacular landscapes and with a vast cultural heritage. These lands were part of the south quarter of the mythical Inca Empire -the so called Qollasuyu. The local native people call themselves Qollas. They are...