The Puma (or Mountain Lion or Cougar) is distributed in nine million square kilometers of terrain of all kinds from Punta Arenas, Chile, north continuously to the southern border of Alaska, the greatest latitudinal range of any terrestrial mammal on Earth. Yet in all this extensive distribution, SouthWild’s researchers have found that there is only one place in the entire world where travelers can see Pumas in the wild on 99.9% of days, and normally for hours each day: the 10,000 hectares (25,000 acres) of open, rolling hills on the eastern edge of the Torres del Paine National Park and on the adjacent, private Laguna Amarga Ranch (LAR). The LAR boasts the lion’s share, namely 6,000 hectares of what we like to call “Pumaland”.

SouthWild is proud to have Pumaland’s only year-round, multi-person team of Puma specialists and the only fully-dedicated logistical base in Pumaland, our so-called ”PumaLab”. Our full-time, on-site team makes SouthWild by far the best choice for exciting walking tours to see Pumas in action, resting, stalking, attacking, killing, and eating (mostly Guanacos, the larger and meatier of the two honey-colored, native South American camels). Our repeat guests to Peru, Brazil, and Chile include Art Wolfe, Tom Mangelsen, and Frans Lanting (in chronological order by their first visits to Pumaland). These famous photographers said that the SouthWild experience of “Walking with Pumas” offers the only chance anywhere to walk with large cats in the wild, often for hours on end. It is a spine-tingling experience, definitely the best place to enjoy your vacation in South America.

Fortunately, there are several hotels of different levels within striking distance of Pumaland, and SouthWild designs and executes the finest Puma expeditions. Our favorite itinerary involves 4, 5 or 6 days searching for and watching Pumas. In the last 200 days of outings to search for Pumas in Pumaland, we found Pumas on every single outing, and often 3-5 of the big cats. Talk with our team about the best options for your available time and physical condition, as the daily outings can include 2-12 km of walks on open, flat or somewhat-sloping terrain.