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2020 march: Chile/Patagonia Torre del Paine
It was not far from Calafate to the Chilean border, where we switched back to the Chilean part of Patagonia. The destination was the small village of Villa Cerro Castillo on the edge of the Torre del Paine National Park and the starting point for the next 12 days.
Torre del Paine - harsh climate and sharp wind
The park is known for its towering mountains and the golden pampas (grass steppes), the rare animals such as the guanacos, pumas, Patagonian fox and many species of birds. The most famous landmarks include the 3 granite towers after which the park is named and the horn-shaped peaks of the Cuernos del Paine.
![7P8A0384 Torre del Paine NP Patagonia Chile 7P8A0384 Torre del Paine NP Patagonia Chile](/images/igallery/resized/6001-6100/7P8A0384_Torre_del_Paine_NP_Patagonia_Chile-6072-320-200-80.jpg)
![7P8A0452 Torre del Paine NP Patagonia Chile 7P8A0452 Torre del Paine NP Patagonia Chile](/images/igallery/resized/6001-6100/7P8A0452_Torre_del_Paine_NP_Patagonia_Chile-6073-320-200-80.jpg)
![7P8A0540 Guanaco Torre del Paine NP Patagonia Chile 7P8A0540 Guanaco Torre del Paine NP Patagonia Chile](/images/igallery/resized/6001-6100/7P8A0540_Guanaco_Torre_del_Paine_NP_Patagonia_Chile-6074-320-200-80.jpg)
![7P8A0682 Torre del Paine NP Patagonia Chile 7P8A0682 Torre del Paine NP Patagonia Chile](/images/igallery/resized/6001-6100/7P8A0682_Torre_del_Paine_NP_Patagonia_Chile-6075-320-200-80.jpg)
![AI6I1340 Condor Torre del Paine Patagonia Chile AI6I1340 Condor Torre del Paine Patagonia Chile](/images/igallery/resized/6001-6100/AI6I1340_Condor_Torre_del_Paine_Patagonia_Chile-6076-320-200-80.jpg)
![AI6I2333 Puma Rupestre Cubs Torre del Paine Patagonia Southern Chile AI6I2333 Puma Rupestre Cubs Torre del Paine Patagonia Southern Chile](/images/igallery/resized/6001-6100/AI6I2333_Puma_Rupestre_Cubs_Torre_del_Paine_Patagonia_Southern_Chile-6077-320-200-80.jpg)
Pumas and other wildlife Torre del Paine
The most exciting part of my stay in the Torre del Paine National Park was a 9 day tracking tour to take pictures of pumas. I hired two tracker teams in advance. It is not easy to see or find pumas - alone almost impossible. It takes experienced trackers and I had one of the best, if not the best, trackers with Jorge Cardenas. You are not lucky every day, nor is the weather good every day. Wind speeds of up to 130 km on some days, up to 7 km uphill and downhill on partly steep terrain did not make hiking with 18 kg camera equipment easy. But it was worth it. I was able to take breathtaking photos of some cougars. Three females, named Rupestre, Petaca and Blinka, were very special with their young. I will repeat the same thing in the Patagonian winter, July 2021.
![7P8A0776 Black naked Schwan Torre del Paine Patagonia Chile 7P8A0776 Black naked Schwan Torre del Paine Patagonia Chile](/images/igallery/resized/6001-6100/7P8A0776_Black_naked_Schwan_Torre_del_Paine_Patagonia_Chile-6078-320-200-80.jpg)
![7P8A3281 Puma Petaca Torre del Paine Patgonia Southern Chile 7P8A3281 Puma Petaca Torre del Paine Patgonia Southern Chile](/images/igallery/resized/6001-6100/7P8A3281_Puma_Petaca_Torre_del_Paine_Patgonia_Southern_Chile-6079-320-200-80.jpg)
![AI6I1435 Southern crested caracara Torre del Paine Patagonia Chile AI6I1435 Southern crested caracara Torre del Paine Patagonia Chile](/images/igallery/resized/6001-6100/AI6I1435_Southern_crested_caracara_Torre_del_Paine_Patagonia_Chile-6080-320-200-80.jpg)
![AI6I2059 Puma Rupestre Cubs Torre del Paine Patagonia Southern Chile AI6I2059 Puma Rupestre Cubs Torre del Paine Patagonia Southern Chile](/images/igallery/resized/6001-6100/AI6I2059_Puma_Rupestre_Cubs_Torre_del_Paine_Patagonia_Southern_Chile-6081-320-200-80.jpg)
![AI6I2221 Guanaco Torre del Paine Southern Chile AI6I2221 Guanaco Torre del Paine Southern Chile](/images/igallery/resized/6001-6100/AI6I2221_Guanaco_Torre_del_Paine_Southern_Chile-6082-320-200-80.jpg)
![AI6I3551 Puma Torre del Paine Patagonia Southern Chile AI6I3551 Puma Torre del Paine Patagonia Southern Chile](/images/igallery/resized/6001-6100/AI6I3551_Puma_Torre_del_Paine_Patagonia_Southern_Chile-6083-320-200-80.jpg)
![AI6I3586 Bird Torre del Paine Patagonia Southern Chile AI6I3586 Bird Torre del Paine Patagonia Southern Chile](/images/igallery/resized/6001-6100/AI6I3586_Bird_Torre_del_Paine_Patagonia_Southern_Chile-6085-320-200-80.jpg)
![AI6I3854 Puma Rupestre Cubs Torre del Paine Patgonia Southern Chile AI6I3854 Puma Rupestre Cubs Torre del Paine Patgonia Southern Chile](/images/igallery/resized/6001-6100/AI6I3854_Puma_Rupestre_Cubs_Torre_del_Paine_Patgonia_Southern_Chile-6086-320-200-80.jpg)
![AI6I4115 Puma Petaca Torre del Paine Patgonia Southern Chile AI6I4115 Puma Petaca Torre del Paine Patgonia Southern Chile](/images/igallery/resized/6001-6100/AI6I4115_Puma_Petaca_Torre_del_Paine_Patgonia_Southern_Chile-6087-320-200-80.jpg)
![7P8A0739 Nandu Torre del Paine Patagonia Chile 7P8A0739 Nandu Torre del Paine Patagonia Chile](/images/igallery/resized/11901-12000/7P8A0739_Nandu_Torre_del_Paine_Patagonia_Chile-11958-320-200-80.jpg)
![AI6I1539 Chilean flicker Torre del Paine Patagonia Chile AI6I1539 Chilean flicker Torre del Paine Patagonia Chile](/images/igallery/resized/11901-12000/AI6I1539_Chilean_flicker_Torre_del_Paine_Patagonia_Chile-11959-320-200-80.jpg)
![AI6I1698 Andian Fox Torre del Paine Patagonia Chile AI6I1698 Andian Fox Torre del Paine Patagonia Chile](/images/igallery/resized/11901-12000/AI6I1698_Andian_Fox_Torre_del_Paine_Patagonia_Chile-11960-320-200-80.jpg)
![068A0593 Jorge Cardenas and me Puma tracking Patagonia Southern Chile 068A0593 Jorge Cardenas and me Puma tracking Patagonia Southern Chile](/images/igallery/resized/12001-12100/068A0593_Jorge_Cardenas_and_me_Puma_tracking_Patagonia_Southern_Chile-12096-320-200-80.jpeg)