Safari to Los Canones

witness pioneering puma conservation in action

Set in the south of Argentina, Los Canones is a vast area of open steppe, etched by a network of dramatic canyons.

The area contains an extensive network of hiking trails, some beautifully-coloured ravines and some extremely impressive rock-art that tells of the habitation of these lands long before the arrival of the Spanish.

Perhaps most excitingly, Los Canones is home to a pioneering puma conservation project. Although the chances of sightings are much lower than in the Torres del Paine area of Chile, here you are likely to be walking with one of the project founders and every sighting is highly prized.

The best time to visit Los Canones is generally considered to be during the Oct-Mar southern spring-summer-autumn period.

Getting there

The Los Canones area is accessed by road. It lies a long way from other key locations in Argentina, so you do need to be ready for a genuine road trip.

From the Los Glaciares area in the south, it is around an 8 hour drive, largely through wild Patagonian landscapes, with isolated settlements. There is a small roadside lodge to break overnight, if needed.

Continuing north by road, it is around 5 hours to Balmaceda Airport across the border in Chile for onward flights to Santiago, or six hours to the airport at Comodoro Rivadavia for onward flights to Buenos Aires.

If you are intending to self-drive through Patagonia (which is relatively rare), then this is all part of the fun. If you are not self-driving, then the cost of these long transfers can be extremely high.

Where to stay

Remarkably, there is a really nice little lodge in the Los Canones area, La Posta de Los Toldos

a very long drive from anywhere