Patagonia Photography and Travel Guide
- Where to fly into: Santiago Airport offers the widest array of international flights.
- Best luggage: For a trip of this length, the Nomatic Check-In roller bag is the ideal choice. It offers polycarbonate construction that stands up to the rigors of travel, silent wheels, low-profile handles, and a three-stage aluminum handle to fit your height. With space for 78 liters of gear, this bag has plenty of room for a 5-day trip or longer.
- Attractions & Things to Do: San Cristóbal Hill offers panoramic city views from the second-highest point in Santiago. Plaza de Armas is another must-see spot that is surrounded by beautiful architecture and filled with statues.
- Best Time of Year to Visit: Santiago and the surrounding area is a truly year-round destination. If visiting Patagonia, October through March offers the warmest temperatures.
- Check the weather in the Santiago area right now.
Photo by Ken Lee/Art of Seeing Photography Adventures
Patagonia is a breathtakingly beautiful area that occupies the southern end of South America.
It’s soaring mountains, windswept plains, pampas, and deserts extend into parts of Chile and Argentina.
The sheer variety of landscapes in this region makes it worthy of a photography-centric trip. But there is so much more to Patagonia than impressive granite spires, alpine lakes, and desert plateaus.
In this Patagonia photography and travel guide, we’ll dive into some of Patagonia’s well-known, must-see features that you need to photograph and give some insights into some off-the-beaten-path opportunities for exploring Patagonia with your camera as well.
What to Photograph in Patagonia - Mirador Los Torres and Los Cuernos
Photo by Ken Lee/Art of Seeing Photography Adventures
A trip to Patagonia would not be complete without capturing images of its jagged mountain peaks.
Areas like Mirador Los Torres and Los Cuernos are extremely popular, and for good reason - the views from these locations are postcard-worthy, to be sure.
Mirador Los Torres, or “The Towers” is worth the trip to Patagonia by itself.
The triad of granite towers extend virtually straight up toward the heavens, their pointed peaks piercing the sky.
Photo by Ken Lee/Art of Seeing Photography Adventures
As you can see above, sunrise and sunset are the ideal time to photograph these mountains, with the warm, golden tones of the light softly falling on their rugged profile.
It’s a busy location, despite the grueling hike to get there. But it’s clearly a location you don’t want to miss on your trip to Patagonia!
Photo by Ken Lee/Art of Seeing Photography Adventures
For a completely different view - a much wider one that encompasses a vast swath of the Patagonian landscape - travel to Los Cuernos.
Los Cuernos, which means “The Horns,” is in Torres Del Paine National Park, Chile, a particularly spectacular area of Patagonia that’s also home to Mirador Los Torres.
Photo by Ken Lee/Art of Seeing Photography Adventures
The mountains by themselves are impressive enough, but from the vantage point seen above, with the eye-poppingly blue waters of Lake Pehoe in the foreground, the scene becomes that much more impressive.
Better still, this and other popular vantage points in the Lake Pehoe area can be accessed easily on foot. In fact, you can simply walk the primary road along the lake and find many different perspectives for photographing the lake and the mountains beyond.
What to Photograph in Patagonia - Wildlife
Photo by Ken Lee/Art of Seeing Photography Adventures
If you can peel yourself away from the stunning vistas that Patagonia presents, you’ll find that it’s also an area abundant with wildlife.
Land animals like the Patagonian Mara, Hairy Armadillo, Patagonian Fox, and Guanaco can be found in many locations throughout the region.
There are large populations of birds and sea life as well, including the Andean Condor, Southern Crested Caracara, Dolphins, Sea Lions, and Southern Elephant Seals.
Photo by Ken Lee/Art of Seeing Photography Adventures
Photographing wildlife in Patagonia requires a bit of a different approach than photographing landscapes, but the two certainly make an ideal pairing.
When photographing land animals like the Guanaco, taking a wider shot that allows the viewer to see the animal’s surroundings gives a little context to the photo. Paired with some close-up views from a telephoto lens, these images allow you to tell a more detailed story about the animal and where it lives.
Of course, as seen above, there’s opportunities to use the majesty of Patagonia as a beautifully blurred backdrop for wildlife photos.
Though the mountain peaks are blurred, the impression of them is nonetheless strong.
Don’t be afraid to experiment with your compositions, either. One typically doesn’t see photos of birds in flight that feature their backsides, but in this case, it works beautifully. Just look at the sharpness of detail of the bird’s hind feathers!
It’s a different take on bird photography, but one that certainly results in a unique and compelling shot.
What to Photograph in Patagonia - Gaucho Culture
Photo by Ken Lee/Art of Seeing Photography Adventures
In addition to breathtaking landscapes and abundant wildlife, the culture of the people that inhabit Patagonia is well worth your time to explore.
Patagonian gauchos live a much different life than gauchos in other parts of South America, primarily due to the harsher climate of the area in which they live. Thus, one of their most recognizable features - the thick ponchos they wear to keep warm.
Photo by Ken Lee/Art of Seeing Photography Adventures
Gauchos are renowned for their skilled horseback riding skills as well as their intimate knowledge of the earth - a must in order to survive in such a desolate and challenging environment.
In Patagonia, you’ll find gauchos working herds of sheep, accompanied by their faithful dogs to help them keep track of their herds.
Photo by Ken Lee/Art of Seeing Photography Adventures
Many gauchos also work on ranches, or Estancias, where tourists can visit, stay, and learn more about this unique and vibrant culture.
In fact, you’re likely to find that time spent learning about gauchos is the most precious time you have in Patagonia!
Planning Your Patagonia Photography Trip
Photo by Ken Lee/Art of Seeing Photography Adventures
When visiting Patagonia with your camera, you certainly want to see the sights you often see in images online.
But you also want to experience Patagonia, too, don’t you? Often it’s when you get away from the tourist spots and into the off-the-beaten-path locations that you truly find opportunities to learn and grow with your camera.
For my money, exploring Patagonia as part of a photography adventure is absolutely the way to go.
Photo by Ken Lee/Art of Seeing Photography Adventures
Think about it - with a photography adventure, everything is planned out for you once you get to the location. That means you just have to book your flight and pack your bags, and the rest of the journey is taken care of for you.
Without having to worry about where to eat, where to stay, finding guides, and so forth, you can instead focus on the sights and sounds that surround you as you travel through Patagonia.
Photo by Ken Lee/Art of Seeing Photography Adventures
Sure, there’s the typical benefits of being on a photography tour in that it’s all planned out for you, but what Ken strives to provide to each adventure participant is a unique experience that allows you to really immerse yourself in the location.
You aren’t just carted around in a vehicle on one of Ken’s adventures - you hike, drive, and on his Patagonia Fall Colors Photography Adventure, you even spend three days on horseback!
What’s more, Ken is all about the creative process - you aren’t just led to gorgeous spots - you’re encouraged to explore the creative process in addition to the technical aspects of taking great photos.
This “whole brain approach” makes elevating your photography game that much more likely.
Sounds exciting, doesn’t it?
Other Tips for Planning a Patagonia Photography Trip