Alerce Andino

Is a beautiful temperate rainforest biosphere reserve that stands as the northern gateway to Chile’s epic Route of the Parks trail. Easily reached from the heart of the Lake District, its hiking trails wind up mountain ridges to tiny jewel-like lakes and wetlands rich in birdlife, all the while in the towering company of the region’s iconic millennium-old redwoods, the alerce trees that give the park its name, its 970,000 acres make up the northernmost point of Chile’s 1700km-long Route of the Parks, as well as looking down onto Reloncavi, the first of the great crinkled fjords that run down the country.

THE ALERCES:

The park’s defining feature are the trees that give it its name:”The alerces” they are spread along the park’s mountain slopes, growing up 60 mts high and living for several thousand years.

Alerce wood is both water- and insect-resistant, which made it a prized commodity for construction and ship-building. Heavy logging led to the trees becoming endangered until the alerce was declared a national monument in the 1970´s. They can be seen in several parks around the Chilean Lake District, but Alerce Andino has the greatest concentration of alerce forest, which covers almost half its area.

DENSE RAINFOREST:

The park comprises mostly of dense temperate rainforest, with a particularly high level of endemism: one in three species here is found nowhere else. It is an excellent place for birdwatching, particularly around its many tiny lakes and lagoons (including black-necked and coscoroba swans). Among the leaf litter of the forest there are plenty of edible fungi, once an important food source for the Huilliche who lived here.

Alerce Andino is excellent for short hikes, with several marked trails. The park receives exceptionally high rainfall (as much as 4000 mm per year) so it’s essential to pack waterproofs and boots appropriate for muddy trails.

THE TRAILS:

Four trails lead from out from the park office near the Sargazo entrance. Three of these – Los Ulmos, Laguna Sargazo and Alerce Milenario – can be threaded together to make a full day hike.

The shortest stretch, Los Ulmos, is particularly recommended by birdwatching, with a good chance of spotting the striking Magellanic woodpecker with its black body and scarlet cap. The Laguna Sargazo trail takes you over a suspension bridge to a small lake fringed with ferns and offering tremendous views, while the Alerce Milenario trail keep its trump card until the end, leading you to one of oldest recorded alerce trips in the park. This majestic tree, standing 60m high with a trunk 4m across is thought to be more than 2500 years old.

DAY HIKES:

A popular longer day hike is around 10 km to Laguna Frías along the Río Sargazo Valley. This includes the Alerce Milenario trail, but the more remote parts of the route are sometimes closed for maintenance due to their relative remoteness and the effects of the weather and landscape.