Travel Guide Parque Nacional Los Alerces

Los Alerces Park (alerts: Patagonian cypress) is one of the most beautiful national parks in the country. Covering an area of 263,000 ha, it has a dozen lakes and numerous streams. It was created in 1937 in order to protect this species of tree, some specimens of which have survived for centuries. The Alert is the oldest tree on the planet, but also one of the rare conifers in the region. Some (in Chile) are more than 3,000 years old and can reach a height of 50 m and the trunk sometimes reaches 4 m in diameter (the grandfather of the park, however, is 57 m high, with a diameter of 2.20 m and an age of 2,600 years). The algae belong to the North American redwood family and the colour of their wood is red. To develop, they need a very humid climate, which is characteristic of the region. The only way to view the park's redwood alerts is by lake route. Silver-blue or azure-green lakes marry these rugged and wild landscapes. The lakes form a network and all are connected by a system of natural and navigable canals. The stewardship (maps and information) is at Villa Futalaufquén on the lake of the same name. Unfortunately, at the beginning of 2015, a fire destroyed 1,300 ha of the park. In July 2017, UNESCO declares part of the 263,000 ha of the national park a World Heritage Site.