"Route of Parks of Patagonia" Alerce Andino National Park

The route is the work of the Tompkins Conservation, formed by the late Douglas Tompkins of North Face and his wife Kristine McDivitt Tompkins, who privately bought massive amounts of land in Patagonia to preserve it. After Doug died, the foundation, led by Kristine, donated more than a million acres in a historic agreement with the Chilean government to create five new national parks and expand three others already in existence. The government, in turn, contributed nearly 2.5 million acres and reclassified 5.4 million acres of reserves as national parks. Chile recently debuted the epic Route of Parks. Stretching 1,700 miles from Northern Patagonia down to remote Cape Horn, it’s a network of paved and gravel roads, trails, and gorgeous ferry crossings that can be explored by car, horse, kayak, foot, or bike. All told, the route packs 17 national parks into a landmass three times the size of Switzerland.

Your guide will pick you up from the hotel at 9 am. Spend a whole day out in the trails visiting ancient and giant Alerce pine trees – protected Chilean Natural Monuments that can grow up to 147 feet (45 meters) tall and 13 feet (4 meters) wide, the Alerce Andino National Park is a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. We will depart from the hotel and take the route Carretera Austral southwards, winding around the beautiful forested fjord of Reloncaví, beneath its snow-capped Andean mountains. The Carretera Austral is also known as Rte. 7, and it begins just outside the city limits of Puerto Montt, following the coast of Reloncaví Sound to the southern most hamlet called Villa O’Higgins. We will reach Parque Nacional Alerce Andino. This 39,255-hectare (96,960-acre) park is home to the alerce (fitzroyacupresoides), which is often compared to the sequoia for its thick diameter and height. These venerable giants can live more than 3,000 years, making them the second-oldest tree, after the American bristlecone pine. Other species in the park include evergreen beech, mañío, canelo, ulmo, and thick crops of ferns. It can get pretty wet here year-round, so bring rain gear just in case. After 1 hour drive, we will begin the walk from the park ranger ticket office.

Timing and distance: We offer 2 type of hikes in this Park. We accommodate the day to the clients'interests. We normaly can do a 3 hours return hike to the Laguna Sargazo exploring different trails on the way which lead to the main one.Or the 19 kilometers, or 11,8 miles. hike to Laguna El triangulo1.30 hours to the Waterfall of the Rio Chaicas and 1.15 hours more walk to the laguna Triangulo, 2-½ hours back down to the park ranger’s office.

Starts: Puerto Varas, 9 am
Ends at: Puerto Varas, 17 pm
Location: Parque Nacional Alerce Andino ,Lake District, South of Chile.
Difficulty level: To the waterfall and Laguna Sargazo:Easy.

To the laguna triangulo : Demanding.
Duration: 3 hours hike to Laguna Sargazo. 8-9 hours total, to Laguna Triangulo.1.10 hours drive from Pto Varas or 40 minutes from Puerto Montt to the park.
Transportation: Private vehicle
Equipment you need: Water bottle, trekking shoes, rain jacket, sun protection (sunglasses, hat) wind and/water-proof clothes according to the season and weather.
Guide:English, Italian, Spanish and a bit of Portuguese spoken, expert in native flora and fauna with first-aid knowledge. (WFR certificate)

Included: Private Transport, Box Lunch, Private guide.