Parque Nacional Corcovado, Carretera Austral, Patagonia, Chile

Introduction

Access: Chaiten

The magnificent Corcovado Volcano stands 7,546 feet above sea level, welcoming visitors to this difficult-to-access, pristine ecosystem of evergreen forests, fjords, bays, rivers, deep valleys, and dozens of hidden lakes.

The park was created thanks to Tompkins Conservation’s generous donation of more than 207,570 acres and to the incorporation of national parklands. It features vast expanses of untouched, unexplored land, including hidden corners of the Corcovado Golf and Tic Toc Bay, in Chaitén.

Parque Nacional Pumalin, Carretera Austral, Patagonia, Chile

Introduction

Access: Caleta Gonzalo

The deep forests of Pumalín reach all the way to the fjords, creating one of the most spectacular coastlines on the planet. Hundreds of waterfalls cascade down from glaciers, falling over steep granite walls, as the Michinmahuida and Chaitén. Volcanoes crown the landscape.

The park’s most notable feature is the threatened Alerce (Fitzroya) tree––25 percent of Chile’s remaining Alerces can be found in this National Park. These ancient trees’ 3,000 years of life help to tell a timeless story of this pristine ecosystem, tucked in the Palena Province.

Parque Nacional Hornopiren, Carretera Austral, Patagonia, Chile

Introduction

Access: Hornopiren

Hornopirén National Park, (means “snow oven” in Mapudungún), forms part of the regional ecosystem of evergreen temperate rainforests. It is known for its rich biodiversity, high levels of endemic species, and thousands-of-years-old trees. This park is part of the World Biosphere Reserve of Temperate Rainforests of the Austral Andes. It features nearly 22,240 acres of Alerce trees.

The Hornopirén Volcano, although not within park limits, crowns this landscape of mountain valleys sculpted by snowdrifts, lakes, lagoons, and rivers such as the Puelo Chico, the Ventisquero, and the Blanco, which flows into the Comau Fjord, in Huailahué.

Parque Nacional Alerce Andino Carretera Austral, Patagonia, Chile

Introduction

Access: Puerto Montt

The trees of Alerce Andino National Park come from an old and storied lineage. This regional ecosystem remained isolated from the glaciers that covered the area 12 thousand years ago.

Today, its forests are a global icon of endemic fauna––one in three species in this forest is not found anywhere else on the planet. Vertical walls of granite surround the park’s fifty or so lagoons, and its rugged geography has long protected millennia-old Alerce (Fitzroya) trees that grow over more than half of the park’s surface. This priceless ecosystem can be found south of Lake Chapo and is classified as a Biosphere.