Alerce Andino National Park, National park in Los Lagos Region, Chile
Alerce Andino National Park is a protected area in the Los Lagos Region, Llanquihue Province, located south of Puerto Montt in Chile. It covers forested mountain slopes, lakes, and natural pools, with dense woodland at lower elevations giving way to open alpine terrain higher up.
The park was established in November 1982 to protect one of the oldest forest types in South America. The trees at its core, known locally as alerce, belong to the Fitzroya genus and have been growing in the Andes for thousands of years.
The Huilliche people traditionally traveled through these waterways using boats built from wooden planks and tree bark, known as dalcas. This way of moving through the landscape shows how closely local communities lived with the rivers and forests that make up the park today.
The park has two separate entry points: one south of Puerto Montt leading to the Correntoso and Sargazo areas, and another through the Lenca sector. Sturdy footwear is recommended for most trails, as the ground is often wet and uneven.
The Monito del Monte, a small marsupial that lives in this type of forest, is considered a living fossil whose ancestors existed more than 40 million years ago. Despite looking like a rodent, it is more closely related to Australian marsupials than to other South American mammals.
The community of curious travelers
AroundUs brings together thousands of curated places, local tips, and hidden gems, enriched daily by 60,000 contributors worldwide.
