Patagonia Park

Originally one of the region’s largest sheep ranches, Estancia Valle Chacabuco has changed hands many times over the past century. [6] British explorer Lucas Bridges established the area as ranchland in 1908, but through the efforts of the Eduardo Frei Montalva administration to redistribute wealth, the land was expropriated and divided between several local families in 1964. The land was reclaimed once again, this time by the Augusto Pinochet administration, and then sold to Belgian landowner Francoise de Smet in 1980.

Kris and Doug Tompkins [7] [8] first visited the Chacabuco Valley in 1995. CONAF (Chile’s National Forest Corporation) had listed the Chacabuco Valley as a top conservation priority for over 30 years. After two decades of declining profits, in 2004, and with the help of Tompkins Conservation, Conservacion Patagonica purchased the 70,600-hectare (174,500-acre) Estancia Valle Chacabuco from de Smet and set about selling off livestock, taking down fences, restoring grasslands and forests, and developing species-specific restoration programs. [9] [10] As the park was re-wilded a public-access infrastructure was built that included trails, campgrounds, lodging and employee housing. Since acquiring the estancia, smaller land acquisitions have expanded Parque Patagonia to nearly 81,000 hectares (200,000 acres). [11]

Located in the transition zone between the arid steppe of Argentine Patagonia and the temperate southern beech forests of Chilean Patagonia, Parque Patagonia encompasses an array of ecosystems including Grassland, Riparian forest, and Wetland. [12] [13] [14]

The dry steppe grasslands of Argentine Patagonia are characterized by minimal rainfall, cold, dry winds, and sandy soil. The Andean Mountains block moisture from flowing west, creating this arid area region. A number of plants have been able to adapt to this harsh environment, including shrubs like calafate, quilembay and yaoyín, and tuft grasses like flechilla and coirón poa. These grasslands support hardy animals such as the burrowing owl, the gray fox, tuco-tuco, mara, armadillos, various eagle and hawk species, and keystone predators like the puma. A wide range of animals thrive in the more habitable outskirts of the desert and around ephemeral lakes formed from the Andes' runoff, where trees and more nutritious aqueous grasses can grow.

Moving west and climbing the vertical gradient of the Andes Mountains, the park’s flora and fauna changes notably. The landscape begins to transform into forests, which consists mostly of three species of the southern beech (Nothofagus) genus: lenga, ñire, and coiue. Here, rainfall can be very high, generating dense forests, full of nutrients from high leaf litter. These forests host 370 vascular plant genera, which are vital to the survival of the surrounding fauna. [15] Some significant mammals include the endangered huemul deer, puma, red fox, and various species of bats. The forests of Parque Patagonia also contain a high diversity of bird species including the Andean condor, Magellanic woodpecker, Spectacled Duck, Black-necked swan, pygmy owl, Black-faced ibis, Chilean flamingo, Austral negrito, Southern lapwing and a range of amphibians and reptiles.

Throughout Patagonia, the guanaco, [16] a large camelid that is a wild relative of the llama, is the most abundant herbivore. It feeds on 75% of all plant species in the Patagonian steppe. The guanaco acts as a keystone species: it prevents domination of grass species, acts as a disperser and fertilizes, and has high reproductive rates [17] , providing food for local carnivores, especially pumas.

Although the park lies on the eastern side of the Andes, its glacier-fed streams and rivers run toward the Pacific Ocean. Their turquoise blue water is home to substantial populations of native fish such as Perch (Percichthys trucha), pejerrey patagonico (Patagonina hatcheri) and puyen. Atlantic salmon, as well as brook, brown, and rainbow trout, have been introduced to the area.

Parque Patagonia is open October through April and only accessible by car. It is south of Coyhaique, Chile and north of Cochrane, Chile. The closest airport is Balmaceda, Chile (BBA). A 300 km drive from Balmaceda on the Carretera Austral is necessary to reach the park. As of March 2018, the Carretera Austral is only paved between Balmaceda and Cerro Castillo, Chile. The remaining portion of the highway to the park is unpaved.

The ranger station in Sector Jeinimeni is easily reachable by car in about 1.5 hours from the town of Chile Chico. It is a 2 to 5 day hike along the Aviles Trail to the Lodge at Valle Chacabuco.

The Lodge at Valle Chacabuco, [18] at the center of the park, houses the park's main tourist infrastructure, including a lodge, restaurant, visitor center and employee housing. There are also three campgrounds in the park. [19] [20]

• "Parque Patagonia: Leading a New Generation of Land Conservation". Will Carless. Patagonia, 2015. ISBN 978-1938340475

• http://www.patagoniapark.org Patagonia Park Official Website

• https://www.adventurealan.com/patagonia-national-park-trek/ Detailed for the Aviles Trail