Los Alerces National Park

The National Park Los Alerces ( Parque Nacional Los Alerces ) was founded in 1937. It is located in the northeast of the province of Chubut in the Argentine Patagonia. It covers an area of ​​2630 km ² along the Chilean border and is on average 900 meters above the sea. For tourists, only a limited part of the park is accessible, the remainder of the research subject. The park was established to ( cupressoides Fitzroya; Spanish Alerces ) the last stocks of Patagonian cypress to protect.

Flora

Due to the high rainfall, the park is one of the wettest places on Earth, growing in the entire western part Valdivian cold rainforest tree with tall bamboo and various deciduous and coniferous trees. Outstanding are the so-called Alerces that give the park its name. This is an extremely slow-growing and very durable cypress. The trees grow on average only 0.8 mm in diameter per year and can reach heights of up to 50 meters. The age of the oldest trees in the park is estimated to be about 3000 years. For tourists about a thousand year old copy on Lake Menéndez is accessible. The Alerces were on the verge of extinction because their wood was highly sought after.

Tourist Park is easily accessible and offers a range of accommodation in hotels, guest houses and campsites. He has an extensive network of hiking trails. The park can also be reached in a day trip from Esquel.