Outings and excursions · Puerto Varas
Alerce Andino National Park: Sargazo and Fría lakes among ancient alerces
Photos: Natalia Reyes Escobar · CC BY-SA 4.0 / Natalia Reyes Escobar · CC BY-SA 4.0 / Natalia Reyes Escobar · CC BY-SA 4.0 (Wikimedia Commons)
Rainforest trails among alerce trees over 40 meters tall, leading to Lake Sargazo and Laguna Fría, just outside Puerto Montt.
Alerce Andino National Park begins practically on Puerto Montt's doorstep, yet once inside everything changes scale. Its 39,255 hectares of temperate rainforest stretch between Lake Chapo, the Reloncaví Estuary and Reloncaví Sound. CONAF has managed it since 1982, and it is part of the Temperate Rainforests of the Southern Andes Biosphere Reserve.
There are two usual ways in. Along the Carretera Austral, 40 kilometers from Puerto Montt, lies Lenca, where a road heads up the Chaicas River valley: there is a ranger station at kilometer 7, and the track continues 15 kilometers to Laguna Chaiquenes, four-wheel drive only. The other route goes through Correntoso: turn off before the Chamiza bridge, drive about 20 paved kilometers and another 10 on gravel to the Sargazo sector, the gateway to the lakes.
At Sargazo the trails slip into a dense, green-on-green forest where alerce trees rise above 40 meters. The park protects some 20,000 hectares of this species, one of the longest-lived on Earth, extremely slow-growing and declared a natural monument in Chile in 1977. The path to Lake Sargazo has a lookout over the water, and the same sector is the starting point for the trails to Laguna Fría, the Bosque Catedral and the Rodal de Alerces.
Laguna Fría is one of the park's more than fifty lakes and ponds: still water, forested hills running right down to the shore, fallen logs mirrored on the surface. If you walk quietly and get lucky, you might spot a pudú or a monito del monte, two typical residents of this cool rainforest.
The best season is November to March, though rain is part of the landscape here even in summer. Before heading out, check with CONAF which trails are open: the longer routes may be closed until further notice.
- Tour type: Sightseeing and trekking
- Difficulty level: Easy to moderate on the Sargazo sector trails; harder on the longer routes
- Tip: Bring warm layers and rain gear, and sign out with the park ranger of the sector, noting the date and your expected time of return.
