parque nacional alerce andino

There is a shuttle that leaves from Puerto Varas on the main road that can take you out here, leaves almost every 30mins. The ride is about 30-45mins depending on how many stops they make, but you drive right along the lake and around some great farming areas. The hike is amazing, along the rivers and streams of turquoise water. It has signs for the trail and about the area. No guide necessary and a small entrance fee thats worth it.

It's hard to know which way to look. At eye level you see water plunging through small openings in black rock, below are turbulent streams and above there are towering snow capped mountains. The sounds of water crashing through rocks, and the many beautiful vistas make this a very exciting place to visit

There are endless spectacular views, but to take advantage of it, you need to plan ahead and be prepared to HIKE! Make sure you have the right guide and equipment, and also physical ability... There are plenty of pictures online, and the place REALLY looks like the pictures. A nature lovers dream.

We had a nice walk from the southern entrance of the park of 8 kilometers. The guide at the entrance was very helpful in sorting out where to go. The alternatives were far too large . 8 km was just right. The waterfall is OK, but if you have been to the Petrohue Falls you won´t be impressed . 80 meters climbing there is a Alerce tree of a few thousands of years old. Nice , but not really worth a walk of 8 km. Still it was a pleasant walk. Very safe all, like the rest of the region (in Colombia you cannot do this), Lots of flora but nearly no fauna apart from some sounds of birds and at the entrance we saw 2 Caracaras. Quite big and beautiful. But the caracara is a very common bird in large parts of South America.

A whole collection of lakes and mountains with wonderful views everywhere. Stop for a snack and just relax. I didn't do any fishing but I am sure the fishing is wonderful, take a rod and get a licence

Wonderful place with many species of native trees and trails that allow you to enter the world of nature pure and virgin (now thankfully protected)

This park has well-maintained trails and good signage. Worth a visit. But unless you have a car and speak Spanish, you need to book through an agency. We had the luck to find BirdsChile, who sent us Carlo. What a terrific guide. He drove us on a wonderful birdwatching tour along the coast south of Puerto Varas and then hiking in Alerce Andino park. He knew the flora and fauna, geology and local native culture and satisfied our endless questions. He did not hurry us when we wanted to examine closely a crazily made spiderweb or photograph a flower. The hike to the falls and to see the 3,000 year old Alerce tree was a highlight. We didn't sight the Magellanic woodpecker or wire-tail but the sighting of the huala (grebe) and the flightless steamer ducks made my day!

While our guide was rather uninformative and it rained throughout the day of our hike so some of the steeper trails were closed, we had a great time exploring the hike to Laguna Sargazo. The rain let up and the sun came out for the half hour when we had lunch at the lake. The trail could be slippery in places but the vegetation was pretty amazing.

This is in the austral road. The place is amazing, but must be visited by walking. The car only arrive to the conaf parking from there you can choose to walk 4 km until the water fall and to the 3500 years old tree, or you can walk even more until the end of the road. 10 kmts in total.If you want to walk all the road you must arrive here in the morning and you clothes and shoes must be for mountain walk.

The Parque Nacional Alerce is a lovely place to hike and see these famous trees. As others have noted, there are two access points for the Park – from the north to go to Sector Correntoso and from the southwest to go to Sector Chaicas. If you want to see groves of the Alerce trees, access the north (also to see Lago Chapo). If you want to see the millennial alerce (very old tree) and the waterfall, go to the southwest entrance. We entered the park at the southwest access. Information on how to get to this park was minimal (at least in Puerto Varas), however it is well signed once you leave Puerto Montt. From Puerto Montt, take highway 7 out of the city to the east. This highway follows the coast, comes inland slightly to circumvent a bay, and a short distance from the city, you will come to a junction – signs will indicate Lago Chapo to the left or Alerce National Park straight ahead. Go to the left if you want to access the northern part of the Alerce National Park. We went to the southern route, which stays on Highway 7, and continues right along the coast. The road is a good road, paved. When you come to the town of Lenca, there will be a sign indicating Parque Nacional Alerce to the left. Turn here. You will be on a gravel road, for over 7 km, to the park entrance. The gravel road is a bumpy, but reasonably good road, single lane for the most of the distance, if driven at a speed of 10 to 20 km/hr. It will need a patient driver, to avoid bottoming out the rental car. The weather was wonderful when we traveled, so not sure about rainy or wintry conditions. The Park entrance is after the camping area, has bathrooms, picnic table, and information about the park. Several bridges over streams have been reconstructed. There are several hikes that start at the entrance, several maps posted on these hikes. The hike to the millennial tree starts on what might have been an old timber road, following a stream. There are occasional benches along the way. Lots of birds.

You definitely need your own transport to get to this park, preferably a 4 wheel drive as once you turn off the main road it is about 7kms of dirt road to the park entrance and it is not the best maintained piece of road and neither is it flat!There is a small charge for entering the park and you must sign the book given by the park ranger.There is a really nice walk to a waterfall and a 3000 year old tree. It's about 4 kms to the tree and waterfall and you walk the same way back. Most of the walk is close to a beautiful river.The park has camping facilities but we didn't use them.

Si quieren realmente conectarse al 100% con la naturaleza, este es el lugar. Muy cerca de Puerto Montt, senderos maravillosos, algunos cansadores, pero todo cansancio se pasa al ver y sentir este lugar, sus alerces milenarios, arrayanes, rio, cascadas , lagunas y si tienen suerte podrán ver al famoso y bello Martín Pescador!Precio de la entrada muy barato!

Rico para salir a pasear por la naturaleza y bañarse en un rio y relajarse y acamparMuchos pajaros para ver y escuchar

Me gusto mucho el bosque tan antiguo y estar ahí es una gran experiencia. No me gusto que en las vías de acceso (caminos rurales) había basura.

El sector que conocimos, accesible desde el km. 29 de la Carretera Austral (Ruta 7, desde Puerto Montt) por un camino de ripio de 7 km en buen estado general, es un sendero único de una longitud aproximada de 9 km, con distintos hitos a lo largo del camino. Pasando por miradores al río, una pequeña laguna con grandes truchas, cascadas (una de ellas oculta caminando hacia la izquierda por un pequeñísimo sendero), y un enorme alerce de más de 3000 años. Se puede continuar hasta dos lagunas; una en el kilómetro 6 y la otra en el 9 del camino. En los senderos, en general, no se ve basura. Es posible divisar distintas especies de aves, e incluso zorros chillas que se pasean. Un parque especial para aquellos que recién comienzan en las aventuras del senderismo, pues no presenta gran dificultad; está bien señalizado y tiene grandiosa infraestructura (puentes, escaleras, pasarelas, bancos de descanso, etc).