Alerce Andino National Park
Alerce Andino National Park
4.5
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The endangered alerce tree dominates this Lakes Region park. The alerce is in the same family as the California Redwood and some are said to be 4000 years old.
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Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as wait time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
4.5
20 reviews
Excellent
13
Very good
5
Average
1
Poor
1
Terrible
0
Maria303
Vancouver, Canada52 contributions
Dec 2011 • Couples
If you are looking for a half day trip, amazing views, easy hikes, and the opportunity of being almost alone in the middle of a beautiful forest, this is your deal. Before going to the park you have to be very informed, since there are different ways to reach it and several trails. But in any case the result is the same, almost not tourists and amazing millenarian Alerces (kind of redwoods that you can only find in Argentina and Chile). In Chile you don't have big animals crossing the paths, but it is plenty of birds that you can listen while walking on the trails. If you are lucky you can even see the Chucao, a very small pretty bird with red chest that is like the soundtrack of Chilean national parks.
The park itself is not the only highlight, you have to consider the whole trip. The road to the Park is amazing, great views of the sea and the mountains. depending on the time you'ill see the amazing tide changes. You'll cross typical villages where you can buy some kuchen (kind of pies) and pan amasado (homemade bread).
Good to know: There are two roads for reaching Alerce Andino National Park, my husband and I took the southern one that it supposed to be the hardest one (only 4x4). Although it is not a super easy road, you can make it in a regular car. To enter the park you have to pay a fee, but is about US$2.5 each person.
The park itself is not the only highlight, you have to consider the whole trip. The road to the Park is amazing, great views of the sea and the mountains. depending on the time you'ill see the amazing tide changes. You'll cross typical villages where you can buy some kuchen (kind of pies) and pan amasado (homemade bread).
Good to know: There are two roads for reaching Alerce Andino National Park, my husband and I took the southern one that it supposed to be the hardest one (only 4x4). Although it is not a super easy road, you can make it in a regular car. To enter the park you have to pay a fee, but is about US$2.5 each person.
Written August 21, 2012
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Jitule
Perstejn, Czech Republic130 contributions
Nov 2012 • Friends
Nice and comfortable hike from the side of Chaika. The path is in good condition, and there is what to see and take pictures. Real rain forest - many birds, waterfalls and beautiful flowers.
The end of November is the best time to visit it. We had accommodation in Puerto Varas and it took approx. 2 hours to be on the place by car. On the back trip we visited Puerto Mont and its Mercado with different kinds of fish, you can have a dinner in one of many restaurants in the neighbourhood. I was excited from the beauties of The Alerece Andino National Park.
The end of November is the best time to visit it. We had accommodation in Puerto Varas and it took approx. 2 hours to be on the place by car. On the back trip we visited Puerto Mont and its Mercado with different kinds of fish, you can have a dinner in one of many restaurants in the neighbourhood. I was excited from the beauties of The Alerece Andino National Park.
Written December 25, 2012
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Kevin C
Santiago, Chile92 contributions
Jan 2014 • Family
We visited the Alerce Andino Park with my family (2 kids: 11 and 8) for the day early January. The park is one hours drive from Puerto Montt, most of it paved, with a short span of dirt road. We decided to do the hike to the waterfalls and the "alerce milenario", a 3000 year old tree. The hike took us 3 hours at an easy pace, following a well mantained trail that runs beside the river. The scenery on the hike is amazing, and the falls and alerce are well worth the walk. Another nice feature: very few visitors. We met three people in the 4 hours we stayed at the park. All in all a great day trip from Puerto Montt and a good place to go hiking with kids.
Written January 10, 2014
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
ShortStack12
Hope, NJ452 contributions
Mar 2020
There are two access points. The route to both starts by going SE from Puerto Montt on Hwy 7. This highway follows the coast, goes 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. For the southwest entrance stay on Hwy 7, and continue along the coast to Lenca. We took the latter route. The entrance is accessed via a 4.5 mile gravel road to a small parking lot. From there you hike on a level path to see a small waterfall (maybe better in the Spring) and a lonely tall tree (like a California redwood). Unless you are desperate to take a walk, the hike does not justify the long gravel drive (at 8-12 mph) to get there. It is possible there are other trails of interest here but we could get no information from the Ranger because of the language barrier.
We then backtracked and took the drive toward Lago Chapo. The drive seemed long but it was nicely paved. It may have been about 12 miles. At the end the road is gravel to the Ranger station. We arrived at the end of the day and hoped to return another time for hiking. Our first trip to the SW entrance of the park, however, turned us off so much that we didn't return. If you want to go the park I think I'd try this north entrance first. If you can speak Spanish to the Rangers it will greatly help.
We then backtracked and took the drive toward Lago Chapo. The drive seemed long but it was nicely paved. It may have been about 12 miles. At the end the road is gravel to the Ranger station. We arrived at the end of the day and hoped to return another time for hiking. Our first trip to the SW entrance of the park, however, turned us off so much that we didn't return. If you want to go the park I think I'd try this north entrance first. If you can speak Spanish to the Rangers it will greatly help.
Written April 13, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
FritzieMiami_FL
Miami, FL78 contributions
Jan 2014 • Friends
The trees are so spectacular and not the variety we see in the US. The terrain here is marshy and it is not first world developed, but worthwhile and the drive to it is amazing as well.
Written September 4, 2014
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
ras828
Asheville, NC72 contributions
Feb 2013 • Couples
Who knew they had sequoia trees in South America? Not really, but the Alerce is the second oldest living thing on earth (after the bristlecone pine) at over 3700 years and looks for all the world like the sequoia. This a great place to hike off all the excess food and beer consumed during your three week trip to Chile. There are two primitive but pleasant campgrounds at the southern unit of the park, one drive in and the other walk in. The drive to camp is set along the river valley and is surprisingly enjoyable with picnic shelters and running water bathrooms. Much better than the walk in campground. There are certain places in the park where you look up and see what looks like Yosemite valley towering above. The entrance road can be negotiated slowly in dry season in a regular car. Lots of blind curves on the one lane road! The river has some great places to take a dip, skinny or otherwise.
Written March 1, 2013
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Din_Keye_55
Edson, Alberta37 contributions
If you are looking for a hike where you won't see another soul, this is a nice park. Some really nice wateralls. We only did a short hike a bit past Saltos Rio Chaicas (about 4 km each way), but it was a great trail; easy hiking with a small bit of elevation.
There are some huge Alerce trees to see. A few birds along the way, and a nice walk in the forest. The park doesn't seem to get many visitors. It was 1000 or 1200 pesos per person to use the park, and camping is available. The road off the main highway is bit rough, but we made it in a regular car going slowly.
There are some huge Alerce trees to see. A few birds along the way, and a nice walk in the forest. The park doesn't seem to get many visitors. It was 1000 or 1200 pesos per person to use the park, and camping is available. The road off the main highway is bit rough, but we made it in a regular car going slowly.
Written February 15, 2010
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Bushy23kl
Marlow, UK39 contributions
Jan 2018
The walk up to the waterfalls and 3000 year old tree is delightful. Shady well maintained paths in virgin woodland. There’s just two things to prepare for - it’s a 7km dirt track approach and when we were there it was heavy with insects. One guy had it sussed with a fly net attached to his hat.
Written January 28, 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
peterp_knobel
Zug, Switzerland269 contributions
Nov 2013 • Couples
Compared to other NP in Patagonia the Alerce Andino not really is worth spending the time. The access road is very primitive, the trail poorly maintained, the attraction not really worth spending time with. The only advantage is that it can be easily visited by families with small Kids because it does not ask for a special physical effort.
Written January 16, 2014
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
paddyNewZealand
Levin, New Zealand114 contributions
Dec 2011 • Couples
During our travels in Chile we arranged to take a trip into the Alerce Andino National Park, it was glorious. A very easy track that took us to the Alerce trees, in a region south east of Puerto Varas. Whilst we never saw any wildlife, we could hear the birds. Saw various types of insects - large, brightly coloured bumble bees. A fantastic hike somewhere between 3 - 4 km (round trip 7km). Well worth doing if you want to go somewhere that has no tourists and no noise.
Written February 5, 2012
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
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