Pristine Wilderness

THE Los Alerces National Park is a natural world heritage site situated in the Andes (the world’s longest mountain range) of northern Patagonia in Argentina. The region has spectacular features like moraines1, glacial cirques2, crystal clear lakes, chain-like lagoons, hanging valleys and sheepback rocks3, which have been moulded by successive glaciations.

The vegetation predominantly consists of dense temperate forests. Alpine meadows are found higher up under the rocky Andean peaks. A distinctive feature is the Alerce forest, from which it gets its name. The Alerce tree, a conifer endemic to South America, is the world’s second-longest living tree species. The largest and oldest living tree, which is almost 60 metres tall and around 2,600 years old, is located in the Millennial Alerce Forest. Although the Alerce tree is globally threatened, the Alerce forest here is in an excellent state of conservation.

The Park’s forests are home to several endemic and threatened species of flora and fauna. Among the native mammals are the two Patagonian deer, the Huemul and the Pudu. The predators, which are not easily spotted, include the puma, the kodkod or guigna cat, huillin (an endangered native otter), Culpeo fox and gray fox. 1 mass of rocks, earth and sediment carried down and deposited by a glacier, typically in the form of a long ridge.

2 semi-circular basins with steep sides formed in a

mountainous region by glacial erosion. 3 rounded, glacially eroded rock formations which

resemble a sheep’s back.