The Alerce Andino National Park can be accessed by Route V-65, which connects the Puerto Montt-Correntoso-Lago Chapo, in a trip of 28.5 miles.

At 28.4 miles of Puerto Montt by the Austral Highway, bordering the Reloncaví Inlet, is Lenca, a place from where starts a road that goes inland to the Alerce Andino National Park through the Valley of Chaicas river (Valle del río Chaicas), towards the Caiquenes Lagoon (Laguna Caiquenes), in a distance of 9.3 miles. The road is for exclusive use of four wheel drive vehicles.

The topography of the Alerce Andino National Park is formed by steep valleys, many hills and about 50 lakes and lagoons of many seizes located at different heights, standing out the Sargazos, Fría, Tronador, Triángulo, Chaiquenes, Montaña, Arena and Gaviotas lagoons.

The main goal of the Alerce Andino National Park is to protect about 49,000 acres of ancient alerce forests. It’s also an important shelter for species such as southern pudu (pudú), the little mountain monkey (monito del monte) and the wild cat (gato montés). Other species that can be seen are the South American grey fox (zorro gris), the puma, the hog-nosed skunk (chingue) and the rock-dwelling rodent (vizcacha). Birds are abundant and it’s easy to observe hummingbirds (picaflores), Magellanic woodpeckers (carpinteros negros), Chilean pigeons (torcazas), ringed kingfisher (martines pescadores), tufted tit-tyrant (cachuditos), Harris’ hawks (peucos), Chiloe wigeons (patos reales), wild gooses (gansos silvestres) and condors (cóndores). In the lakes, lagoons and rivers the percatrucha (Percichthys trucha), the farionela (Aplochitonidae), and the trout, which was introduced for sport fishing, are abundant.

The Alerce Andino National Park’s main attraction is its plant formation, mostly formed by the Forest (Bosque), with the Alerce, Coigües de Magallanes (Nothofagus betuloides) and Lenga (Nothofagus pumilio) classes of forest, where the copihue (Lapageria rosea), our national flower, grows abundantly.

The main activities that can be done at the Alerce Andino National Park are sport fishing and excursions in all the park areas, and camping in the Correntoso area located at the access to the Park from the Correntoso town. It has 5 unities that count with a big table, cooking area and trash can. Other activities that can be practiced are canoe trips in the Sargazo lagoon, fauna and flora observation in the entire park and photography and boat trips in the Chaiquenes lagoon and the areas nearby the Park.

The best of the Alerce Andino National Park is that it keeps a 100% of the nature and has shelters in different places for the visitor to go until the very last corner.

Trailing attracts many amateurs to make trips in the Alerce Andino National Park. These trails cross by places of great beauty of the Alerce Andino National Park, that allows seeing primitive areas and beautiful forest and lagoons, and they don’t have any difficulty level, although some do have slopes in certain stretches. The main trails are the following:

1. Correntoso-Pangal River: it has an extension of 1.9 miles. And may last between 1:30 and 2 hours of traveling.

2. Pangal River-Refugio: with 6,889 feet and 45 to 60 minutes of traveling.

3. Sargazo Lake: between Conaf warden’s station and the western end of the Sargazo lagoon, surrounding it. These are 4 hours of walking through a mountain trail.

4. Sargazo Lake-Fría Lagoon: it has an extension of 14,763 feet and lasts 3 hours. It starts on the west end of the Sargazo lagoon up to the Fría lagoon.

5. Ríos Chaicas Waterfalls: it has a longitude of 1,640 feet, and lasts approximately 20 minutes.
6. Chaiquenes Lagoon-Triángulo Lagoon: it’s 9,842 feet and lasts 2 hrs.
Among the important tourist attractions near to the National Alerce Andino Park, we can mention the following:
Chaiquenes Lagoon
The Chaiquenes Lagoon is located at 7.4 miles from the Mitchell marsh (estero Mitchell) and its surface is approximately 80.3 acres. Its calm waters, sheltered from the wind, offer an abundant brown trout (truchas salmonídeas) population. Plus, it’s possible to find in the lagoon black-necked swans, upland gooses and a remarkable presence of huemules (Hippocamelus bisulus), which can be seen on the border of the road, especially during Winter months.
Near the Chaiquenes Lagoon is the Los Patos lagoon (laguna Los Patos), very similar to the previous one. It has been calculated that this land, including both lagoons, is apt for the installation of equipped cabins and shelters.
In the nearby areas there are steep hillsides of about 984 feet above sea level, formed by rocky risings. The lower part of the vegetation cover is formed by an evergreen forest with reserves of cypress and coihue, plus bushes such as chilco (Fuchsia magellanica) and the zarzaparrilla (Smilax aspera). The surface apt for installations is located by the Chaiquenes lagoon, where there are flat areas with slopes no bigger than 15 grades.
The Del Camino river (río Del Camino), some meters to the South, can supply water and energy by means of the installation of a mini-central.
Chapo Lake

The Chapo Lake (Lago Chapo) is located at about 22.3 miles of Ralún, besides the Alerce Andino National Park. It’s a long and enclosed lake, surrounded by mountains with dense forests. It has few inhabitants; the only people that live here work at the salmon industries located in the Chapo Lake.

At the Chapo Lake rowing boats can be rented. For this you must talk with the locals; however it’s recommended to bring your own boat. At the Chapo Lake you can fish mainly rainbow trouts from 2.2 to 4.4 lb., if you are lucky, you can get a bigger seize specimen. There are many banks of the Chapo Lake that are apt for fly fishing.

Baños de Sotomo
The Baños de Sotomo are natural pools with a surface temperature of 98º F and a depth temperature of 105º F. Baños de Sotomo appeared when there’s a low tide, from December, 20. They contain about 37 minerals, being sulfur the highest concentration.
The Baños de Sotomo are located in the Reloncaví Estuary, in the middle of four national parks, offering multiple possibilities of recreational activities such as fly fishing and shore fishing of salmons (salmons), snooks (róbalos) and horse mackerels (jureles), plus trekking, and observation and study of the native fauna and flora.
Due to its natural isolation and virgin nature, together with the volcanoes and Andean peaks, the Baños de Sotomo area evokes and delivers tranquility and rest.
Beside the campsites, the visitor to Baños de Sotomo will be able to stay at the houses of the settlers and get to see their self-sustainable system of life, and enjoy typical food such as stew of meat and seafood cooked in a hole (curanto en hoyo), seafood, fishes and cross-staked barbecue (asados al palo).
For those who like to make trips on motorboats, the following can be visited: sea lions colony, nesting places of marine birds and traditional trout cultivation places.
Reloncaví Estuary

The Reloncaví Estuary (Estuario del Reloncaví) is an ample and deep ocean inlet that goes into the continent for about 30 miles. Small rivers that descend from the snowfields flow into the Reloncaví Estuary. The Petrohué river (río Petrohué), whose source is the Todos Los Santos Lake (Lago Todos Los Santos), flows into the Reloncaví Estuary forming an ample delta with numerous inlets, creating an interesting landscape in the area. When there’s low tide it’s common to see the animals grazing.

At 28.4 miles of Puerto Montt by the Austral Highway, bordering the Reloncaví Inlet, is Lenca, a place from where starts a road that goes inland to the Alerce Andino National Park through the Valley of Chaicas river (Valle del río Chaicas), towards the Caiquenes Lagoon (Laguna Caiquenes), in a distance of 9.3 miles. The road is for exclusive use of four wheel drive vehicles.

The topography of the Alerce Andino National Park is formed by steep valleys, many hills and about 50 lakes and lagoons of many seizes located at different heights, standing out the Sargazos, Fría, Tronador, Triángulo, Chaiquenes, Montaña, Arena and Gaviotas lagoons.

The main goal of the Alerce Andino National Park is to protect about 49,000 acres of ancient alerce forests. It’s also an important shelter for species such as southern pudu (pudú), the little mountain monkey (monito del monte) and the wild cat (gato montés). Other species that can be seen are the South American grey fox (zorro gris), the puma, the hog-nosed skunk (chingue) and the rock-dwelling rodent (vizcacha). Birds are abundant and it’s easy to observe hummingbirds (picaflores), Magellanic woodpeckers (carpinteros negros), Chilean pigeons (torcazas), ringed kingfisher (martines pescadores), tufted tit-tyrant (cachuditos), Harris’ hawks (peucos), Chiloe wigeons (patos reales), wild gooses (gansos silvestres) and condors (cóndores). In the lakes, lagoons and rivers the percatrucha (Percichthys trucha), the farionela (Aplochitonidae), and the trout, which was introduced for sport fishing, are abundant.

The Alerce Andino National Park’s main attraction is its plant formation, mostly formed by the Forest (Bosque), with the Alerce, Coigües de Magallanes (Nothofagus betuloides) and Lenga (Nothofagus pumilio) classes of forest, where the copihue (Lapageria rosea), our national flower, grows abundantly.

The main activities that can be done at the Alerce Andino National Park are sport fishing and excursions in all the park areas, and camping in the Correntoso area located at the access to the Park from the Correntoso town. It has 5 unities that count with a big table, cooking area and trash can. Other activities that can be practiced are canoe trips in the Sargazo lagoon, fauna and flora observation in the entire park and photography and boat trips in the Chaiquenes lagoon and the areas nearby the Park.

The best of the Alerce Andino National Park is that it keeps a 100% of the nature and has shelters in different places for the visitor to go until the very last corner.

Trailing attracts many amateurs to make trips in the Alerce Andino National Park. These trails cross by places of great beauty of the Alerce Andino National Park, that allows seeing primitive areas and beautiful forest and lagoons, and they don’t have any difficulty level, although some do have slopes in certain stretches. The main trails are the following:

1. Correntoso-Pangal River: it has an extension of 1.9 miles. And may last between 1:30 and 2 hours of traveling.

2. Pangal River-Refugio: with 6,889 feet and 45 to 60 minutes of traveling.

3. Sargazo Lake: between Conaf warden’s station and the western end of the Sargazo lagoon, surrounding it. These are 4 hours of walking through a mountain trail.

4. Sargazo Lake-Fría Lagoon: it has an extension of 14,763 feet and lasts 3 hours. It starts on the west end of the Sargazo lagoon up to the Fría lagoon.

5. Ríos Chaicas Waterfalls: it has a longitude of 1,640 feet, and lasts approximately 20 minutes.
6. Chaiquenes Lagoon-Triángulo Lagoon: it’s 9,842 feet and lasts 2 hrs.
Among the important tourist attractions near to the National Alerce Andino Park, we can mention the following:
Chaiquenes Lagoon
The Chaiquenes Lagoon is located at 7.4 miles from the Mitchell marsh (estero Mitchell) and its surface is approximately 80.3 acres. Its calm waters, sheltered from the wind, offer an abundant brown trout (truchas salmonídeas) population. Plus, it’s possible to find in the lagoon black-necked swans, upland gooses and a remarkable presence of huemules (Hippocamelus bisulus), which can be seen on the border of the road, especially during Winter months.
Near the Chaiquenes Lagoon is the Los Patos lagoon (laguna Los Patos), very similar to the previous one. It has been calculated that this land, including both lagoons, is apt for the installation of equipped cabins and shelters.
In the nearby areas there are steep hillsides of about 984 feet above sea level, formed by rocky risings. The lower part of the vegetation cover is formed by an evergreen forest with reserves of cypress and coihue, plus bushes such as chilco (Fuchsia magellanica) and the zarzaparrilla (Smilax aspera). The surface apt for installations is located by the Chaiquenes lagoon, where there are flat areas with slopes no bigger than 15 grades.
The Del Camino river (río Del Camino), some meters to the South, can supply water and energy by means of the installation of a mini-central.
Chapo Lake

The Chapo Lake (Lago Chapo) is located at about 22.3 miles of Ralún, besides the Alerce Andino National Park. It’s a long and enclosed lake, surrounded by mountains with dense forests. It has few inhabitants; the only people that live here work at the salmon industries located in the Chapo Lake.

At the Chapo Lake rowing boats can be rented. For this you must talk with the locals; however it’s recommended to bring your own boat. At the Chapo Lake you can fish mainly rainbow trouts from 2.2 to 4.4 lb., if you are lucky, you can get a bigger seize specimen. There are many banks of the Chapo Lake that are apt for fly fishing.

Baños de Sotomo
The Baños de Sotomo are natural pools with a surface temperature of 98º F and a depth temperature of 105º F. Baños de Sotomo appeared when there’s a low tide, from December, 20. They contain about 37 minerals, being sulfur the highest concentration.
The Baños de Sotomo are located in the Reloncaví Estuary, in the middle of four national parks, offering multiple possibilities of recreational activities such as fly fishing and shore fishing of salmons (salmons), snooks (róbalos) and horse mackerels (jureles), plus trekking, and observation and study of the native fauna and flora.
Due to its natural isolation and virgin nature, together with the volcanoes and Andean peaks, the Baños de Sotomo area evokes and delivers tranquility and rest.
Beside the campsites, the visitor to Baños de Sotomo will be able to stay at the houses of the settlers and get to see their self-sustainable system of life, and enjoy typical food such as stew of meat and seafood cooked in a hole (curanto en hoyo), seafood, fishes and cross-staked barbecue (asados al palo).
For those who like to make trips on motorboats, the following can be visited: sea lions colony, nesting places of marine birds and traditional trout cultivation places.
Reloncaví Estuary

The Reloncaví Estuary (Estuario del Reloncaví) is an ample and deep ocean inlet that goes into the continent for about 30 miles. Small rivers that descend from the snowfields flow into the Reloncaví Estuary. The Petrohué river (río Petrohué), whose source is the Todos Los Santos Lake (Lago Todos Los Santos), flows into the Reloncaví Estuary forming an ample delta with numerous inlets, creating an interesting landscape in the area. When there’s low tide it’s common to see the animals grazing.