Code: WLD-011
Level: Easy/moderate
Levels Explained
Departures
Private departures.
Price (2005-06):
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Accommodations:
11 nights hotels/hosterias

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Wildlife in the rainforest
The part of the Earth we know as Chile consists of an extraordinary diversity of environments, from the hot and dry deserts in the north, to the cool and moist rainforests in the south. All this squeezed between the Andes mountain range and the Pacific Ocean. Within these diverse landscapes, nature has produced a vast tapestry of exceptional and unique ecosystems which gives place to the largest remaining temperate rainforest on Earth. It is here where we find the rare and giant Alerce trees(SP), some of the oldest living trees ever recorded, and the Araucaria.

Valdivian Forest and Nothofagus

The Valdivian Forest grows on the slopes of both, the Andes and the coastal mountain ranges, at an altitude bellow 900m/3.000ft, where rainfall averages from 2,500mm/7,5ft to 5000mm/15ft per year.

The Ancient Forests: Araucaria and Alerce
The Araucaria is considered to be a living fossil and has inhabited the earth uninterrupted for some 200 million years, since the dawning of tree life in Gondwanaland.

The Alerce cypress (Fitzroya cupressoides), also called Lahuen by the natives, reigns here in Southern Chile in pristine splendor. It is one of the most successful creations of the whole nature reaching some 4.000 years old. He grows extremely slow until reaching 4m/12ft on diameter and 50m/150ft tall.

ITINERARY
Day 1, Santiago - Concepcion- Angol. Arrive in Concepcion with the morning flight and drive to Angol where we normally enjoy a get-together lunch. Day 2-3, Nahuelbuta. Day 4, Nahuelbuta-Pucon. Day 5, Pucon. We take an easy day for exploring the area around Pucon, for sun and swim on the sandy shore of Lago Villarica. Day 6, El Cani. Depending on the participant’s physical conditions and on the weather we will spend the entire day trekking or horsebackriding either on the Cani Private Reserve. 7,Pucon- Puyehue.Day 8-9, Puyehue. Two day exploring this pristine temperate jungle by walking its many trails. Day 10, Puyehue- Puerto Varas. Day 11, Alerce Andino National Park. Day 12, Puerto Montt- Santiago.