Today´s first warm-up hike in Pumalin National Park leads to 3000-year-old native Alerce trees – some of the oldest living beings in the world that can only be found in this region. Unfortunately, only few are left today, as they have been deforested radically since colonization, and are officially protected only rather recently.
We continue to Chaitén Volcano, whose unexpected eruption in 2008, after 9000 years of inactivity, caused enormous damage. Today, a hiking trail allows ascending up to the volcano´s crater. The colorful landscape on top appears almost surreal, where a hill of lava and ashes has formed within the crater. The traces of the destruction are still evident, while at the same time pioneer plants are conquering back the soil, among them resilient Nalca plants and the native fuchsia bushes that are loved by hummingbirds. The day ends in the nearby town of Chaitén or on the shores of Yelcho Lake.
Accommodation: 3*-Hotel in Chaitén or at Yelcho Lake.
