Cerro Castillo National Park is a

nature reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or ...

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

located in the Aysén del General Carlos Ibáñez del Campo Region, south of

Coyhaique Coyhaique (), also spelled Coihaique in Patagonia, is the capital city of both the Coyhaique Province and the Aysén Region of Chile. Founded by settlers in 1929, it is a young city. Until the twentieth century, Chile showed little interest in ex ...

. The park is named after

Cerro Castillo : Cerro Castillo is a jagged rocky peak located in the Aysén del General Carlos Ibáñez del Campo Region of Chile, within the Cerro Castillo National Park. ''Castillo'' means ''castle'' in Spanish, and the steep basalt walls of the mountai ...

, its highest mountain and main attraction. The

Carretera Austral The Carretera Austral (CH-7, ''in English: Southern Way'') is the name given to Chile's Route 7. The highway runs south for about from Puerto Montt to Villa O'Higgins, passing through rural Patagonia. Carretera Austral provides road access ...

passes through the park.

History

Named a national reserve in 1970, Cerro Castillo was recategorized a National Park as part of an agreement between the Chilean government, under President

Michelle Bachelet Verónica Michelle Bachelet Jeria (; born 29 September 1951) is a Chilean politician who served as United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights from 2018 to 2022. She previously served as President of Chile from 2006 to 2010 and 2014 to 201 ...

and Tompkins Conservation in 2018.

Ecology

Mammals in the park include the endangered

South Andean deer The south Andean deer (''Hippocamelus bisulcus''), also known as the southern guemal, south Andean huemul, southern huemul, or Chilean ''huemul'' or '' güemul'' ( , ), is an endangered species of deer native to the mountains of Argentina and Chi ...

guanaco The guanaco (; ''Lama guanicoe'') is a camelid native to South America, closely related to the llama. Guanacos are one of two wild South American camelids, the other being the vicuña, which lives at higher elevations. Etymology The guanaco ...

s, pumas, chingue ( Molina’s hog-nosed skunk), and canines of the genus ''

Lycalopex The South American foxes (''Lycalopex''), commonly called ''raposa'' in Portuguese, or ''zorro'' in Spanish, are a genus from South America of the subfamily Caninae. Despite their name, they are not true foxes, but are a unique canid genus more ...

''. Notable birds that inhabit in the area are the

Andean condor The Andean condor (''Vultur gryphus'') is a giant South American Cathartid vulture and is the only member of the genus ''Vultur''. Found in the Andes mountains and adjacent Pacific coasts of western South America, the Andean condor is the larg ...

and black-chested buzzard eagles in the mountains, and austral parakeets, thorn-tailed rayaditos, Magellanic woodpeckers, churrín del sur (

Magellanic tapaculo The Magellanic tapaculo (''Scytalopus magellanicus'') is a small passerine bird of southern South America. It belongs to the genus ''Scytalopus'', a genus of tapaculos. Taxonomy The species was often known as the Andean tapaculo in the past and ...

), and the chucao tapaculo. Lenga and ñirre are the most common tree species in the reserve, though evergreen species like the coigüe de Magallanes are also present. The northern portion of the park is part of

Aisén River Aisén or Aysén may refer to: *Aisén (name), an African name for a boy or a girl Places

*Aysén, Chile, a commune in Aysén Province *Aysén Region, one of Chile's administrative divisions *Aysén Province, a province in the Chilean region ...

drainage basin A drainage basin is an area of land where all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such as a river mouth, or flows into another body of water, such as a lake or ocean. A basin is separated from adjacent basins by a perimeter, ...

, whereas that the southern portion is included in the basin area of Ibáñez River.

Rewilding

Cerro Castillio National Park is a key part of the National Huemul Corridor, a public-private initiative that seeks to reestablish the huemul population using wildlife corridors in key conservation areas along the Route of Parks of Patagonia. Partners for this project includ
Rewilding Chile
and

CONAF The National Forest Corporation or CONAF (Corporación Nacional Forestal) is a Chilean private, non-profit organization, through which the Chilean state contributes to the development and sustainable management of the country's forest resources. C ...

References

Protected areas of Aysén Region {{SouthAm-protected-area-stub National parks of Chile