Cerro Ñielol Natural Monument is a hill belonging to the Intermediate Depression and is located in the urban area of the city of

Temuco Temuco () is a city and commune, capital of the Cautín Province and of the Araucanía Region in southern Chile. The city is located south of Santiago. The city grew out from a fort of the same name established in 1881 during Chile's invasion ...

, Province of Cautín,

Araucanía Region The Araucanía ( ), La Araucanía Region ( es, Región de La Araucanía ) is one of Chile's 16 first-order administrative divisions, and comprises two provinces: Malleco in the north and Cautín in the south. Its capital and largest city is Te ...

, Chile. With a height of 115 and 335 m, the latter is the highest point of the city. On 89 acres a large variety of flora and fauna of the Valdivian temperate forest ecoregion can be seen, as well as important historical and cultural landmarks of Temuco. Its main entrance is along Avenida Arturo Prat (one of the main Temuco streets) and is seven blocks away from the main square Plaza de Armas. Because of its natural landscape and several viewpoints, the monument is one of the main tourist areas of the city. Cultural events are usually held at the top of the monument. The

Southern Andean Volcano Observatory The Southern Andean Volcano Observatory (Spanish: ''Observatorio Volcanológico de los Andes del Sur''), also known by its acronyms as OVDAS, is part of ''Red Nacional de Vigilancia Volcánica'', a program of the Chilean National Geology and Minin ...

is located at the hill, due to its good outlook on several volcanoes including

Llaima The Llaima Volcano is one of the largest and most active volcanoes in Chile. It is situated 82 km East of Temuco and 663 km South of Santiago, within the borders of Conguillío National Park. Geography The top of Llaima consists of tw ...

volcano.

Natural Monument

The hill was originally named "National Tourism Park Cerro Ñielol". The Society of the Friends of the tree (founded by Luis Picasso Vallebuona) purchased the lands of the hill to reforest and protect it. Later it was reclassified as the National Park Natural Monument by Supreme Decree No. 617 of the Ministry of National Assets on December 3, 1987. Nowadays it is a protected area administrated by the Chilean state. It can be visited by car or foot all year round.

References

Natural monuments of Chile Protected areas of Araucanía Region {{SouthAm-protected-area-stub