Los Arrayanes National Park ( es, Parque Nacional Los Arrayanes) is a

national park A national park is a nature park, natural park in use for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes, created and protected by national governments. Often it is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state dec ...

of Argentina with an area of . It covers the Quetrihué Peninsula on the shore of the Nahuel Huapi Lake in the province of Neuquén, from Villa la Angostura. Even though arrayán trees ''(Luma apiculata)'' can be seen on the way to the end of the

peninsula A peninsula (; ) is a landform that extends from a mainland and is surrounded by water on most, but not all of its borders. A peninsula is also sometimes defined as a piece of land bordered by water on three of its sides. Peninsulas exist on all ...

, the forest of 300-year-old arrayanes covers of the southern point, with individuals of over 600 years. The forest can be reached by boat from different points of the Nahuel Huapi lake, or a path from the beginning of the park at the port of Villa La Angostura. This path, full of ups and downs, is also popularly done by

mountain bike A mountain bike (MTB) or mountain bicycle is a bicycle designed for off-road cycling. Mountain bikes share some similarities with other bicycles, but incorporate features designed to enhance durability and performance in rough terrain, which ...

. There are a few pudú and huemul deer, guanacos, monitos de monte, and small

fox Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelv ...

es. Among the birds, condors,

eagle Eagle is the common name for many large birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of genera, some of which are closely related. Most of the 68 species of eagle are from Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, just ...

hawk Hawks are bird of prey, birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. They are widely distributed and are found on all continents except Antarctica. * The subfamily Accipitrinae includes goshawks, sparrowhawks, sharp-shinned hawks and others. Th ...

s, and woodpeckers can be found here. Even though it was already part of the Nahuel Huapi National Park, Los Arrayanes was created in 1971 to protect its forest of rare arrayán trees. To protect the soil and the roots of these fragile trees, a wooden path has been made for the tourist to enjoy the view of the

cinnamon Cinnamon is a spice obtained from the inner bark of several tree species from the genus ''Cinnamomum''. Cinnamon is used mainly as an aromatic condiment and flavouring additive in a wide variety of cuisines, sweet and savoury dishes, breakfa ...

-coloured trees.

Climate

The park has a cold, humid climate. Mean temperatures range from in winter to in summer. On average, the park receives of rainfall per year, most of which falls during winter. Snowfall occurs between July to September.

Gallery

File:Casa bosque de arrayanes.JPG, Little cabin in the arrayanes forest File:Pasarela en bosque de arrayanes.JPG, Wooden paths for tourists

References

External links

* {{authority control National parks of Argentina Protected areas of Neuquén Province Protected areas established in 1971 Biosphere reserves of Argentina