Conguillío National Park
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Conguillío National Park is in the
Andes The Andes ( ), Andes Mountains or Andean Mountain Range (; ) are the List of longest mountain chains on Earth, longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range ...
, in the provinces of Cautín and Malleco, in the
Araucanía Region The Araucanía ( ), La Araucanía Region ( ) 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 Temuco; other important cities ...
of
Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...
also known as Region IX. Its name derives from the
Mapuche The Mapuche ( , ) also known as Araucanians are a group of Indigenous peoples of the Americas, Indigenous inhabitants of south-central Chile and southwestern Argentina, including parts of Patagonia. The collective term refers to a wide-ranging e ...
word for "water with
Araucaria ''Araucaria'' (; original pronunciation: .ɾawˈka. ɾja is a genus of evergreen coniferous trees in the family Araucariaceae. While today they are largely confined to the Southern Hemisphere, during the Jurassic and Cretaceous they were glo ...
seeds". Among the attractions in the park are the Llaima volcano,
Sierra Nevada The Sierra Nevada ( ) is a mountain range in the Western United States, between the Central Valley of California and the Great Basin. The vast majority of the range lies in the state of California, although the Carson Range spur lies primari ...
and wild landscapes characterized by islands of vegetation completely surrounded by vast areas of lava flows and is a humid and wet area. There are also extensive forests, formed mainly by Araucarias and ''
Nothofagus ''Nothofagus'', also known as the southern beeches, is a genus of 43 species of trees and shrubs native to the Southern Hemisphere, found across southern South America (Chile, Argentina) and east and southeast Australia, New Zealand, New Guin ...
'' species, and small lakes within the park. It is also known as ''Los Paraguas'' (The Umbrellas), due to the shape of the Monkey Puzzle trees. The park was used as a filming location for ''
Walking with Dinosaurs ''Walking with Dinosaurs'' is a 1999 six-part nature documentary television miniseries created by Tim Haines and produced by the BBC Science Unit, the Discovery Channel and BBC Worldwide, in association with TV Asahi, ProSieben and France 3. ...
'', a television series produced by the
BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
.


History

It was declared a national park in 1950. In 1983, the park, along with Alto Bío Bío National Reserve, was designated by
UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...
as a
Biosphere 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, funga, or features of geologic ...
, which is known as Araucarias Biosphere Reserve. The national park lies within the wider Kütralkura Geopark, which was officially recognised as part of
UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...
's
Global Geoparks Network UNESCO Global Geoparks (UGGp) are geoparks certified by the UNESCO Global Geoparks Council as meeting all the requirements for belonging to the Global Geoparks Network (GGN). The GGN is both a network of geoparks and the agency of the United Nati ...
on April 17, 2019.


Vehicle accesses

The park is situated 120 km east of
Temuco Temuco () is a List of cities in Chile, city and Communes of Chile, commune, capital (political), capital of the Cautín Province and of the Araucanía Region in southern Chile. The city is located south of Santiago de Chile, Santiago. The cit ...
. *Sector Los Paraguas: This sector is accessed via the route that connects the towns of Cajón,
Vilcún Vilcún (Mapudungun for "lizard") is a Chilean List of towns in Chile, town and Communes of Chile, commune in Cautín Province, Araucanía Region. The town is an important gateway for tourists visiting Conguillío National Park and Llaima volcano. ...
and Cherquenco. The road is asphalted from Cajón to Cherquenco, the rest gravel, all-weather, except snow days in which chains and four-wheel drive are required. *Sector Conguillío: The park can be accessed from Chile Route 181, which is paved from Victoria to
Curacautín Curacautín, which means "Gathering Stone" in Mapudungun, is a Communes of Chile, commune and List of cities in Chile, city in the Chilean province of Malleco Province, Malleco. Curacautín is located 90 kilometres northeast of Temuco, in a valley ...
. To reach the park from Curacautín, it is necessary to follow a road that is paved only in its first , while the rest is gravel. This access route is passable year round until the Captrén Hut, depending on snow accumulation, the rest is passable only during the summer period, from November to March. This sector also via the paved road that goes from
Lautaro Lautaro (Anglicized as 'Levtaru') ( " swift hawk") (; 1534 – April 29, 1557) was a young Mapuche toqui known for leading the indigenous resistance against Spanish conquest in Chile and developing the tactics that would continue to be empl ...
to Curacautín. The remaining stretch of road until the park entrance is the same route previously mentioned. *Sector Melipeuco: Here is located the main park entrance, which is reached via a road that begins in Temuco and that passes through the towns of Cunco and Melipeuco. The road is paved until the Truful-Truful river, the rest is gravel in fair condition and passable throughout the year to the park.


Rivers and watersports

Lonquimay River flows into the Biobío river. There is a fishing spot called the Truful Truful river, which is 25 km. to the north of Melipeuco. It crosses the volcanic scoria and drains into lake Conguillío. 14 km. from Melipeuco are the Saltos del Truful Truful, in a river where rainbow trout are abundant. Swimming, rowing boats and fishing are allowed, along with motorized boats.


The Sierra Nevada volcano

There are 5 lookout points on the Sierra Nevada volcano. It is a long walk, of five to six hours, but efforts are awarded with the panoramic view obtained from this height, for the flight of the condor or the Vista of the beginning point of the Blanco River.


Laima Volcano


Geologic characteristics of Llaima volcano

Llaima volcano was formed during the Quaternary, on lava and granites located throughout the faults system of longitudinal North – South. It is composed of mixed volcano and shield, with a boiler covered with forty accidental dreg cones and presents a secondary chimney to 9.514,44 feet above the sea level. The slope of this volcano is moderate. It is active from the Superior Pleistocene and their products are mainly pyroclastic lava and andesítico-basaltic. It has an extensive history of violent eruptions of Vulcan and bizarre type that have left remainders of fifty meters of fine sand and volcanic capes very well specified and dregs basaltic lava. Also it presents sulfated smoker around the crater. About of the eruptions there is registry of around 37 eruptions counting of 1852, of which those of 1927 and 1957 were the most violent. This record transforms it into one of the most active volcanoes of Chile.


2008 eruption

The last eruption of the volcano was on January 1, 2008. The park had to be evacuated, including about 150 tourists and employees of CONAF, because at 18:20 hours local time the volcano Llaima erupted. During the eruption, launched
vent Vent or vents may refer to: Science and technology Biology *Vent, the cloaca region of an animal *Vent DNA polymerase, a thermostable DNA polymerase Geology *Hydrothermal vent, a fissure in a planet's surface from which geothermally heated water ...
s and solid material to a thousand feet above the main crater, located to 3,150 meters, authorities said."Entró en erupción el volcán Llaima, en el sur chileno"
/ref>


Hiking

Hiking options include Sierra Nevada – Los Carpinteros- Las Araucarias – Las Vertientes and Cañón de Truful-Truful. If you enter Conguillío National Park by the sector of the Captrén lagoon, on the road from Curacautín, there is a footpath that surrounds the entire lagoon and its extension is of 1.24 miles approximately. It is a long but light walk, apt for experience and inexperienced walkers. In the Captrén lagoon it is possible to fish, but it is prohibited to swim or to sail in boat, since it is a sanctuary for birds and this type of intervention can affect local species that inhabit there. There is another footpath, that of the Carpenters, 3.11 miles length, that goes into the Araucarias, coigüe and lenga forests, ending at Laguna Captrén. On this route is the “Araucaria Mother” a species whose trunk has a diameter of 6.56 feet.


Flora

Coigües, robles and raulíes, are present throughout the park; others, like lengas, ñirres, avellanos, maitenes, cipreses de la cordillera and lleuques, occur in the sectors Conguillío and Truful-Truful. Other species include '' Berberis'' (such as Darwin’s barberry, '' B. empetrifolia'', Magellan and narrow-leaved barberry), Chilean fire bush, Chilean plum-yew, Chusquea sp., dog orchid, gunnera, hardy fuchsia, and Patagonian wild currant.


Fauna

The local mammals in the area include the culpeo and chilla
foxes 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 ("brush"). Twelve species ...
,
kodkod The kodkod (''Leopardus guigna''), also called güiña, is the smallest felid species native to the Americas. It lives primarily in central and southern Chile, as well as marginally in adjoining areas of Argentina. Since 2002, it has been listed ...
cat, monito-del-monte, puma, pudú (one of the smallest deer on earth) and the quique (a kind of
weasel Weasels are mammals of the genus ''Mustela'' of the family Mustelidae. The genus ''Mustela'' includes the least weasels, polecats, stoats, ferrets, and European mink. Members of this genus are small, active predators, with long and slend ...
). The birds found in the park include a large variety of wading birds and
waterfowl Anseriformes is an order of birds also known as waterfowl that comprises about 180 living species of birds in three families: Anhimidae (three species of screamers), Anseranatidae (the magpie goose), and Anatidae, the largest family, which i ...
, such as the Andean duck, ashy-headed goose, black-faced ibis, flying steamer-duck, lake duck, neotropic cormorant, red-gartered coot, spectacled duck, torrent duck and the yellow-billed pintail and teal. Several raptor species inhabit the area, including the Andean condor,
kestrel The term kestrel (from , derivative from , i.e. ratchet) is the common name given to several species of predatory birds from the falcon genus ''Falco''. Kestrels are most easily distinguished by their typical hunting behaviour which is to hover ...
, Chilean hawk, Chimango caracara,
crested caracara The crested caracara (''Caracara plancus'') is a bird of prey (raptor) in the falcon Family (biology), family, Falconidae. It was formerly placed in the genus ''Polyborus'' before being given in its own genus, ''Caracara (genus), Caracara''. It i ...
,
mountain caracara The mountain caracara (''Phalcoboenus megalopterus''), (Spanish: corequenque) is a species of bird of prey in the family Falconidae. It is found in Puna grassland, puna and páramo in the Andes, ranging from northern Ecuador, through Peru and Bol ...
,
peregrine falcon The peregrine falcon (''Falco peregrinus''), also known simply as the peregrine, is a Cosmopolitan distribution, cosmopolitan bird of prey (raptor) in the family (biology), family Falconidae renowned for its speed. A large, Corvus (genus), cro ...
and the variable hawk. Also present are various
woodpecker Woodpeckers are part of the bird family (biology), family Picidae, which also includes the piculets, wrynecks and sapsuckers. Members of this family are found worldwide, except for Australia, New Guinea, New Zealand, Madagascar and the extreme ...
s and
passerine A passerine () is any bird of the order Passeriformes (; from Latin 'sparrow' and '-shaped') which includes more than half of all bird species. Sometimes known as perching birds, passerines generally have an anisodactyl arrangement of their ...
s, such as the Austral blackbird and
negrito The term ''Negrito'' (; ) refers to several diverse ethnic groups who inhabit isolated parts of Southeast Asia and the Andaman Islands. Populations often described as Negrito include: the Andamanese peoples (including the Great Andamanese, th ...
, Austral parakeet, black-chinned siskin, buff-winged cinclodes, Chilean flicker, Chilean mockingbird, Elaenias, long-tailed meadowlark, Magellanic woodpecker, Patagonian Sierra-finch, rufous-collared sparrow, striped woodpecker, white-throated treerunner and the yellow-bridled finch.


Administration

The CONAF administration office is located in the Conguillío Lake sector.


When to visit

The best time to visit the Conguillío National Park is between the spring and summer (November to March) when the climate is milder and the roads are in excellent conditions. During the winter, the conditions are perfect to visit the Araucarias ski center. Located in the side west of the Llaima volcano, site in opposition to the Conguillío Lake, it has two tow cables, cafeteria, ski school, equipment rental and lodging in refuge.


References


External links


Panoramic winter view of the park.

Panoramic view of Conguillio lake

Take a tour through the park with Andes White






{{DEFAULTSORT:Conguillio National Park Protected areas of Araucanía Region Protected areas established in 1950 National parks of Chile 1950 establishments in Chile Valdivian temperate forests