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Declared a biosphere
reserve by UNESCO in 1978, the Torres del Paine national park
(situated in the Magallanes 12th region in Chile) is internationally
recognized as one of the most beautiful, unique and uncontaminated
places on the planet. It is a place of lakes, rivers, waterfalls,
glaciers, forests and incredible wildlife, all of which make it
an exciting destination for wildlife observers and adventure sportsmen
alike.
Some 2500 kilometres
separate the park from Santiago, the capital of Chile. This, together
with the geography and climate of the south of the country, has
meant that Torres del Paine has been converted into a meeting
point for those who love excitement and adventure.
Undoubtedly one of
the main attractions of the park is the Macizo (Massif) of Paine,
formed predominately from granite and whose origin dates back
millions of years. The most famous peaks of the park are called
the ‘Cuernos’ (horns) and ‘Torres’ (towers) of Paine. Both each
have three peaks: the North, principal and East horns, and the
south, central and north towers.
The vegetation of
the park is different in each zone you visit. The most common
species are the mata barrosa, the calafate, the estepa and the
coiron, capachitos and orquideas. There are also small woods of
lenga and coigue in the zones near the Pehoe Lake and the Lago
de Grey trail.
The most common
animals that habitat the park are guanacos, nandues, condors,
pumas,
zorros grises and culpeos, and a huge variety of birds whose principal
habitats are found around the lakes and lagoons.
The National Forestry
Coporation (Conaf) has developed and maintains various trails
to the most beautiful places in this protected area, ideal for
visitors who want just to walk, observe and photograph. And for
the more daring, there adventure sports such as climbing, kayaking
and rafting.
NATURAL
HERITAGE
The landscape of the
National Park is owed to earth movements which occurred 12 million
years ago, and gave birth to its incredible peaks such as el Monte
Paine Grande (3.050msnm) Los Cuernos del Paine (2.600, 2.400,
2.200 msnm) Torres del Paine (2250, 2460 and 2500 msnm,) Fortaleza,
(2800), Escudo (2700 msnm.) Some of these have with permanent
glaciers.
Due to the vicinity of the southern
ice sheet, the park has innumerable lakes, lagoons and rivers
that owe their formation to the melting of the glaciers of which
they are a part. Of the lakes stand out the Sarmiento, Nordenskjold,
Pehoe de Grey, Paine and Dickson and there are also many lagoons
of various sizes.
The biggest rivers are the Pingo,
Paine, Serrano and Grey. The Paine is the most important (which
originates in Lake Dickson, extreme north) and borders the massif
of the east, crossing various lakes, and finishing by flowing
into the Toro lake, in the extreme south of the reserve. On its
route, the river plunges down three spectacular waterfalls: Paine,
Salto Grande and Salto Chico.
Inside the park at the Porteria Sarmiento
we can find species that have their origin in desert environments,
like the mata varrosa, the mata negra, the senecio and the calafate
amongst the flowering plants, the estepa and coiron amongst the
herbaceous. Now, inside the park, you can find small copses of
lengua associated with herbaceous species like pasto ovillo, trebol
and some flowering plants of great beauty like the capachitos
and orchids which can be found again at the Laguna Azul and the
Laguna Amarga.
Of the wildlife, it is the
guanacos that receive
most visitors and they are found in the vicinity of the Porteria
Sarmiento. However, it is also possible to see aquatic birds from
the viewpoint in the Sede administration, where we see species
such as cisne
de cuello negro, pimpollo,
tagua and huala,
amongst others.
Lesser rhea (ñandues)
with their young can be observed
inside the park, around Laguna Azul and the Sede Adminstrativa,
and condors,
can be observed close to the
Pehoe ranger station. Inside the forest (the Lago Grey trail)
we can find catitas, woodpeckers,
austral blackbirds, long tailed
meadowlarks, great horned owl and cometocinos.
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