Patagonia National Park (Valle Chacabuco)

A National Park Created In 2018 From A Former Sheep Estancia Rewilded By Tompkins Conservation, Joined With The Jeinimeni And Tamango Reserves; Known As The Serengeti Of The Southern Cone For Its Guanaco Herds · Cochrane, Aysen

Patagonia National Park protects a vast sweep of steppe, forest, lakes and mountains around the Chacabuco valley near Cochrane, and it is one of the great conservation stories of South America. For decades the valley was an overgrazed sheep estancia; from 2004 Tompkins Conservation bought it, removed hundreds of kilometres of fences, restored the grasslands and brought back wildlife, and in 2018 the land was donated and joined with the Jeinimeni and Tamango reserves as a national park. Today the valley is full of guanacos, earning it the nickname Serengeti of the Southern Cone, along with rheas, foxes, condors, flamingos and pumas, and the rare huemul deer in the Tamango sector. The headquarters area has stone buildings, a lodge, a campsite and a museum on conservation and the Patagonian steppe. Trails climb to the Lagunas Altas and along the Aviles valley, and the Jeinimeni sector near Chile Chico holds turquoise lakes and ancient rock art. The Paso Roballos crosses to Argentina in summer. It is remote, windy and uncrowded, and wildlife sightings are almost certain.

Valle Chacabuco, Ruta X-83, Cochrane, Aysen, Cochrane, Aysen, Chile

The park is open all year; the Valle Chacabuco lodge, restaurant and main campsites operate mainly from about October to April. The Paso Roballos border crossing through the park is seasonal and closes in winter. Rangers at the headquarters give trail information and register hikers.

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