Old Growth Alerces in Patagonia

Last week I went to Bariloche and El Bolson. While it's a little off topic for this blog, I thought I'd share some of the photos from the trip. Above is El Abuelo, an old growth Alerce estimated to be 2600 years old. Alerces are related to the Giant Sequoias in California. Since I'm from California and grew up around Redwoods and Sequoias, I was curious to check out their South American cousins.

Alerces or Fitzroya cupressoides grow in Valvidian temperate rainforests in Chile and Argentina. This grove receives 5000mm of rain per year.


The rain forest is dense with ground vegetation with lots of Bamboo or Chusquea quila sprouting everywhere.




Ash from last year's eruption of a volcano in nearby Chaiten [in Chile] still coats many of the plants.


The grove is only accessible via a boat tour across Lago Menedez. Along the way there are spectacular views of Cerro Torrecilla and it's hanging glaciar.


The boat tour is operated by Brazo Sur. The tour currently costs 110 Argentine pesos which struck me as being on the pricey side but it included a journey of an hour each way and a two hour docent lead tour of the grove [you're not allowed to hike on your own and the other areas of the park with old growth Alerces are closed to tourists]. There's more information about the tours on the company's website. In high season it's good to reserve in advance. I showed up and was able to walk on but even in early March the boat was nearly full. Admission to the park is an additional 30 pesos for non-resident foreigners. These prices, like all prices in Argentina, are subject to inflation.