![]() GRADUAL REOPENING OF PROTECTED AREAS |
Stay informed about the latest reopening dates for national parks and their sanitary protocols for visiting via the official Conaf website |
Note: We know COVID-19 is impacting travel plans right now. For a little inspiration, we’ll continue to share stories from our favorite places around the world so you can keep daydreaming about your next adventure.
https://www.thrillist.com/travel/nation/best-national-parks-in-route-of-parks-patagonia-chile
To call the Chilean wilderness bucket list-worthy for adventurers is the epitome of an understatement. But the otherworldly mountain peaks, azure glaciers, and mirror lakes aren’t nearly as out-of-reach as you’d expect. In fact, they’re more accessible than ever.
Chile recently debuted the epic Route of Parks. Stretching 1,700 miles from Northern Patagonia down to remote Cape Horn, it’s a network of paved and gravel roads, trails, and gorgeous ferry crossings that can be explored by car, horse, kayak, foot, or bike. All told, the route packs 17 national parks into a landmass three times the size of Switzerland.
The route is the work of the Tompkins Conservation, formed by the late Douglas Tompkins of North Face and his wife Kristine McDivitt Tompkins, who privately bought massive amounts of land in Patagonia to preserve it. After Doug died, the foundation, led by Kristine, donated more than a million acres in a historic agreement with the Chilean government to create five new national parks and expand three others already in existence. The government, in turn, contributed nearly 2.5 million acres and reclassified 5.4 million acres of reserves as national parks.
While exploring each of the 17 parks along the route would take, at minimum, a six-month commitment, we’ve identified just a few of the must-see sights along the way, listed here from north to south.
Art exhibitions and workshops, talks, walks with magnifying glasses, Lambe Lambe theatre, and a lot of enthusiasm from the participants were the highlights of the celebration of a new year of life in the park.
Copyright 2018 Ruta de los Parques de la Patagonia