I stayed in Puerto Montt, Chile for a few days. There are a few really cool things to do in the area, so Puerto Montt was a cheap option with easy access to the activities.
First on my list was the Parque Nacional Alerce Andino (Alerce Andino National Park). The only obstacle was to secure some transportation to the park. I needed someone who would pick me up early in the morning, take me to the park, wait for me to explore it, and then take me back to my accommodation.
Once I met my Airbnb host, I asked them if they knew anyone who might be interested in taking me there, and he got me in touch with a tour guide / chauffeur. It’s an hour drive to the park, with the last 7 km being an undeveloped road that requires high clearance, which wasn’t a problem in my driver’s Jeep. The driver charged me 60,000 Chilean pesos (about $61), which included transportation both to and from the park.
The trailhead coordinates are 41°35’36.2″S 72°35’35.94″W, which I sent directly to my driver beforehand, so he’d understand exactly where I expected to be dropped off within the park.
The park opens at 9 AM, so the driver arrived at my accommodation at 8 AM, and we headed there.
Laguna Triángulo Hike Details
The main activity in the park is to hike to Laguna Triángulo (Triangle Lake). On the way there, you’ll see a waterfall (Salto Río Chaica), the Alerce Milenario (a huge, 3,000-year-old tree), and Laguna Chaiquenes (Chaiqenes Lake). Laguna Triángulo is the final destination. It’s an out-and-back trail, so after reaching the lake, you’ll walk past everything again on your way to the parking lot.
I arrived at the trailhead at 9 AM. There’s a fee to enter the park and you have to register at the trailhead before starting the hike. The cost was 7500 CLP (about $7.75) for an extranjero (foreigner).
As the sign above indicates, it’s a 9.5 km hike to Laguna Triángulo, with the other sites and their distances also mentioned. Since the trail is an out-and-back, it totals 19 km (11.8 miles). I used FreeMapTools elevation finder to determine that the trailhead elevation is 450.6 feet, and the elevation of Laguna Triángulo is 1,773.5 feet. That means you’ll be hiking up about 1,323 feet (403 meters). But the trail goes up and down the whole way, so I’m sure it’s actually more.
The 12ish mile hike is pretty challenging due to extremely muddy conditions, river crossings (where you have to rock scramble and will still get wet), and loose rocks and roots most of the way. You have to be constantly looking down and mindful of your footing. Conditions worsen the further you go.
The pictures below go from the tamest parts of the trail to the more challenging sections.
From start to finish, the hike took me 6 hours and 24 minutes. I didn’t try to go fast, and stopped many times to contemplate my footing in precarious sections, or to take pictures, drink water, etc.
There was one challenging aspect of the hike that was completely unforeseen: Bees. Well, my chauffeur said they were wasps. Either way, they harrassed me for all but the early morning part of the walk, constantly buzzing all over me. I was wearing jeans and a hoodie, so I was able to prevent them from touching my skin, except when they’d land on my hands or face. It was very distracting and annoying, but I eventually gave up at swatting them off and let them hitch a ride all over my shoulders and head (I kept my hood up). I got stung once, but it was nothing compared to, say, a yellowjacket sting. The worst part is that I could barely take some photos of Laguna Triángulo, since the bees would constantly swarm my outstretched hands while I held my phone up for a pic. I don’t know why they’re so attracted to people. I saw other hikers breaking off small leafy branches from plants and using them to swat at swarming bees along the trail.
Upon returning to the parking lot, I was happy to see that my chauffeur was still patiently awaiting my arrival. I don’t know how he kept himself sane for that long wait, but it’s easy money for him. He didn’t even mind when I climbed into his Jeep with my shoes and jeans drenched and covered in mud.
Salto Río Chaica
The Salto Río Chaica (Chaica River Waterfall) is the first significant thing along the hike. There’s a boardwalk (pictured in the section above) and a small viewing area that allows you to get somewhat close to the waterfall.
Part of the trail also runs alongside Río Chaica and affords you some other nice views.
Alerce Milenario
The next worthy stopping point is the Alerce Milenario (Thousand-year-old Larch), one of the oldest trees in the world at 3,000 years. It’s a massive tree both height-wise and diameter-wise, and immediately noticeable.
Side note: I got super confused when researching this tree, so here’s some clarification. The really famous “Alerce Milenario“—purported to be the oldest tree in the world—is located inside of Alerce Costero National Park (also in Chile). It is different than the Alerce Milenario at the Alerce Andino National Park. As a matter of fact, the word Alerce in Spanish means both Larch and Fitzroya. The more famous Alerce Milenario is a Fitzroya tree, and the one I visited is a Larch tree. The tree I saw is amazing, but it took me a while to realize that there are two significant and completely different trees with the “Alerce Milenario” moniker in Chile…
Laguna Chaiquenes
Next stop is the Laguna Chaiquenes (Chaiquenes Lake). It’s not as epic as Laguna Triángulo, but you have to walk right by it and it’s worth a look, too.
Laguna Triángulo
After arriving to Laguno Triángulo, you’re awarded with an epic view.
And then you deal with the hike back…
Here are some more photos that I took along the hike:
