Los Alerces National Park

Los Alerces National Park protects the world's second-oldest living alerce tree, estimated at 2,620 years old, making it older than #9 Qhapaq Ñan's Inca roads by over a millennium. This UNESCO site spans 263,000 hectares of Patagonian Andes wilderness, with 70% of the park covered by ancient temperate rainforest that is 30% denser than the typical South American forest. The alerce trees can grow up to 70 meters tall and 4 meters in diameter, providing a living record of climate change spanning two millennia. Concrete data: the park's network of 12 marked trails allows visitors to traverse a landscape where the alerce's lifespan exceeds the Roman Empire by 400 years, offering a tangible connection to Earth's deep history.