Omora Ethnobotanical Park

Omora was founded in 2000 on Navarino Island as a research and education park, run with the University of Magallanes and American partners, and its central idea is unusual: the Cape Horn region holds one of the world's great concentrations of mosses, liverworts and lichens - something like five per cent of the world's bryophyte species in less than a tenth of a per cent of its land - and the park's tourism with a hand lens invites visitors to look at those miniature forests deliberately, with magnifying glasses, rather than walking past them. The work behind it contributed to the Cape Horn biosphere reserve declared by UNESCO in 2005.

Highlights

• Miniature forests of moss and lichen - looked at through a hand lens.
• A global bryophyte hotspot - a large share of the world's species here.
• A research and education park - founded in 2000 with universities.
• Behind the Cape Horn biosphere reserve - declared in 2005.

When to go

December to March. Half a day.

Practical notes

If you want scenery this is the wrong place - the point is deliberately small-scale. Visits are guided and need arranging. Weather on Navarino is severe in any month. Getting to Puerto Williams is the main obstacle.

Nearby

Puerto Williams is east; the Dientes circuit starts from the town.

Key facts