Pali Aike National Park
A field of red volcanic craters on the steppe, where twelve-thousand-year-old human remains were found in a cave.
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Pali Aike is a volcanic field on the Patagonian steppe near the Argentine border - scoria cones, lava flows and craters in reds and blacks on flat grassland, which is a landscape found nowhere else in Chile. The name is Tehuelche and is usually rendered as desolate place. In 1936 the American archaeologist Junius Bird excavated the Pali Aike cave and found human remains and tools associated with extinct fauna including horse and ground sloth, dated to around eleven or twelve thousand years - among the earliest evidence for people in southern Patagonia. Guanaco and rhea are common; the wind is constant.
What you actually see
- Red and black volcanic craters - scoria cones on open steppe.
- Bird's excavation of 1936 - human remains with extinct fauna.
- Around twelve thousand years old - among the earliest in southern Patagonia.
- Guanaco and rhea - on the grassland around.
When to go
November to March. A full day.
Honest expectations
It is a long drive on gravel with nothing at the end but the park - no services, no shelter. Wind is severe and constant. The cave is fenced and viewed rather than entered. Visitor numbers are very low, which is the appeal.
Nearby
The Argentine border is east; Punta Arenas is west.
What to pack for Pali Aike National Park
Chosen from what this place is for. Tap a kit for the full checklist.
Opening times, ticket prices and seasonal closures change - check the official source before you go: official site.
