Pali Aike National Park

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.

Background

The park lies in the Magallanes Region, was created in 1970 and covers 5,030 hectares, taking in part of the Pali-Aike Volcanic Field. It is named after its most prominent volcanic cone, the Pali Aike Crater, and many of its rock formations are covered in 1000-year-old lava. Some of its plants and animals are found nowhere else in the world. In the cave, stone tools from around 11,000 years BP rank among South America's oldest, the remains of three cremated people have been found, and the layers of the site go back 8,600 to 11,000 years. In 1998 the Pali Aike and Fell's Caves were put forward together to UNESCO as World Heritage Sites.

Source: Wikipedia, "Pali-Aike National Park"

What's there

• 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.

What to expect

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.

Key facts