Lago Puelo National Park
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Lago Puelo National Park is one of the smaller, though no less beautiful, parks in Argentina’s network of 29 magnificent parks. Its 276 square kilometers sit in the northwest of the Chubut province, in the heart of Patagonia.
The park is relatively young, created in 1971 to protect the beautiful landscape and Valdivian flora contained within. It also acts as an annex to the nearby Los Alerces National Park.
Puelo Lake is the most important lake in the park, and is, hence, its namesake. This expansive lake has an enchanting bluish green color, due to the high levels of glacier sediment, or silt, within the regional rivers. As the park’s highest areas are a mere two hundred meters above sea level, this lake is also uncharacteristically temperate. The park is made up of many eco-regions, including the Patagonian forest, steppes and the High Andes. The climate is generally cold and wet, and snowfall is common in the winter. The zone, being a part of the Andes, is extremely mountianous, at the high level of glacier action in the area has created many lakes and rivers.
Some of the flora within the park belongs to the Valdivian rain forests, such as the avellano, tique, lingue and ulmo, unique to this area of the world, and comprising only a small part of Argentina. Other flora includes the cipres de la cordillera, the lenga, and the arrayan. The fauna is well protected here due to the general inaccessability of the park, and range from the pudu and the huemul to the red fox and the cougar. There are over 100 species of birds, and the lake is filled with a variety of fish, including many species of trout. There are other great national parks to visit in this Argentina travel guide.
There is still evidence of the first settlers to this area, who were hunter-gatherers, and used stone tools to hunt the native guanacos. Many of the caves within the park contain cave paintings, which show sorts of maps and paths through the forest. Today, Mapuche villages and communities can be found in the eastern part of the reserve.
The park offers a wide variety of activities to its visitors, such as swimming and catamaran sailing. For those not wishing to dive into the water sports, hiking and guided horseback riding are popular alternatives. There is an organized camping area, and plenty of on-site information for visitors. Boats are also available for rent.