We headed to the Parque Nacional Alerce Andino, a reserve of South America’s oldest living tree, a cypress possibly related to our giant sequoias.Of course there are waterfalls! This is a rain forest after all.Crossing a river on this swinging bridge on a hike to a secluded lake in Parque Nacional Alerce Andino.The amazing boardwalk hike ended at Lago Sargazo – a beautiful pristine mountain lake.The scientific name for Alerce is Fitzroya cupressoides, named in honor of the captain of Charles Darwin’s ship, Robert FitzRoy – an avid scientist in his own right.This Alerce is estimated to be over 3,000 years-old. Some are as old as 4,000 years, or more? This Smithsonian article talks about the oldest tree.We returned to our Cabañas Vista Volcanes del Sur that overlooked Lago Llanquihue and Volcan Oscuro.The owners gifted us this delicious torte – we ate the whole thing in the 2 nights we were there in their comfy cabaña!
