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INFORMATIONS

TORRES DEL PAINE NATIONAL PARK

HANDLING CATEGORY: National Park and Biosphere Reserve

GEOGRAPHIC LOCATION: It is located at Ultima Esperanza province, 90 miles to the north of the city of Puerto Natales . It borders on the north with the Republic of Argentina , on the south with Puerto Natales, on the east with Patagonian steppe and on the west with Bernardo O'Higgins National Park. Geographically is on 50º45'00” and 51º15'00” south latitude and 72º45'00” and 73º30'00”west latitude coordinates.

ELEVATION: At 200- 3,050 meters above sea level

SURFACE: 242,242 Hectares

TOURISM: The area has a whole of natural resources and tourist and recreational attractions that make it a zone of unique characteristic on the south extreme of America , which is reflected by the very high entrance of visitors.

 

PALI-AIKE NATIONAL PARK

SAN GREGORIO COUNTY
PATAGONIA / CHILE

It is located 122 miles northeast of the city of Punta Arenas . There are numberless volcanic cones of low height, natural caves, lava formations, irregular extensions and ravines that resemble a lunar landscape.

Pali-Aike cave is a cone of slag. In this place Junius Bird (1938) made archaeological excavations, finding prehistorical remains covered by a level of ashes and volcanic material.

It is a very important archaeological area, since there has been found the more ancient human population of Magallanes, with about 15,000 years, determined and characterized by five cultural units differentiated by its sociocultural characteristics, made evident by its implements, mortuary modes, hunting systems, etc.

It covers a 3,000 hectares extension and it's located at the driest section of the Magellan steppe, in San Gregorio county, province of Magallanes . This area is settled on ancient slag of basaltic lava, which gives it a great archaeological significance. The place is natural residence of guanacos, foxes, armadillos, wild cats and bats, among others.

 

The lava composition is suitable to the Extra Andean or Eastern series, constituted mainly by alkaline basalts of olivine, nefelinitas, hawaiitas, with bigger silica content in the newer lavas.

Part of its vegetation is composed of a great steppe variety such as Festucetum gracillimae, Festuca gracillina, Poa abari, Stipa chrysophylla, Stipa ameghinoi, Nardophyllum bryoides, Azorella caespitosa, Valeria carnosa, Empetrum rubrii, Festuca Magellanica, festuca pyrogea, Perzia recurvata, Baccharis patagonica, Ramalina terebrata, Stipa Rhyzocarpon, etc.

By the singular characteristics of this volcanic field, its origin, magnitude, location inside the steppe zone, its scarce evolve modification, constitutes an ideal place for geological, archaeological and other scientific disciplines studies.

 

FELL CAVES

Close to the county capital, Punta Delgada (Villa O'Higgins), at the banks of Rio Chico, in the first decades of the 20th century numberless rests of Tehuelches aborigines were found. As a sign of it, at present it may be seen abundant cave paintings.



SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY

Environment

As a tour operator we were part of the "Successful world tendencies to optimize tourist marketing" seminary-workshop, invited by PTI Tourism, Magallanes of CORFO and SERCOTEC CHILE EMPRENDE, that took place on Monday 14th of April in Cabo de Hornos Hotel at Punta Arenas, Chile/Patagonia.

Main speaker was Mr. Simon Milne, Tourism Professor at Auckland University of Technology and headmaster of the New Zealand Tourism research Institute (www.nztri.org), of the same New Zealand University.

He has been a consultant of important international organizations, such as European Union, World Tourism Organization, PNUD, UNESCAP and American States Organization. He has done works and consultancies in the Caribbean, Canada, Mexico, Papua, New Guinea, Russia, Vietnam, Philippines Islands and Chile, among others.

We have to thanks PTI CORFO-MAGALLANES for bringing Mr. Simon Milne to this seminar-workshop, where he based part of his introduction on Environment, calling Patagonia tourism operators to consider incorporate environment in our web sites as a social commitment.

A social commitment that TURISMO MERCURY compromises to apply from today on in different ways, contributing within our conscience possibilities.

 

Contact:
Phone: 056 -061 - 229367
Cell Phone Emergency: 56 (09) 84669299
E-MAIL: turismomercury@chileaustral.com
E-MAIL: turismomercury@gmail.com
Messenger: turismomercury@gmail.com