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Don't
let the opportunity to visit this place that Pali Aike Tourism
offers you slip by.
Pali
Aike National
Park is located 210 kilometres from Punta Arenas and has an
approximate extension of 5.030 hectares. It was created on
October 23rd 1970 with the purpose of showing a zone
of extraordinary beauty and great scientific and faunistic
interest, not to mention the threat of extinction of its fauna
and flora; therefore, it is necessary to protect and preserve it
for the wole community's benefit due to the diverse resources
that it has which makes it unique in Chile.
Here,
the first traces of human life in this southernmost region were
found eleven thousand years ago.
It
has an undoubtable scenic beauty because of lava formations,
natural caves and medium height hills which constitute the
landscape that is in sharp contrast with the surrounding stepe
which is a real natural refuge for "guanacos", skunks,
grey foxes, wildcats, armadillos and patagonian ferrets.
In
volcanic grounds where there are caves and scarce vegetation
lives the eary bat, the yellow snout rat, the "conero"
rat and introduced species like the here. Among the birds, the
upland goose, the kestrel, the "carancho" ( a
vulture), southern lapwing and lesser rhea can be seen.
As
concerns the flora, we can find thatching grass,
"calafate" (=berberis buxifolia), black bush
(=juniellia tridens) and myrtle (=empetrum rubrum).
The
Pali
Aike volcanic zone integrated the so called "Tehuelche
Country" to the Patagonian historical geography for having
been the traditional ancestral ground of the natives known as
"Tehuelches", "Patagones" or
"Aonikenk".
These
natives inherited the territory for thousand of years finding in
said places a traditional hunting territory for which reason
they moved regularly of diffetent places of temporary use which
were individualized in Aonikoaish tongue as Aike or Aiken.
Notwithstanding, despite the frecuency with which the Aonikenks
walked the zone, they could never help feeling a supersticious
fear towards it peculiar landscape which they called Pali Aike
as the "Devil's Country", meaning that an evil spirit
dwelt in it.
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