Huilo Huilo

At this private nature reserve, which spans nearly 120,000 hectares (300,000 acres), you find some of the last and best stands of Chile’s native evergreen forest, a temperate rain-forest ecosystem rich in plants and unique wildlife like the world’s smallest deer, the pudu, and the monito del monte, the only surviving member of an otherwise extinct marsupial order. In addition, Huilo Huilo has undergone an ambitious project to restore the endangered huemul deer to the landscape. The reserve is home to rivers ideal for rafting and fishing, plus the spectacular Lake Pirihueico, which can be crossed by ferry to get to Argentina’s tourist resort San Martin de Los Andes. Snow at the top of the park’s Mocho Volcano is year-round, making it one of the country’s best destinations for snowboarding. In the nearby town of Neltume and at the park store, you can purchase unique local handicrafts based on forest mythological characters known as duendes and hadas.