1 Berries of Murta or Prickly Heath (Gaultheria mucronata), Torres del Paine national park;
2 Estrellita or Falkland Lavender (Perezia recurvata), Torres del Paine national park;
3 Llareta or Balsam Bog (Bolax gummifera);
4 Flowers of Murta or Prickly Heath (Gaultheria mucronata), Torres del Paine national park;
5 Campanilla or Streaked Maiden (Olsynium biflorum), Torres del Paine national park
A number of semi-parasitic shrubs are found on the branches of Northofagus trees, all (rather confusingly) known as Farolito chino in Chile. These include the yellowish Misodendrum punctulatum and the green Misodendrum linearifolium. Both have shaggy, beard-like appendages, longer in the latter species and forming a distinctive sight on Northofagus trees in the area.
Lago Toro and Mata Barrosa (Mulinum Spinosum) from near Puente Weber (Walk 4)
The Calafate or Palo amarillo (Berberis microphylla) is a large, bushlike shrub found in and around the park, on scrub and steppe as well as in areas of Northofagus forest. The deep bluish berries are edible, and are used to make jam as well as a liqueur (which you’ll find for sale in plenty of shops in Puerto Natales). There is a saying here, that whoever eats Calafate berries will one day return to Patagonia (well, it worked for me). The flowers are small and yellow. Not to be confused with the Calafate is the Prickly Heath or Murta (Gaultheria mucronata), which has small belllike white flowers and red berries, or the Diddle-Dee or Murtilla de magallanes (Empetrum rubrum), which has tiny fleshy leaves and reddish berries that darken as they ripen. Both these species are found in areas of scrub as well as Northofagus forest.
Colourful houses in the old town of Valparaíso, a UNESCO World Heritage Site
The Firebush or Notro (Embothrium coccineum), a large bush with bright crimson flowers, grows in scrubland areas such as along the trail north of Refugio Paine Grande and alongside Lago Pehoé. Another common scrub-dwelling species is the white-flowered Fachine or Mata verde (Chiliotrichum diffusum).
Typical of wet and boggy areas, as well as areas of scrub and steppe, is Balsam Bog or Llareta (Bolax gummifer), which grows in large (up to 0.5m), deep green semi-hemispherical cushions. Although they look incredibly hardy, they can take up to 10 years to regenerate from a single human footprint – so tread carefully. Sphagum Moss (Sphagnum magellanicum) is also found in bogs and waterlogged areas. On drier, rocky scrub you will find Mata Barrosa (Mulinum spinosum), which forms dense thorny cushions up to 0.8m in height, with tiny yellowish flowers.
Flowers in scrub, steppe and rocky areas include the small blue Estrellita or Falkland Lavender (Perezia recurvata), the Campanilla or Streaked Maiden (Olsynium biflorum), Adesmia or Chinita dorada (Adesmia pumila) and Saxífraga (Saxifraga magellanica).
WHERE TO WATCH WILDLIFE
For birdwatchers, some of the best areas in the Torres del Paine national park are Lago Toro and the smaller lakes and pools between Pudeto and Laguna Amarga (such as Laguna Los Cisnes and Laguna Los Juncos); the area surrounding the latter is also a good area for spotting Guanaco. Laguna Amarga is one of the best areas in the park for seeing Chilean Flamingos. On the Torres del Paine Circuit, Torrent Ducks may be spotted in the upper reaches of the Río Ascencio. Some of the less-visited areas of the national park such as Río Pingo offer a good chance of seeing wildlife and birdlife, including some of the less common species – if you’re really lucky, you may spot a Huemúl. The best place to see Magellanic Penguins is on Isla Magdalena, about 2hrs by boat from Punta Arenas in the Straits of Magellan.
History and culture
Early settlers
By around 12,000BC the great migration of peoples over the land bridge that once existed between what is now Siberia and Alaska, and down through North and South America, had reached what is now Chile – including its far south. Initially nomadic hunter-gatherers, these peoples nevertheless left a legacy of handicrafts and pottery (see exhibits in the Museo Chileno de Arte Precolombino in Santiago), and the tribes in northern Chile are thought to have had cultural links with local Pre-Incan cultures. The tribes of central Chile appear to have become increasingly settled, with the development of agriculture and irrigation, while those further south in Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego, conditioned by the harsher lanscape and climate, maintained a more nomadic existence.
Excavations in Chile’s Cueva del Milodón and surrounding caves, just south of Torres del Paine national park, have unearthed arrowheads indicating human settlement in the area from around 10,000BC. Over the border in Argentina, Cueva de las Manos, near Los Glaciares national park, contains paintings dating back some 9500–13,000 years, including hunting scenes with humans and animals and, later, numerous hands, both imprinted directly onto the cave wall and ‘sprayed’ in negative, probably from a blow pipe.
House near Lago Toro, Torres del Paine national park (Walks 1 and 4)
Inca Empire and Spanish conquest
During the 15th century the Inca Empire expanded its territory dramatically from Peru, exacting tribute from the tribes of northern Chile, but met with fierce resistance from the Mapuche, one the most powerful tribes in central Chile, and the border between Inca and Mapuche lands was fixed on the Río Maule, approximately 250km south of Santiago.
Christopher Columbus’ ‘discovery’ of the Americas in 1492 and Ferdinand Magellan’s successful navigation of the Straits of Magellan in 1520 were followed by the Spanish conquest of the Aztec and Inca civilizations in Mexico and Peru (in 1521 and 1532 respectively), the latter under the command of Francisco Pizzaro and Diego de Almagro. Almargo continued south in search of further gold and riches, but finding none turned back at the Aconcagua valley.
In 1538 Pedro de Valdivia, one of Pizzaro’s generals, with only a handful of men (Chile’s apparent lack of gold or other riches made it a far less attractive proposition to most than Peru), set off southwards from Cuzco in Peru, founding the city of Santiago in 1541. The development of the Chilean capital, at that time still subject to the Viceroyalty of Peru, is well illustrated in a series of plaques on the pavement in Santiago’s Plaza de Armas.
Estancia Cerro Paine, on the road to Refugio Las Torres (Walk 2)
Over the following years Valdivia attempted to increase Spanish lands further south, where it was once again the Mapuche who put up fierce resistance, and Valdivia himself was killed by the great Mapuche chief Lautano – it is said, by having molten gold poured down his throat. Nevertheless, further subjugation of the local Chilean population continued after Valdivia’s death, and the foundations of colonial society were steadily laid. This resulted in the emergence of powerful landowners and estates worked by a disempowered native workforce, the decimation of the indigenous population by diseases from Europe, and the conquered people’s gradual conversion to Christianity by the Catholic Church.
Fight for independence
Over time Chilean demographics changed, with an increasing number of mestizos (those born of Spanish fathers