Huilo-Huilo Biological Reserve ( , Pronounced: ) is a private

for profit Business is the practice of making one's living or making money by producing or buying and selling products (such as goods and services). It is also "any activity or enterprise entered into for profit." A business entity is not necessari ...

natural reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, funga, or features of geologi ...

and

ecotourism Ecotourism is a form of nature-oriented tourism intended to contribute to the Ecological conservation, conservation of the natural environment, generally defined as being minimally impactful, and including providing both contributions to conserv ...

area in southern

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

. It is by the community of

Neltume Neltume is a Chilean town in Panguipulli commune, of Los Ríos Region. It lies along the 203-CH route to Huahum Pass into Argentina. The town's main economic activities are forestry and, more recently, tourism since the Huilo-Huilo Biological ...

along the international road to Hua Hum Pass near the border to

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

. The reserve has unique hotels, including Montana Mágica, the Nothofagus hotel, cabins, and a lodge for backpackers. The grounds also include a brewery, various animal habitats, a

funicular A funicular ( ) is a type of cable railway system that connects points along a railway track laid on a steep grade (slope), slope. The system is characterized by two counterbalanced carriages (also called cars or trains) permanently attached to ...

, and many miles of trails. The reserve includes many waterfalls and the eastern slopes of

Mocho-Choshuenco Mocho-Choshuenco (Pronounced: ) is a glacier covered compound stratovolcano in the Andes of Los Ríos Region, Chile. It is made of the twin volcanoes Choshuenco in the northwest and the Mocho in the southeast. The highest parts of the volcan ...

, a glacial compound

stratovolcano A stratovolcano, also known as a composite volcano, is a typically conical volcano built up by many alternating layers (strata) of hardened lava and tephra. Unlike shield volcanoes, stratovolcanoes are characterized by a steep profile with ...

History

In the 1960 and 1970s, prior to the creation of the reserve, the area had a strong

lumberjack Lumberjack is a mostly North American term for workers in the logging industry who perform the initial harvesting and transport of trees. The term usually refers to loggers in the era before 1945 in the United States, when trees were felled us ...

- campesino

labour movement The labour movement is the collective organisation of working people to further their shared political and economic interests. It consists of the trade union or labour union movement, as well as political parties of labour. It can be considere ...

. It was for this reason that Revolutionary Left Movement chose it to create a focus of resistance inspired by the

Fidel Castro Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz (13 August 1926 – 25 November 2016) was a Cuban politician and revolutionary who was the leader of Cuba from 1959 to 2008, serving as the prime minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976 and President of Cuba, president ...

26th of July Movement The 26 July Movement (; M-26-7) was a Cuban vanguard revolutionary organization and later a political party led by Fidel Castro. The movement's name commemorates the failed 1953 attack on the Moncada Barracks in Santiago de Cuba, part of an at ...

in the

Sierra Maestra The Sierra Maestra is a mountain range that runs westward across the south of the old Oriente Province in southeast Cuba, rising abruptly from the coast. The range falls mainly within the Santiago de Cuba and in Granma Provinces. Some view i ...

in order to combat Pinochet's dictatorship.Los que retornaron para luchar
/ref> The

Chilean army The Chilean Army () is the land arm of the Chilean Armed Forces. This 80,000-person army (9,200 of which are conscripts) is organized into six divisions, an army aviation brigade and a special operations brigade. In recent years, and after sever ...

succeeded in isolating the group by August 1981 and in October of the same year its last members were captured. The reserve was created in 1999 and includes of native forest in Chile dedicated to wildlife conservation and tourism. The reserve is owned by the businessman

Víctor Petermann Huilo-Huilo Biological Reserve ( , Pronounced: ) is a private for profit natural reserve and ecotourism area in southern Chile. It is by the community of Neltume along the international road to Hua Hum Pass near the border to Argentina. The res ...

who bought it in the 1990s during land sale program of the late

Pinochet dictatorship An authoritarian military dictatorship ruled Chile for seventeen years, between 11 September 1973 and 11 March 1990. The dictatorship was established after the democratically elected socialist government of Salvador Allende was overthrown ...

. It had been part of the state-owned forestry operations of ''

Complejo Forestal y Maderero Panguipulli Complejo Forestal y Maderero Panguipulli was a Chilean state-owned company that managed forested lands as well as sawmills in the Los Ríos Region#Andes, Valdivian Cordillera from 1971 to 1988. CFMP managed more than in the zones of Panguipulli, ...

''.

Location

The reserve is in an area of temperate rainforest northeast of the

volcano in

Los Ríos Region The Los Ríos Region (Spanish: ''Región de Los Ríos'', , ''Region of the Rivers'') is one of Chile's 16 regions, the country's first-order administrative divisions. Its capital is Valdivia. It began to operate as a region on October 2, 20 ...

. The main entrance is on the international gravel road that connects

Panguipulli Panguipulli ( ; Mapudungun for "hill of the puma") is a city and commune in Valdivia Province, southern Chile, administered by the Municipality of Panguipulli. It is located on the western edge of Panguipulli Lake, and is on a moraine in the ...

with

San Martín de los Andes San Martín de los Andes is a city in the south-west of the , serving as the administration centre of the Lácar Department. Lying at the foot of the Andes, on the Lácar lake, it is considered one of the main tourism destinations in the province. ...

, Argentina. In order to reach San Martín de los Andes from the west, one must travel through the Hua Hum Pass. After leaving Chile route 203 in

Puerto Fuy Puerto Fuy is a Chilean village (Spanish: ''aldea'') in Panguipulli commune, of Los Ríos Region. Puerto Fuy lies along the 203-CH route to Huahum Pass into Argentina at western edge of Pirihueico Lake and is a terminal station of the ferry A ...

, one must board the Barcaza Hua Hum a ferry that crosses

Pirihueico Lake Pirihueico Lake (, ) is one of Seven Lakes in Panguipulli Commune, southern Chile. The lake is of glacial origin and it is enclosed mountains of the Andes. It is located in a geological fault that includes Panguipulli Lake and Lácar Lake in ...

in approximately 90 minutes. After crossing

, the ferry arrives at Pirihueico, the last Chilean outpost before the Hua Hum Pass and eventually Ruta 4 in Argentina The nearest town to Huilo-Huilo is

, the site of a 1981 violent episode between members of

MIR ''Mir'' (, ; ) was a space station operated in low Earth orbit from 1986 to 2001, first by the Soviet Union and later by the Russia, Russian Federation. ''Mir'' was the first modular space station and was assembled in orbit from 1986 to ...

, and members of the military dictatorship in Chile. Traditional celebrations are held in the reserve area and folklore is part of the local school curriculum.

Biota

Huemuls were reintroduced to the reserve in 2005 from southern Aysen and

Guanaco The guanaco ( ; ''Lama guanicoe'') is a camelid native to South America, closely related to the llama. Guanacos are one of two wild South American camelids; the other species is the vicuña, which lives at higher elevations. Etymology The gua ...

s have also been re-introduced. The populations of Darwin frogs ( Rhinoderma darwinii) and puma are being monitored at the reserve. Lizards are also present. The reserve includes a Forest of Deer park. Mushrooms grow in the reserve. Plant species include Chile's national flower,

Lapageria ''Lapageria'' is a genus of flowering plants with only one known species, ''Lapageria rosea'', commonly known as Chilean bellflower or copihue (''copeewueh'', from Mapudungun ''kopiwe''). ''Lapageria rosea'' is endemic to Chile and it is the Flo ...

(Common name copihue).

Huilo-Huilo Falls

Huilo-Huilo Falls is a stretch of

waterfall A waterfall is any point in a river or stream where water flows over a vertical drop or a series of steep drops. Waterfalls also occur where meltwater drops over the edge of a tabular iceberg or ice shelf. Waterfalls can be formed in seve ...

s and rapids along the Fuy River in the reserve. The waters of the Huilo-Huilo Falls originate in

Lácar Lake Lácar Lake () is a lake of glacial origin in Neuquén Province, Argentina. It is enclosed in the Andes mountain range, at above mean sea level. The area around the lake is mostly uninhabited, except for the city of San Martín de los Andes on its ...

in Argentina. During the summer it frequently dries, as consequence of low precipitation and subterranean runoff. As consequence of this infiltration a large

aquifer An aquifer is an underground layer of water-bearing material, consisting of permeability (Earth sciences), permeable or fractured rock, or of unconsolidated materials (gravel, sand, or silt). Aquifers vary greatly in their characteristics. The s ...

Cuenca del río Valdivia
is situated under

volcano. Contact between the water of the aquifer and magma may have caused the explosive

phreatic eruption A phreatic eruption, also called a phreatic explosion, ultravulcanian eruption or steam-blast eruption, occurs when magma heats ground water or surface water. The extreme temperature of the magma (anywhere from ) causes near-instantaneous evap ...

s, that created the ''Tumba del Buey'' (bull's tomb) crater on the western flank of the volcano.

Víctor Petermann

Peterman is a businessman and private forest reserve owner in

. In the 1970s, Petermann acquired 120,000-hectares (297,000 acres) of state owned forestry lands in the Los Rios region. He established the Huilo Huilo Biological Reserve nature preserve and eco-tourism destination on the lands in the mid-1980s. The project transformed the area from a lumber-dependent economy to tourism. Petermann's ex-wife Ivonne Reifschneider was involved in the reserve project. Peterman owns holding company Tehmcorp, that controls various businesses including mining operations and tourism businesses.

Gallery

File:Lapageria rosea - Copihues - Huilo Huilo.jpg, Copihues, Chile's national flower, growing at the reserve File:Salto del Huilo-huilo - 4.JPG, Waterfall File:Animalia in Huilo-Huilo.JPG, Lizard File:Hotel Baobab, Huilo-Huilo.JPG, Hotel Baobab File:Hotel Baobab en Huilo Huilo (8168510554).jpg, Hotel Baobab File:Bajada Salto Huilo Huilo - panoramio.jpg, Trail along the slope of the falls at Huilo-Huilo File:Bosque de ciervos 10.jpg,

Deer A deer (: deer) or true deer is a hoofed ruminant ungulate of the family Cervidae (informally the deer family). Cervidae is divided into subfamilies Cervinae (which includes, among others, muntjac, elk (wapiti), red deer, and fallow deer) ...

in the local deer farm File:Hongos cafes.jpg, Mushrooms File:Hotel Nothofagus.jpg, Hotel Nothofagus

References

External links

Huilo Huilo Biological Reserve
{{Authority control Protected areas established in 1999 Protected areas of Los Ríos Region Ski areas and resorts in Chile 1999 establishments in Chile Valdivian temperate forests Private protected areas of Chile