Valdivian Temperate Rainforests / Juan Fernandez Islands

Trees that can live for more than 3,000 years!

This is one of the world's five major temperate rainforests and the only one in all of South America. This Global ecoregion is made up of these terrestrial ecoregions: Juan Fernández Islands temperate forests; Valdivian temperate forests.

If you aspire to trek through all of the Valdivian Temperate Rain Forests, you'd better make sure you're in excellent shape. You’ll hike through low coastal mountains, across a broad valley, then into the high Andes.

Along the way, you'll see rare alerce and monkey puzzle trees and a wide variety of mosses, mushrooms, and lichens. You’ll also see many creatures, including Andean deer and, if you’re lucky, a primitive marsupial. 

Snow-capped volcanoes and Andean peaks are the backdrop of these temperate rainforests. The Southern beech forests are one of only three of this type of forest in the world.

Some people believe that these forests were once part of the ancient Gondwanaland land mass because they more closely resemble forests in Australia and New Zealand than other forests on the South American continent.

Local Species
Because of the rapid elevation changes, the region is home to many species with specialized habitat requirements. This includes the world's smallest deer, the endangered pudu, South America's largest woodpecker, the Magellanic woodpecker, and two pine-seed eating parrots. These forests are also home to the extraordinarily tall Alerce trees.

Threats
Intensive logging and conversion of forests to timber plantations are the major threats to this region.

Resources
• NationalGeographic.com