The Arrayanes National Park was created in 1971, and includes the entire Quetrihue Peninsula with a surface area of 1,840 hectares. It’s located in the south of the Neuquen Province, 12 kilometers from Villa la Angostura, on the northern shore of Lake Nahuel Huapi. It’s name was given by it’s former owner, Dr. Antonio Lynch, who found the Arrayane forest on the peninsula’s far shore. He donated the area to National Parks, conserving a small area that his heirs continue to inhabit as a symbol of Patagonia’s first colonizations.
The object of the Park’s creation was to preserve this forest, that is only found elsewhere on the extreme west of Victoria Island. The public can visit and enjoy this site under rigorous control with the goal of conservation and avoiding alteration or destruction.
FLORA
The park is home to one of the only forest colonies of Arrayanes or Quetri (the origin of the name Peninsula Quetrihue which means “place where there are Quetris”). This tree, relative of the Australian Eucalyptus, usually grows on the edge of lakes in humid soil.
Pure groves of these trees are only found on the southern edge of Peninsula Quetrihue and the northern edge of Victoria Island (Nahuel Huapi National Park)
FAUNA
The fauna of the forest of the Patagonian Andes are distinguished by endangered mammals such as the Pudu and Huillin. the Coypo, grey fox, ferrets, and skunks are among the most common. As far as birds, you may see, the Cooks Seagull, the Cormoran (Phalacroxorax olivaceus), and the Bigua, which frequent the lake shores. The Avutarda or Cauquen (Chlopephaga picta) and the Banduria are found in open sunny areas.
The Thrush, Chucao, el Huet-Huet, the Patagonian Comsebo, and the Great Woodpecker inhabit forested areas. Among the species of native deer you can find the Pudu, one of the smallest deers in the world and one of the best known species in the region. An adult weighs between 10 and 12 kilograms.
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