Description of the attraction
Cerro Nielol National Park is located in Temuco, Cautin province. It is located on a huge hill (height - 335 m above sea level). On its territory (89 hectares) you can see the flora and fauna of the Valdive rainforest, as well as important historical and cultural monuments of Temuco.
In the valley surrounding the hill, in the distant times of the pre-Columbian period, the Mapuche Indians cultivated fertile soil. They used the hill as a place of worship and a ceremonial felling of timber for the construction of their huts. In the highest part of the hill, you can see five wooden statues-chemamul (in Mapuche language "wooden man"), more than two meters high. In 1881, as a sign of reconciliation, the Indians transferred part of their land to settlers to build houses, declaring a truce. This is how the history of the city of Temuco began.
At the top of the hill was a small fortress during the Arauco War (the struggle of the indigenous people against the Spanish colonialists in the Araucania region 1861-1883). In the place where the armistice was signed, wooden statues were installed.
Cerro Nielol National Park was established after several years of efforts by the Society for the Conservation of the Environment, led by Luis Picasso Vallebuona, to repurchase territories in order to carry out work to restore the rainforest. In 1987, the National Park became a Chilean Natural Monument.
Cerro Njelol Park is considered one of the few remaining relics of the Valdiv ecoregion in the central part of the Araucania region. Here grow oak, laurel, hazelnuts, cinnamon, hazel, vulture, kestrel, fire-capped hummingbird, hawk, Darwin's frog, wild cat, fox, rabbit and monkey, which are endangered in this area.
The park has four paths with modern information centers and viewing platforms. There are also special picnic areas and playgrounds.
The climate in this area is temperate, with a short dry season in summer - about two months. The average annual temperature is 12 ° C.
