New Delhi:
Chile has just opened the longest hiking-trail ever. Covering 1700 mile and 17 national parks, the trail called the Route of Parks is for the hungry nature-seekers and explorers. Stretching from Puerto Montt in the north to Cape Horn in the South, the trail connects 17 different national parks, offering travellers access to the Chilean Patagonia’s most epic landscapes, Andes Mountain, forests and even a few volcanoes. The Route of Parks according to the details is so massive that it even runs through other natural parks such as the Torres del Paine National Park.
According to reports, the new massive hiking trail is the result of the conservation efforts of Douglas Tompkins, the late founder of The North Face, and his wife Kristine McDivitt Tompkins, the former CEO of Patagonia. The couple is said to have purchased millions of acres of land in Chile to preserve it. And in March 2017, McDivitt Tompkins donated patches of the land to the Chilean government so that land could be set to add to or create new national parks.
"We want Chile to be internationally recognized for having the most spectacular scenic route in the world, and thus become a benchmark for economic development based on conservation. The Route of Parks is a protected heritage of all Chileans, and its 17 national parks are a challenge and an opportunity, as much for the more than 60 communities that live near them as for those who visit them," Carolina Morgado, executive director of Tompkins Conservation Chile, said at a conference organized by Imagen de Chile.
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And according to reports, a new website called the rutadelosparques.org have also been developed to help travellers navigate and plan a trip along the route. The website is also said to give information about the communities and each national park the hiking trail touches. The site is currently available in Spanish, but an English version is also being planned.
Fancy a 1700 mile hiking trip?
