Patagonia in Miniature

Photo by Gideon Long.

BBC Travel recently ran a wonderful story on the flora of Patagonia called A Tiny Forest on the Tip of the World. Gideon Long traveled to the Omora Ethnobotanical Park on the north coast of Isla Navarino in Tierra del Fuego to file his report.

“On entering the park,” writes Long, “you’re given a magnifying glass and, guided by botanists, are invited to get down on your hands and knees to delve into the weird, little-known world of Tierra del Fuego’s “miniature forests” – the moss cushions and lichen crusts that cover the rocks and trees. Focus is key: as you tiptoe and crawl through the park, it is easy to miss or even step on them.”

Long discovered that the tiny plants host even smaller insects and other creepy crawlies. And that with a little imagination and that handy magnifying glass, spores protruding from the mosses begin to resemble tiny trees and the moss cushions look an awful lot like miniature forests.

Omora Ethnobotanical Park, administered by the Omora Foundation and the Universidad de Magallanes, is dedicated to bio-cultural conservation in the extreme southern tip of South America. Its name derives from the Yaghan word for “hummingbird” as well as a small mythological being revered by the region’s indigenous people. In ancestral times, when humans and other animals lived in harmony, Omora would settle community disputes and maintain a dialogue between humans and nature.

Photo by Gideon Long.

With a little effort and organization, you can visit the park before or after your Australis cruise by arranging a day-trip from Ushuaia to Puerto Williams on Navarino Island.