Arboretum UACh

Valdivia, Chile, Chile

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The Arboretum UACh (Arboretum de la Universidad Austral de Chile) is a 62-hectare living museum of plants located on Isla Teja in Valdivia, Chile, just minutes from the city center near the Universidad Austral de Chile's Isla Teja Campus.

Established in 1971 by Professor Dr. Federico Schlegel for the Institute of Silviculture's Faculty of Forestry Sciences, it is Chile's largest arboretum and the only Chilean arboretum listed among the world's 270 significant arboreta by the Botanic Gardens Conservation International (BGCI) organization. The arboretum houses a remarkable collection of over 5,000 tree species, both Chilean native and foreign, organized along walking trails that showcase diverse landscapes and can be visited year-round.

Its primary mission is conserving Chile's threatened flora through ex situ conservation, serving as a living bank of plant material for future restoration and reintroduction programs while also preserving the magnificent Valdivian Forest and its tree, shrub, vine, fern, and herb components through in situ conservation.

The arboretum functions as a teaching and research hub for the university, supports school education, and serves as an ecological corridor connecting northern Isla Teja forest fragments, enabling vulnerable mammals like the culpeo fox and chingue to thrive alongside ancient forest bird communities including the Magallanes carpintero, Concón, Comesebo, and Hued hued. Visitors can explore reproducible populations of native amphibians and insects exclusive to Valdivian forests, making it a crucial biodiversity nucleus and Chilean natural heritage treasure.