Exploring Patagonia's Sustainable Wonders - Leave No Trace - S01 EP04 - Travel Documentary
my name is Richard Crawford and I've built my career on representing luxury Brands around the world and in doing so I've had the privilege of having some truly out of the ordinary experiences but at what cost it's getting harder and harder to blindly ignore the impact our extravagant lifestyle is having on the planet and its people so I've decided to invest the game whether there really is a sustainable way to visit the wonders of the world but still have extraordinary luxury can I have globetrotting Adventures without leaving a significant footprint well let's find out and by using the basic principles that Define equal tourism which are minimal impact sustainability social responsibility and of course let's not forget overall guest experience I will rate my travels around the planet to see if we really can make a difference this episode takes us to our southernmost destination to date the wheel Willow biological reserve and the Patagonia rainforest of Chile the reserve is located high in the southern Andes and is part of a unique and little explored ecosystem and it hosts one of the most extraordinary and representative biodiversities on the planet including a number of species of Flora and Fauna that are unique in the world their grills eat your heart out it is also home to a collection of some of the most Fantastical accommodations that you'll ever see including a hotel shaped like a mountain that is straight out of a fairy tale and for the outdoorsy types there are Glacier ski Fields white water rafting and one of the longest zip lines in the world [Music] see how the introduction of Tourism can coexist with this vital and ancient ecosystem without destroying it [Music] foreign [Music] foreign they say good things come to those who wait and if that's the case then I'm expecting this to be absolutely incredible to be honest it's been quite a track to get down here we started off with a 12-hour flight from New York to Santiago then we had another flight which was about an hour and a half from Santiago to the small town of temuko and now we're on the final leg of our journey which is a 100 mile road trip into the middle of the Chilean Patagonian rainforest and that should give you a sense of just how remote this place actually is now these guys have been internationally recognized for their work in sustainability and scientific research into the environment and if that wasn't enough to entice me to come down here I hear that there are accommodations are really unique so I'm looking forward to getting up there checking it all out [Music] hola we finally made it here welcome to Willow Willow biological Reserve right here in the Patagonia rainforest you know this part of Chile is still relatively undiscovered and the reserve itself is part of a sustainable development based on three Essential Elements integration of community conservation through scientific research and of course sustainable tourism now there are eight buildings on the property each one of them just as unique and diverse as those surroundings and the first thing that you notice when you get here is everything and I mean everything is made up of wood which I guess makes a lot of sense because we are in the middle of the Patagonia rainforest so let's check in and explore this place just a little bit further hey how are you ready to check in I'm here with Ignatius the general manager Ignatius tell me a little bit about what exactly is the wheeler wheel biological Reserve well we will always have biological research that was found in the year 2000 it compressed 100 000 hectares any space mostly in three fundamental pillars okay first one is the conservation of the natural heritage and culture section is the sustainable tourism the third one is the integration of the local community yeah now tell me why this place is so good for ecotourism well you have the beautiful landscape rainforest rivers mountains when you have the social factor that the money that you spend here some of them come back to the community and the third one is that we have five very good conservation programs now you mentioned earlier about integration of local community tell me a little bit about that well currently 80 of the staff are from the local community wow and speaking with Ignatius he mentioned that this area is part of a UNESCO biosphere Reserve that actually sits in a Chilean Patagonia temperate rainforest and what does that mean it rains all the time in fact they told me earlier that it might rain about 10 months of the year here now the good news is they said it's supposed to clear up later but before we get into anything else let's go check out some of the world famous accommodations here this was the first hotel built on the property the Atlee named Montana which means Magic Mountain and as you can see behind me I personally am in awe I have never seen anything as unique and strange as this hotel it has 12 rooms each for the bathroom and it even comes with its own waterfall [Music] you know the rooms really are like something out of a fairy tale and they're really surprisingly cozy I wonder if uh Tinkerbell will leave a little chocolate on my pillow tonight good [Music] keeping with the theme of bringing Outdoors inside the waterfall that you actually seen outside on Magic Mountain comes into the building runs through a reception and exits out at the restaurant on the other side [Music] behind meat is the Noto fargus hotel by far the most distinctive building on the property and yes it's actually built to look like a tree so that it Blends in with its surroundings here in the rainforest it's quite the feat of engineering and architecture there are 55 rooms some of those are double level Suites each one of them having an incredible view of the rainforest and the volcano and then up top is an impressive rooftop Terrace [Music] from this vantage point you get a real sense of where you are snow-cat volcano surrounded by trees I can hear the river in the distance it really is breathtaking [Music] this is just one of the rooms at the noro Fargos hotel and this particular Suite actually has two levels up here we have the sitting area and downstairs we have the master bedroom which has a super king sized bed to give you an incredible night's sleep but what's most impressive about this Suite is it is one of the best views that you'll ever see [Music] I take a bath what better in a Jacuzzi with a view of the volcano this hotel has a really unique ship to be honest housekeeping must really hate it but when I said it was built within the trees and within the forest I really wasn't kidding [Music] the latest property to be built on this site is the fungi Kingdom kind of pays homies to the fact that there's fungi here everywhere and unsurprisingly shaped like a mushroom [Music] has won several Awards over the years and one in particular was for this canopy Village which are small cabins up in the trees that families can actually camp out on right in the middle of nature as unique as the accommodations are here at the willow wheeler Resort it's just as important that the food is good and are almost fanatical here about a the quality of the food and B that everything is sourced locally one of the options to eat is at the restaurant noro and it offers a full a la carte menu we also have an extensive buffet for breakfast lunch and dinner who doesn't love a buffet but the most exclusive dining experience here on the reserve is here at the Noel pill Lodge where you can sit and enjoy a cocktail by the fireplace before you go into the dining room and have the executive chef prepare your meal so while the accommodations and food are spectacular I still have something very special to show you well hello there and welcome to what in my opinion is one of the most luxurious cabins in any rainforest around the world than a wealthy Lodge there are 12 cabins each one of them built using materials sourced locally for example this fireplace right here is built with a stone called lacquer which was taken from a nearby volcano now as with all the other structures here we'll we'll everything literally everything is built with wood now here is a prime example of when they built this place they wanted to do very little to interfere with a local environment so they've literally built around this tree and left it here but we'll actually see more examples of that later cabin comes with a full bathroom a double vanity and even has a jacuzzi tub with a beautiful view [Music] as you would expect in a cabin of this quality you're going to get a great night's sleep in a super king size bed and every morning that you wake up the first thing that you're going to see is the Patagonia rainforest and wow what an amazing view that is now I'm actually having to raise my voice just a little bit now because the three river runs directly beneath us here and you can almost feel the power of it from up here however let me show you my favorite part what better way to end the day and on your own private balcony and a wood powered hot tub listening to a raging River watching the sunset drinking the finest Scotch whiskey in the world in the middle of the Patagonia rainforest salute welcome back to the Willow Willow biological Reserve here in southern Chile and I've had just had a good look around all the accommodation at Willow Willow and I thought now would be a good time to really dig in to the equal side of the project now very recently they've built this cable car that goes from here to one of the highest spots in the region so I thought I'd take a ride up there and get away to land and that's about a good a place to start as Annie [Music] foreign [Music] biological Reserve was founded in 1999 by a Chilean businessman named Victor Peterman now up until the late 1980s it was owned by a very large state-run forestry company and they went out of business and basically exhausted the land environmentally and depleted the economy in and absolutely ruined it now in the mid 1990s Mr Peterman bought this land all 600 square kilometers of it and create a non-profit natural reserve and eco-tourism project and I'm sure we'll learn all about that over the next couple of days but what I know right now is that this place is absolutely beautiful [Music] you know they weren't kidding about the view up here and the reserve has some incredible natural features we have Lake Pirie Waco we have the volcano Motors choice wenko we have the incredible Fury River and of course the Patagonian rainforest and later on we're going to go see some incredible waterfalls what more could somebody want from an area like this [Music] I mentioned earlier that traditionally this place was very dependent on logging and from the 1940s to the 1970s this was all work camps here employing about 500 people from the local communities now in the early 1970s the state government came in took over and made it a much bigger operation and by the time they closed down in the late 1980s they were employing up to 3 000 people so as you can imagine when it closed down it was devastating to the economy and the local community today as we found out Willow Willow 80 percent of their employees are from these towns and communities and Willow Willow are also building a Living Museum so that they can educate people on deforestation now fortunately today these communities depend on ecotourism and not logging I think it's important to note at this point the commercial logging still exists in this part of Chile although it is all outside of the reserve area and the good news is is that it's now from sustainable growth forests foreign what continues to impress me about this Reserve is how to use all the natural resources from the rainforest in their Construction in the wealthy Lodge here is a prime example of that and it's not just about the building materials it's about the design now this door is made out of wood and lots of doors are made out of wood but look at this this is the branches straight from the rain forest now the big focal point here of the lodge is this huge tree growing right through the middle and it's all glassed off and it makes for a great talking point but if you had any doubt at all that they could build this Lodge without knocking down trees then here as a prime example this is a tree literally growing right through the middle of the lodge and it's not just one to make a point over here there are several more so you literally feel like you're in the middle of the rainforest and this is a living breathing growing tree you just don't get any more environmentally sensitive than that well one thing there's no shortage of around here is water and because of the Topography of this region there are some very powerful waterfalls and around here that managed to harness that power and create hydroelectric power now this particular hydroelectric power station behind me is from the 1950s and when Willow Willow bought all the land in the late 1990s this came as part of the package so all the electricity at the wheel of Willow Reserve is coming from this particular hydroelectric power station what's really interesting is that this power station is so old that if anything breaks down they can buy the parts anywhere for it so the wheel will Reserve actually have to manufacture the parts let's hope they're not making that out of wood the good news is there's a new hydroelectric power station being built one of the founding principles of the wheel wheel Reserve is the integration of community and in fact the foundation has been set up for that purpose and you can come visit that Foundation here now the organization employs locals and it's actually the only organization that employs women and some of those women work in here producing arts and crafts that are then sold and helped fund the organization itself so let's go have a look inside so these ladies specialize in making little L's now they're handed me the one that's a wood cutter but they also handed me The Village Idiot which I don't know if they're trying to tell me something as well as making these elves they also make these little cushions with all this beautiful stitching on it so let me see if I can get a little go at making something here myself can I try to make something here myself thank you how's that is that good oh okay hey hey laughing at me my answer crafts is not my thing it's not my thing you know what it was easier for me just to buy one Community integration is one of the three pillars of Willow Willow's philosophy they believe that Community engagement will help educate locals and for that matter visitors as well and they host four annual festivals a year that promote conservation of natural species and cultural development and I was lucky enough to be able to attend one of them although even the children put my dancing skills to shame the dance we are watching here is a kawaka which was voted the national dance of Chile in 1979 and it represents the energetic dance the rooster makes when courting its hand the locals here are really friendly and know how to throw a party and apparently unlike me everyone knows how to dance thank you [Music] ecotourism is a big buzzword right now in the travel industry and what does it mean well at the very least it means do not leave any Trace now if you want to take an equal tour you have to find somewhere that is totally integrated into the environment and in a sustainable way and I'm here at the Willow Willow reserve and Patagonia Chile and with the river raging underneath me and the sun about to rise it does not get any more equal than this foreign [Music] is a huge range of hikes walks and trails available with terrain including mountains grasslands snow rivers and Fields there is a range of difficulties catering to every level the scenery is truly Majestic and it's even better when discovered together with a local guide I teamed up with my guide good friend Rogelio and we started our Day's Journey by visiting the amazing Salto Willow Willow [Music] thank you [Music] when the people at the wheeler wheeler Reserve tell you that you'll be hiking through the Patagonian rainforest they really mean deep in the Patagonian rainforest so here we are in the misleadingly named grasslands which compared I guess to the rest of the environment around the other is more grass than anywhere else but we are in a bowl surrounded by mountains and this part has actually been set up as a sanctuary for some endangered species indigenous to this region what are the animals that were yeah what he said basically a deer a llama and a puma and what it does is it really brings home that Willow wheel biological Reserve is more than just a hotel it's actually a big part of sustaining the environment around here we good yeah let's go the girls eat your heart out so our guide has actually brought us down here to this almost little Oasis type spot there's a lake behind me which acts as a as a migrated export for ducks it's also the only place that this tree behind you is Spanish mosque grows in this particular region and what's really really surprising is it's so foreign you know I thought I'd stop for a second and just take a deep breath and really absorb the surroundings that I'm in and you know it's places like this that really highlight the importance of ecotourism and sustainability and why it's so important to keep places like this protected and what better way to enjoy this than to get out on this Lake today which by the way it looks like a sheet of glass with a nice little leisurely paddle in my kayak and I have to say I'm really surprised at how clear that water is well here goes [Music] thank you [Music] the wheeler wheel of biological Reserve provides both support to the local community and protection for the environment now in the local community they provide Education Health Care and put on events and festivals in the environmental side they have several programs they have reintroduced a deer native to this area and they have a llama rehabilitation program too now they also have a Darwin's frog program which is an actual fact why this education center was built so that both adults and children to come in and learn all about Darwin's frogs now Darwin's frogs used to have a large population in southern Chile but today it's down to about 30 or 40 small pockets and the Darwin's frog is important because it's a bio indicator which literally means it's an indication of how well the environment is doing and the fact that we haven't solved very many of them around here lately is probably a little bit of a warning sign now the wheel wheel Foundation is supported both by private donation and a percentage of many of the guests that stay here yeah it kind of puts it all into perspective and gives you a sense of why organizations like the Willow Willow Foundation are really important as I mentioned it's not just the Darwin frog that gets a Willow Willow Treatment they have established a center for the conservation of the South and the India also known as a humul it is part of Chile's National coat of arms and it's also a national natural Monument its global population has been reduced by more than 99 since 2006 Willow will has provided support and Sanctuary for breeding of this endangered species and hey they're pretty cute too it's another amazing day here at the Willow Willow biological reserve and as well as fantastic accommodation and great food we are in the middle of the Patagonia rainforest so there's a ton of really cool stuff to do so let's go check some of that up hey Rockstar you ready let's go we've covered pretty extensively the Patagonia rainforest itself but the water features here are also a big part of the local tourism now I've shown you some really pristine lakes and we've seen some really powerful waterfalls but I thought it's now time to actually get my feet wet so we've joined this white water rafting experience here and we're going to head down the fury river which runs for about 17 kilometers between the periueco lake and the pangapuri lake now I'm told that we're going to be going down some class fours I have no idea what that means so I had to look it up so here we go class 4 white water rafting medium waves maybe rocks maybe a considerable drop definitely some sharp Maneuvers and the skill level it is as exceptional rafting experience well it's safe to say I don't have that but you know what I got some merit badges when I was in the Cub Scouts for my swimming so maybe I'll be okay what can go wrong let's go see [Music] good [Music] [Music] foreign [Music] River claimed its first victim on a completely unrelated note we are currently interviewing for a new sound engineer it um turns out our last one couldn't swim well that was amazing definitely a lot of fun there was actually a lot longer than I expected which was absolutely incredible it was about 10 kilometers some of the moments were a little more hurrying than others but hey I made it I'm in one piece I'm relatively dry and you know so that's class four I might be ready for class five so it's not all about The Great Outdoors here an essential part of the wheeler wheel Reserve is celebrating the local culture and this building behind me is a museum of the volcano which houses a lot of the artifacts from the indigenous people here the mapuche so let's go have a look inside [Music] it's actually quite an impressive building and all the artifacts on most of them at least are owned by the will will Reserve themselves foreign it's great that they have put this place together because it really gives you an idea of the rich history of the area and not just the more modern times but the ancient natives as well and if you don't want to walk through the Patagonia rainforest you can always get a horse to do it for you [Music] [Music] the girl went away [Music] so one of my favorite things here at the willow Wheel Resort is they give you these little golf carts to get around then and even better you get around on this like elevated track that's built out of a bunch of Timber and a bunch of wood and I take the speed limit that they gave me as a suggestion and not a rule [Music] so it's actually a ride worthy of Disneyland but what they've forgotten to do take the trees out of the way [Music] oh well I guess I got to practice a little more this week and nobody needs to know a thing we're good so after a long day of tracking hiking canopy and plenty other excursions imagine my surprise when I found out that there's actually a brewery on a wheeler wheel Reserve it's like a dream come true I'm gonna go get a refill [Music] now what's a good beer without pizza and fortunately the reserve has its own Pizzeria as well as a brewery by the way I'm not a big Beer Drinker but this is absolutely delicious they even have a little bar slash gift shop that you can either have a beer here or buy some and take it with you and I tell you what these seats might look good being made from the local environment but they're uh really uncomfortable and I think after a couple of beers I'd lose my balance and fall off um can I have a four pack please thank you the reserve even has its own lake lake piri Waco and you can take a day trip and enjoy everything everything around us here beautiful water beautiful mountains and again the volcano in the background [Music] you know they tell you at the reserve that it's a hundred thousand hectares but you don't really get a sense of how big that is or how massive it feels until you're out here standing on the edge of a lake which goes for about an hour over to Argentina and you see the rainforest and you've got the volcanic Mountain up there it really really is a massive and awesome experience [Music] thank you [Music] so we're actually heading out of winter and just beginning spring in this part of the world and you can see from the environment around us it's still actually pretty cold out here and the lake is definitely cold out in the middle but this part around here on the shore is actually pretty warm this is a helio a guy tell us a little bit why that is because it's pretty simple we have a big volcanic Factory around here and the water touch the magma and then go come up again and you can see it in the in the bubbles around so little bubbles rising up so it's basically Hot Springs yeah so what they've done is they're they're harnessing these hot springs and they're pumping it up to the side of the mountain there and filling little uh wooden tubs so we could actually go up there and have a have a little hot spring bath so let's go check it out on the way to the bus I took a closer look at the little pump house they are built on the edge of the lake and you can see how warm the water is by the steam rising up what you can't see there's a smell of rotten eggs it was pretty strong because of the high sulfur content of the water the thermostat level of the lake hot springs consists of 10 natural baths made from hollowed out trees and locals have been visiting the area for centuries and the waters are known for their healing and medicinal properties although I'm not sure the locals were ready for my pink flamingo board shots this is absolutely amazing you don't get any closer to Nature than this next to a lake on the side of a mountain sitting in a hot spring top it's absolutely incredible [Music] because we're in the middle of the Wilderness doesn't mean that we have to give up our luxuries and the hotel is actually put together this beautiful little spread so that we can watch the sunset right behind the mucho chosenko volcano back there but I have to say now I know why they call this place chili because it's freezes cheers so it's early to bed for me tonight as tomorrow I tackle one of the longest zip lines in the world Hit the Steep Mountain Trails on my bike and I aim to conquer the mighty mucho chosenko volcano so wish me luck this place really is spectacular and now I'm lucky enough to take a closer look at it from a rather unusual perspective our guide rohelial tells me that the area is famous for the zip lines over the forest canopy he also tells me not to worry so where do I start he's done it plenty times before but I'm not so sure is there a diaper attached to it but when I almost pee myself hey if this kid can do it so can I right so I use this glove yeah pull the cable down yeah put it on top of the cable is that my brake yeah there is [Music] there are three zipline courses the smaller Chicago flight at 300 meters long the Eagle flight consisting of four zip lines of 150 meters each and the grammarly named Condor XL canopy flight with almost two kilometers of cables this rather terrifying set of zip lines is the longest and highest in South America just getting to the start nearly kills me as beautiful as the rainforest is from the ground I figured I'd give it a go from up here in the canopy here goes [Music] [Applause] [Music] that's not easy a couple of big nasty holes in this net but I guess I'm not going anywhere [Music] they just became an instructor that's how quick I pick stuff up and you know I should be a little more scared but there's so much Mist down here I really can't see where I'm going so here it goes [Music] [Music] foreign [Music] one of the most popular experiences here on the reserve is mountain biking because the terrain really lends itself to some exciting Trails now to be honest today is not the best weather for it and now I know why they call it the the rain forest it makes it feels really muddy it makes them very difficult to maneuver but what you don't know about me is in my younger day I was quite the mountain bike extraordinaire through the highlands of Scotland so let's see if I still have the skill set that it takes to get down these trails in one piece here we go wish me luck [Music] foreign [Music] just like riding the bike [Music] what I really my pocket [ __ ] caught in the seat my pocket look see my pockets [Laughter] oh well that's what we needed right you want he wanted authenticity let's go one of the most prominent features of the whole area is a spectacular motor trustwenko a glacier covered stratovolcano it is in fact twin volcanoes koshwenko in the Northwest and Mojo in the Southeast apparently the last eruption was in 1936 well let's hope rising to a height of 8 000 feet at Towers above the jungle canopy that surrounds it a snow park has been established in the slopes of the mountain and they offer a wide range of sports including skiing snowboarding sledding and trekking concerningly by 2003 the ice cap had shrunk by a total of 40 percent compared to what it was in 1976 now part of the charm of the place is that it doesn't have slick Resort facilities and in fact to get to the top of the mountain I had to jump on a snow cat that took about 30 minutes to get there but boy was it worth the wait [Music] and I don't know if you can tell I don't know if the camera will honestly do it justice but it is one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen in my life now I'm having a ski back down but nobody has skied this before so wish me luck [Music] foreign [Music] so this just might be the world's strangest ski lift [Music] well that's definitely a lot easier than skiing you know part of the Majesty of this place is You Can See For Miles you can even see the Andes wings and those three volcanoes that are in that view one of them the most active volcano in Chile still has smoke coming out of the top of it [Music] yeah I'll tell you what after that hard day of skiing the hotel spa loanca is really going to get a workout [Music] the spa offers a full range of treatments here and I've chosen a facial and thankfully it's one of the Lesser exhausting experiences here so sadly my time at Willow Willow has come to an end mind you my poor aching bones might finally get a chance to recover this Reserve had made amazing progress in rehabilitating the Damage Done to the area through Decades of logging and it's not just the natural habitat but through educating and employing the locals as well it's not hard to see why they have won so many accolades including the netgeo world Legacy award and being named a UNESCO biosphere they really do live by the three pillars and the fact that they have established the wheel wheel Foundation just shows the ongoing commitment to preservation and Rehabilitation not only that but they have put so much effort into creating a magical Atmosphere by designing such varied and clever accommodations so let's see how they fared on the leave now Trace equal score card now taking all of our criteria into consideration I have given Willow Willow an overall score of a I was most impressed by the fact that you will literally immersed in nature the minute you stepped out your door [Music] what an incredible experience has been for the last several days here in a Patagonia rainforest if not just a little bit exhausting because well there were so much to see and so much to do but what I found really remarkable is the efforts that the reserve put in to social responsibility sustainability and ultimately eco-tourism this place is absolutely beautiful and we want it to stay that way so when you travel to places like this just do your part and leave no Trace I Richard Crawford until next time [Music] [Music] [Music]
2023-12-20 06:51
