Área de Protección Vilches

There are a variety of protected plant species, worth noting are: the Lenga Beech, the Raulí Beech, the Hualo, the Chilean Citronella, the Cordilleran Cypress and the Laurel.
There are various species of mammals such as, the Colocolo Leopard, the Andean Fox and the South American Gray Fox. There are also some bird species including Burrowing Parrots, Band-tailed Pigeons, Magellanic Woodpeckers which can be seen in the Los Coigües sector and Condors which can be seen flying high above El Peine Hill.
The scenery is characterised by the high summits, in particular El Peine, El Picazo and El Afligido. The main river is called Lircay and there are two lakes, Colorada and El Tomate.
Places worth visiting are: the Quebrada Los Coigües where there are many old Coigüe trees (a native evergreen) giving the canyon its name; Lircay River which has clear pure waters and El Morillo, a cliff on the banks of the Claro River.
There are four walking trails: Laguna El Alto, Enladrillado, Laguna Tomate and Valle del Venado.
