PUERTO MALDONADO TRAVEL GUIDEPuerto MaldonadoPuerto Maldonado is a city in Southeastern Peru in the Amazon forest, west of the Bolivian border on the confluence of the Tambopata and Madre de Dios River, a tributary of the Amazon River. It is the capital of the Madre de Dios Region. Nearby are the Manú National Park, Tambopata National Reserve, and Bahuaja-Sonene National Park. These are some of the most pristine primary rain forests in the world, which include several oxbow lakes and clay licks, where hundreds of birds including macaws feed on clay. A common phenomena known locally as a "surazo" or "friaje" occurs when polar winds blow in from the mountainous south. The temperature will drop to as low as 8 °C (46 °F) for several days. Manu National Park Manú National Park is a biosphere reserve located in Madre de Dios and Paucartambo, Cusco. Before becoming an area protected by the Peruvian government, the Manú National Park was conserved thanks to its inaccessibility. The park remains fairly inaccessible by road to this day. In 1977, UNESCO recognised it as a Reserve of Biosphere and in 1987, it was pronounced a World Heritage Site. It is the largest National Park in Peru, covering an area of 15,328 km². The Biosphere Reserve includes an additional 2,570 km², and a further 914 km² are included in a "Cultural Zone" (which also is afforded a level of protection), bringing the total area up to 18,811 km². ![]() FloraMore than 20,000 species. 40% of the park is Amazonian lowland tropical rainforest, including varzea, oxbow lakes, Iriartea palm swamps, and upland forest types. Fauna
Tambopata National ReserveThe intimate Heath River provides the fastest and easiest route to the uninhabited, unhunted core of these parks, a vast 2.5-million-acre (one-million-hectare) wilderness full of the five top predators of the Amazon--Jaguar, Giant Otter, Black Caiman, Harpy Eagle, and Anaconda. The unhunted region of Manu (the other great Peruvian nature reserve) is only 750,000 acres (300,000 hectares) and demands more money and time to visit. The biological diversity of the Tambopata-Candamo zone is in itself extraordinary. The area is home to 90% of Peru's species of amphibians, reptiles and fish species living in continental waters, in addition to half the country's known bird and mammal species. Genetic diversity -the entire genetic heritage of all plant and animal species- is so vast that it guarantees that scientists can improve on species currently in use and the selection of varieties. However, genetic diversity is suffering from genetic erosion and could eventually become a non-renewable resource. ![]() Why is there so much diversity?The dizzying level of biological diversity in Tambopata could be due to the variety of landscapes, physiography, geological formations, climactic differences and areas where different life zones come together. All this would create diversified eco-systems, both for flora and fauna. It is a kind of self-reproducing natural game of dialectics. The process started in the Pleistocene Era, and its development features the characteristics of the regions that make up the area, and the characteristics of the life forms that exist there. |