Manu National Park

LOCATION

Located to the east of the eastern cordillera of the Andes, it includes part of the departments of Cusco and Madre de Dios.
It can be reached by air (30 minutes by plane) or by land (by the route Pucartambo, Patria, K'osñipata). The most advisable is to take the organized and authorized services of a specialized agency.

DESCRIPTION

It is the only place in the world where three distinct ecosystems are under protection: the puna, an area of high altitude and sparse vegetation, similar to the tundra, where a type of yellowish grass called ichu grows, dotted with deep blue lakes and populated by flat-eared and hairy llamas; the cloud forest, a world of mystery always bathed in intense mists and populated by wild roosters of an intense and striking purple, spectacled bears and abundant ferns that hang from the trees like endless and dense walls; and the lower areas of tropical rainforest, populated by an infinite number of huge black caimans, giant river otters or otters, thirteen different species of monkeys and more than a thousand different varieties of birds (10% of those in the world). In the higher areas the temperature ranges between 3ºC and 6ºC, in the lower areas the annual average is approximately 24ºC.

ATTRACTIONS

The Manú Biosphere Reserve has always enjoyed a certain degree of protection due to its remote location and the presence of indigenous tribes. Manú is currently inhabited by four distinct ethnic groups, two of which are still isolated from any contact with civilization, in a protected territory of 1,716,295.22 hectares. With an extension equivalent to half the size of Switzerland, Manú is probably the most species-rich protected area on the planet.

Flora

The great variation of altitudinal levels allows the existence of a great variety of species and forms of plants, estimating between 2000 to 5000 species of flowering plants. As a reference, 179 species of orchids have been recorded in the cloud forest.

Fauna:

The great diversity of ecosystems has allowed the development of one of the largest samples of fauna diversity in the world. Manú National Park is home to a great variety of birds, mammals, reptiles and amphibians, as well as invertebrates. In mammals, 200 species have been identified (about 40% of the mammals in all of Peru). The birds constitute an extremely important population and of an admirable variety that surpasses 1000 species.

Ethnicities:

The Alto Madre de Dios and Manú river basins are areas of traditional settlement of various indigenous groups: the Matsiguenka, Yora, Yine, Harakmbut, Maschco-Piro and Amaguancas, who belong to different linguistic families. The great majority of them are organized in native communities; others live in voluntary isolation, apparently rejecting all contact with modern society. In the Andean zone there are peasant communities of Quechua origin.

SCHEDULE

Consult with your travel agency.