Peru's Hidden Gem: The Tambopata National Reserve

11/28/2014

The Tambopata National Reserve (TNR) is part of a 3.7 million acre conservation unit in southeastern Amazonian Peru created in 1990 by the national government working in partnership with local grassroots and international conservation organizations, including Rainforest Expeditions.

This reserve protects the biological diversity of the entire watersheds of the Tavara and the Candamo Rivers and most of the watershed of the Tambopata River. The declaration and the design of the reserve includes an underlying philosophy of sustainable development and conservation of forest resources.

The TRN protects habitats containing over 1,300 bird species (including 32 parrot species comprising 10% of the world's total), 200 mammal species, 90 frog species, 1,200 butterfly species and 10,000 species of higher plants are protected within this reserve.
The world's largest known mineral clay lick, attracting hundreds of parrots and up to 15 species of macaws to ingest the detoxifying clay is also in the reserve, less than 2,000 feet from Tambopata Research Center.

Adjacent to the northwestern corner of the reserve is the Ese'eja Native Community, adding its almost 25,000 acres of communally-owned and managed tropical rainforests to the Reserved Zones. Within this territory is Posada Amazonas, a community-owned lodge and tourism operation which is an excellent base from which to explore the endangered wildlife species within (including giant river otters).

A world record 331 species of birds have been seen and heard in one day in southeastern Amazonian Peru by just walking on trails and paddling a canoe.

Highlights of tours in the Tambopata National Reserve

  • Visit a 164-ft canopy tower
  • Canoe ride around an oxbow lake searching for giant river otters
  • Visit a communal ethnobotanical center
  • Visit parrot and macaw clay licks
  • Birdwatching and wildlife observation on extensive trail systems in pristine forest