Departamento de Madre de Dios
Puerto Maldonado
Puerto Maldonado, capital of the department of Madre de Dios, is one of the most important cities of the southern jungle of Peru. It seats on the banks of the Madre de Dios River, which connects with Rivera Alto in Bolivia and Assis in Brazil. Virgin forests cover 98% of its territory. For adventure lovers, Puerto Maldonado is a virgin and frontier land full of mysteries.
The department’s capital is a dynamic, young and bustling frontier city. The main economic activities are foresting and gold panning, although farming and the ecological tourism are being developed. The city is the jumping off point for the surrounding nature reserves. |
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Manu National Reserve TCovering 1,881,000 hectares of government-protected land Manu has the largest and most varied biodiversity on the planet. It contains more plant and animal species than any other park of its kind, including some that have become extinct in other regions and other that have only recently been discovered. The park protects several ecological zones ranging from as low as 150 meters above sea level in parts of the Amazon Basin to Puna grassland at altitudes of 4200 meters.
Because of this topographical range, it has one of highest levels of biodiversity of any park in the world. Overall, more than 15,000 species of plants are found in Manu, and up to 250 varieties of trees have been found in a single hectare.
The reserve is a destination for birdwatchers from all over the world, as it is home to over 800 species of birds, nearly the total for all of North America. |
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Tambopata-Candamo National Reserve
Tambopata features a high diversity of habitats, and therefore an incredible number of species are represented. The protected area concentrates rich biodiversity for several groups of organisms.
The protected area is home of a wide diversity of plants, including exploited forest species such as cedar, mahogany, tornillo, Brazil nut, palm trees such as the pona, aguaje, huasaí and ungurahui. An indicator of this vast wealth is the fact that in an area of 1,478,000 hectares scientists here have recorded the existence of 750 species of birds, over 1,100 types of butterfly, 181 dry land tree species and 155 alluvial forest species, many species of monkeys, as well as giant otters and four classes of feline. |
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Lake Sandoval
Located an hour by launch from Puerto Maldonado on the right bank of the Madre de Dios River, this beautiful lake is surrounded by tall aguaje palms and provides a haven for ducks, parrots, turtles, caimans, otters, crocodiles, herons, and numerous species of fish. The lake is reached following a shaded trail inland from the river for about 5 km. |
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