About Madre de Dios and Puerto Maldonado
It is said that the Amazon basin is the only
place that gives one the sensation of witnessing the dawn of time. Thousands of
visitors are drawn to the diversity of the area's forests and rivers, arriving
in the city of Puerto Maldonado, the capital of the department of Madre de Dios,
ready to set out on a journey filled with excitement and discovery.
Puerto Maldonado city was founded July 10, 1902,
the city was named after explorer Faustino Maldonado, who paddled up the Madre
de Dios River to the point where it comes together with the Tambopata River.
Puerto Maldonado is the gateway to three national
parks in the Peruvian Amazon featuring an extraordinary diversity of wild
species of flora and fauna: Tambopata - Candamo, Bahuaja -Sonene, Pampas del
Heath or Manu.
Festivals in Madre de Dios, such as San Juan in
June or Tourism and Ecological Week are good reasons to taste regional dishes
and take a refreshing dip in
Lake
Sandoval or go fishing on Lake Valencia, while visitors can spot countless
species of plants, fish and fauna in general.
A boat ride down the Tambopata or Madre de Dios
Rivers takes one to the Bahuaja - Sonene (Tambopata - Heath) National Park,
while the Heath River leads to the Pampas del Heath, a unique savanna area
wedged in the heart of Peru's tropical rainforest and a haven for unique animal
species.
The Tambopata River leads to the
Tambopata National Reserve, which is famous for featuring the greatest
diversity of species of mammals, trees, insects and birds on Earth. Colpa
Colorado the world's largest
macaw clay lick.
Puerto Maldonado city is located in the
confluence of the rivers Tambopata and Madre de Dios; it is characterized by
their notable delay in the economic development, due to the lack of appropriate
communication roads. Its population, in its majority is conformed by native
jungle tribes, dedicated to tasks of extraction of natural resources, wood,
fruits, gold, etc., with limited production means.
However, the difficult conditions of life in the
area have allowed them to be and conserve one of the virgin natural scenarios in
the whole planet, having parks and natural reservations of Amazon forests, of
singular characteristics in the world.
It is the best destination for the lovers of the
nature and biodiversity, and also for those who look for adventure, in
paradisiacal places, of exuberant vegetation, in which infinity of animal
species inhabit, many of them, only exist in these forests.
The special characteristic of the jungle of Madre
de Dios department is due to masses of cold air coming from the southern
Atlantic, during the months of June, and they originate an abrupt descent of the
temperature, reaching 5°C or less. This eventual meteorological phenomenon is
denominated, in the area, as the "friaje".
This situation, in the evolutionary process
during hundred-thousand years, originated the disappearance of many species of
reptiles, because of being of cold blood, and when existing less predators, and
the adaptation of others, it is already allowed the subsistence and evolution of
species missing in other places of the earth, inclusive in the Amazon area.
Existence of animal species and unique vegetables in their gender.
These forests still have many places to discover
and also many unknown species alive for the science.
Tambopata National Reserve
Area for the protection of the fauna and flora of the tropical sub humid
forests, constitute one of the richest ecosystems in the world, it possesses a
great diversity of wild life that captures many scientists and tourists from all
parts of the world. To visit this area is recommended take a jungle tour in an
Amazon
Lodge
Manu National Park
The best wildlife destination in the Amazon. Natural World Heritage Site by
UNESCO. Manu Biosphere Reserve. Considered as one of the biggest and richest
natural reserves in the world, the one that allows having intimate contact with
nature in its most primitive and wildest state. The Manu National Park is the
largest protected natural area of its kind in Peru. Spreading across the
departments of Cuzco and Madre de Dios, the park covers the entire Manu River
watershed. The best option to arrive to Manu is via
Cuzco.
Aborigines - Jungle Natives
In the virgin forests of Madre de Dios department, inhabit jungle tribes, as the
Ese'eja, Machiguengas, the Huarayos, the Mashcos, the Arasaris (practically
exterminated), the Huachiparis, the Shirenis, the Iñaparis, the Amaricaris,
almost all incorporated to the civilization by evangelical missionaries, but
they conserve much of their ancestral customs.
This population has many myths and legends, some
of them mystical; there is a great diffusion of the folkloric and quack medicine
on the base of the great quantity of medicinal plants that exist. You can
participate in
ayahuasca
medicinal ritual.
How to arrive to Puerto Maldonado - Tambopata:
There are daily flights from
Lima
and
Cuzco
to Puerto Maldonado. When you arrive at the airport the tour operator meet to
you and will be transferred to your jungle lodge in fast boats by the rivers.
The
Tambopata
area's jungle lodges can only be reached by boat and give visitors a rustic
jungle experience. Recommended minimum 3 days in Tambopata area.
We recommend you a combined visit to Tambopata
with Cuzco
and
Machu
Picchu
Tambopata Photo Gallery
Birds of Tambopata
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