Peru 4U

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Manu Peru Information

Visiting Manu Peru National Park will be a life lasting experience. The Park has the most diverse flora and fauna concentration in the world. The Manu Biosphere Reserve was established on May 29, 1973, by means of Peruvian Law, aiming to preserve its natural and cultural patrimony for the benefit of present and future generations. That same aim determined the recognition by UNESCO of the Manu Biosphere Reserve that today expands over a territory of 1'881,200 Hectares, in the provinces of Paucartambo in Cusco and Manu in Madre de Dios; from all this protected territory 81.5% belongs to the Core Zone Manu National Park which is strictly preserved in a natural state, 13.5% to the Experimental, Buffer or Reserved Zone that is set aside for controlled research and tourism, and 5% to the Cultural Zone where there are settlements of native Indian tribes. The three zones are called the Manu Biosphere Reserve.

The route to Manu National Park

Our route by road to the Manu National Park starts in Cusco follows the road passing through Huancarane, Paucartambo, Patria, Pilcopata, Atalaya and Salvacion where the administration office of the Park is located. The road continues through Burgos until Shintuya. In Atalaya or Shintuya you will continue by boat, following the Alto Madre de Dios River downstream, passing through the Indian villages of Ithahuania, Cruz de Mayo, Puerto Definitivo and Diamante, finally arriving at Boca Manu where the Manu River conjuncts with the Alto Madre de Dios River. Our route by air goes straight from Cusco to Boca Manu.

General information on Manu National Park

The Manu National Park and the Biosphere Reserve are towards the east of the Eastern Range of the Peruvian Andes, and include totally the basin of the Manu River and partially that of the Alto Madre de Dios River. The landscapes involved are diverse and range from the Amazonian Plains at 365 m.a.s.l. in Boca Manu, to as high as 4,020 m.a.s.l. in the Waskar Mountain Range, with steep and rough mountains. The altitude difference determines a climate variety from the hot and humid Amazonian Jungle to the cold and dry Andean Highlands. The Manu River has a reddish color and its meanders with the successive change of river bed formed the several "cochas" or ox-bow lakes, which are the main wild fauna environment.

Flora of Manu National Park

The scientific interest for Manu Park is based on its most diverse flora and fauna in the world. This diversity is kept almost unchanged in the millions of years of natural evolution. The major research spot in the Park is the Cocha Cashu Biological Station that nowadays has the most accurate data bank about the South-American tropical ecosystem. The altitude variation, found inside the Park is the basis for the existence of an impressive diversity of plant species. Manu contains 10% of the world's vascular plant species, including several species of figs and palms, as well as countless species of medicinal plants that scientists are currently cataloguing. A single hectare of forest in Manu can has up to 220 species of trees, while a hectare of temperate forest in Europe or North America may only have 20 tree species. The ecological systems can be categorized into three basic levels: Lowland Rain Forest, Montana Rain Forest and High Andes. In the Lowland Rain Forest there is always exuberant vegetation. You can find gigantic trees of more than 60 mts. high and 3 mts. of diameter. The fog and rains enables abundant existence of lichens, mosses and ferns, and a great selection of beautiful orchids. The High Andean Zone has also thinly scattered woodlands with some species like the classic "q'euña"; besides dense clumps of dwarf reeds and "ichu" the ever present Andean grass specie.

Fauna of Manu National Park

Inside the Park's three ecological levels, it is possible to find the biggest fauna diversity that constitutes a very valuable species reserve, many of which remain still relatively unknown. Most of the research is still concentrated in the Cocha Cashu Biological Station in which surroundings more than 550 bird species were registered. It is estimated that the total of species of birds in the Park is more than 1000, including seven species of Macaws. The known species all over the world are not more than 9000, and from these, in Peru there are 1800, constituting a real world record. Thus, the Manu Park shelters one of each nine bird species on earth, a ratio nowhere to be found in any National Park in the world! Moreover, 200 different mammal species were registered; among which stand out the primates with about 13 species. Besides there are also approximately 100 types of bats. Over here it is possible to easily find endangered animals such as the Black Caiman, the Giant Otter, the majestic Jaguar, the strange Spectacled Bear, the Tapir and the Ocelot. Fishes are abundant in the Park Rivers, as well as insects and other invertebrates from which it is estimated that there may be over one million species.

Indian settlements in Manu Cultural Zone

In the Manu and Alto Madre de Dios River basins are settlements of native indian tribes. They are part of the Park's natural balance. Among those groups are the Yine, the Machiguengas, the Yora or Yaminahuas, the Mashco-Piros and the Amahuacas. Just recently, the Park authorities got in touch with the Machiguengas and Yoras tribes. These tribes have a very peculiar way of life with ancestral customs and beliefs. They live in wooden houses with palm tree leaf roofs; they weave cotton, make pottery and cultivate goods such as manioc, uncucha, maize, papaya, pineapple, banana, etc. They hunt with arrow and bow, spears, peashooters and stone axes. We offer you a facinating experience with the Yine Indians . Please click here for your opportunities with the Yine Indians of Manu National Park.

Myth of Paititi

Through the last centuries people created the famous "Paititi" myth: a "lost Incan City" in the Amazonian Forest that, according to many authors, would be located in the Manu reserved zone area. According to the myth, the city would be the place where the last Quechua emperors sent their treasures in order to protect them from the Spanish destruction. However, until now, no evidence has been found for that. But in the eastern flank of the Andes facing towards the Park there are cultural remains of past civilizations that were not seriously studied. Among them are the "Pusharo petroglyphs" in the low Palotoa zone. In Inca times, according to their territory expansion policy, the Madre de Dios River was discovered and named as "Amarumayo" (Snake-Dragon River).

History of Manu National Park

In colonial times, many expeditions went into the region, driven by the gold fever. During the first years of the 20th century some religious missions were established and all the area was broadly explored and exploited for extraction of rubber latex that is found in important amounts mainly in the lower Manu regions. Thus, the movement of workers in the region determined the foundation of Puerto Maldonado in 1902 and later the creation of Madre de Dios in 1912 as one department of the country. During the following decades and after the breakdown of the rubber industry in Peru and Brazil, hundreds of hunters went into the zone looking for animal furs highly demanded in the international market, with emphasis in the chase of jaguars, ocelots, giant otters and black caimans. Since the 1960s, the exploitation of valuable timber such as mahogany and cedar was started; that prosperous extractive activity led to the construction of an airfield in Boca Manu.