Explorer Tambopata Bahuaja Sonene

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Explorer Tambopata Bahuaja Sonene

The Explorer Tambopata  Bahuaja Sonene National Reserve and  (Peruvian Amazon)

are located in the southern region of Peru, specifically in the province of Tambopata, Madre de Dios department, and

in the provinces of Sandia and Caraballa, Puno department. These areas are highly protected and were created in

1990, occupying a total area of 1,366,106.00 hectares, divided into the National Park with 1,091,416 hectares and the National Reserve with 274,690.00 hectares.

The Parks are part of an ecoregion of the Southwest Amazon Rainforest and contain habitats of tropical rainforest and pre-mountain tropical rainforest.

These natural areas have a great biodiversity of species inhabiting them. The Tambopata River basin is known to be

one of the ecosystems with the highest biodiversity in the world. Here, we find a wide variety of plant communities

with different species of plants, giant trees of great economic importance such as cedar, mahogany, tornillo,

chestnut, and various palms such as pona and aguaje.

The wildlife of this natural reserve harbors a great biodiversity of species.

Among them, we find the giant river otter, a species that is endangered, as well as other species such as the giant

anteater, the giant armadillo, the black spider monkey, the jaguar, the roseate spoonbill, the taricaya turtle, the

anaconda, and others.

However, over the years, these protected areas have faced various threats that endanger their great biodiversity of

species. Agriculture, gold mining, illegal logging, hunting of wildlife, excessive extraction of natural resources, and

the paving of the Cusco – Puerto Maldonado highway are some of the main threats. Additionally, the increase in

migratory processes to the region increases the pressure on these protected areas.

Strict measures are being taken to protect and conserve the Tambopata National Reserve. This Bahuaja Sonene

National Park now represents not only a significant reserve of biodiversity but also an invaluable natural heritage for

Peru and the world – from our Peruvian Amazon

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Explorer Tambopata Bahuaja Sonene

It also protects the cultural processes of the Ese’eja culture, an indigenous ethnic group ancestrally linked to these territories. Additionally, its establishment contributes to the sustainable development of the Madre de Dios and Puno regions.

Located in the ecoregion of the southwestern Amazon rainforest, it presents typical habitats of this forest and the pre-mountain tropical rainforest. The area includes lakes or cochas, palm swamps, and seasonally flooded areas. Among the prominent habitats are the Heath Pampas, which motivated the creation of a sanctuary in 1983 for its conservation.

This vast plain covered with grasslands up to 2 meters tall has small clusters of palms that become islands when the pampas are completely flooded between December and April. Additionally, its presence determines the southern limit of the continent’s tropical forests, which from here transform into the vast Beni savannas.

The area occupied by the Bahuaja Sonene National Park is the ancestral territory of the Ese’eja ethnic group, belonging to the Tacana linguistic family, who are now concentrated in the communal property areas of Infierno, Palma Real, and Sonene, adjacent to the Park. A fourth neighboring native community, Kotsimba, corresponds to the Pukirieri ethnicity, of the Harakmbut family.

The Bahuaja Sonene National Park is the link that connects the protected natural areas of Peru with those of Bolivia (bordering the Madidi National Park), in the proposed Vilcabamba Amboró Conservation Corridor. Visiting this corner of the country offers anyone the reasons to preserve our biological and cultural diversity. Knowing this and other places in our Amazon makes us see ourselves as small elements within a whole system that has always worked perfectly and dazzles us with its beauty.

Flora and Fauna

In the Bahuaja Sonene National Park, the presence of more than 600 bird species has been reported—378 of them in the Heath River sector—among which 7 species of macaws, the roseate spoonbill, the king vulture, and the harpy eagle stand out. In turn, it is estimated that more than 180 mammal species inhabit its interior, including bush dogs, crab-eating foxes, and short-eared foxes, the giant otter or river wolf, the marsh deer, and the unique maned wolf; the latter two are emblematic species of the Heath Pampas that do not exist anywhere else in the country.

Additionally, species such as the giant anteater, the giant armadillo, the black spider monkey, and the jaguar are also found. Among reptiles and amphibians, the presence of more than 50 species has been determined, where the black caiman, the green anaconda, and the yellow-spotted river turtle stand out; there are also 5 species of endemic frogs. The presence of 180 fish species and 1,200 butterfly species has also been reported.

The Bahuaja Sonene National Park protects the only portion of tropical wet savanna in Peru, where palms such as the aguaje abound, forming islands on the dozens of grass species that grow in the flooded plains that are the refuge of highly specialized fauna. In the Candamo River basin area, palms, rubber trees, and tornillo trees can be found.

In the highest part, there are dwarf forests composed of shrubs and small trees. The high diversity of plant communities in all sectors of the Bahuaja Sonene National Park also includes several economically important tree species such as cedar, mahogany, chestnut, and various palms such as the pona, the huasaí, and the ungurahui.

Climate

The Bahuaja Sonene National Park is located in a place where the tropical and subtropical Amazonian climates converge. The area receives annual rainfall equivalent to 2,400 mm. The average temperature is 30°C, but it can reach up to 38°C in summer or drop to 8°C.

The occasional “friajes,” Antarctic winds that enter the area, produce low temperatures between June and July. With the rains from December to March, the pampas are covered with water, forming a huge swamp.

Activities of Interest

Adventure tourism (rafting and other activities) can be carried out on the Tambopata River between June and September. Along the river, camping on its beaches allows for the appreciation of the variety of flora and fauna present. The Heath clay lick, a 7-hour journey from Puerto Maldonado by navigating the Madre de Dios and Heath rivers, can also be visited. There, a great variety of colorful macaws, parrots, parakeets, and tapirs can be seen, among other animals