Tamshiyacu-Tahuayo

 

The western Amazon rainforest, found in Peru, is known to have the greatest diversity of life on earth.

 

Biologists refer to this area as the "green paradise" of the Amazon forest. Within this paradise there exist exceptional national parks and reserves that contain the best wildlife experiences found in the Amazon.

 

The best in northeast Peru is the Area de Conservacion Regional Comunal de Tamshiyacu-Tahuayo (ACRCTT), which was designated a reserve in 1991 by the Peruvian government. It was a combination of local initiatives and extensive knowledge of the areas biodiversity that led to the reserves foundation. A major incentive was to protect the range of the rare red uakari monkey, an orangutan-looking monkey with a bright red face. The reserve has been documented to contain one of the world's richest varieties of plants, amphibians, reptiles, and birds. It is also known to contain the greatest diversity of primates reported in any of Peru’s protected areas.

 

 

The Tamshiyacu-Tahuayo contains over 300,000 hectares of Amazonian rainforest and is located in the state of Loreto, North East Peru. It is bordered by the upper Tamshiyacu River in the north and the Tahuayo River in the west, giving the reserve its name.

The secret to its abundant flora and fauna is that it retained its forest during the last ice age, when most of the Amazon became dry savannah. This enabled the area to act as refuge for Amazonian wildlife. Subsequently, many species have been found here which exist nowhere else on earth. The reserve's mammal diversity has been proven to be the greatest of any region in the entire Amazon. Scientists studying birds, amphibians, and plants have found the respective species assemblages to be "outstanding, unusual, and exceptional". The rivers around the reserve are inhabited by one of the most popular mammals, the large pink dolphins, which are often curious enough to greet swimming or canoeing tourists.

 

As testament to the reserves diversity, we have compiled a bird list of 540 species seen around the Tamshiyacu-Tahuayo, including many species that cannot be seen on any other tour. Several new species of frogs and butterflies have recently been described here as well.

 

Ongoing scientific management of the reserve's biodiversity, as well as the introduction of sustainablresearch supported by the Tahuayo Lodge is directed to conservatione economic practices among the native indigenous communities.

 

 

To visit the Tamshiyacu-Tahuayo you need to travel up the Tahuayo tributary, which situates the Tahuayo lodge, the only tourist lodge with access to the reserve.