5/5 Muhammad A. 1 year ago on Google • 169 reviews
The
Tambopata
National
Reserve
is
one
of
the
true
remaining
jewels
of
the
Amazon
Rainforest.
It’s
a
must-visit
destination
for
Peru
travelers
and
nature
lovers
from
around
the
globe.
Here,
we
give
you
some
background
on
the
Reserve’s
history,
ecology,
and
diversity.
The
Tambopata
National
Reserve
is
274,690
hectares
(1,061
square
miles)
of
preserved
land
in
Southeastern
Peru.
The
Reserve
has
many
diverse
habitats,
including
lowland
Amazon
rainforest,
riverine
forest,
and
oxbow
lakes.
It’s
crossed
by
three
rivers:
the
Malinowski,
the
Tambopata,
and
the
Madre
de
Dios
rivers.
Because
of
the
Reserve’s
protected
status
and
secluded
location,
it’s
incredibly
biodiverse.
The
reserve
plays
host
to
over
1,000
species
of
butterflies,
100
species
of
mammals,
around
600
species
of
birds,
and
hundreds
of
species
of
trees
and
plants.
In
fact,
this
reserve
and
surrounding
region
are
one
of
the
most
biodiverse
places
on
the
planet!
The
Reserve
and
the
surrounding
area
also
have
their
own
cultural
background.
Originally
home
to
the
Ese
Eja
People,
many
indigenous
families
still
make
their
homes
in
the
buffer
zone
of
the
Reserve
itself.
Within
the
boundaries
of
the
reserve,
the
only
human
settlements
are
a
few
ranger
stations,
and
our
Tambopata
Research
Center
lodge,
known
as
the
TRC.
The
TRC
is
in
the
Reserve
because
the
lodge
was
established
before
the
area
received
National
Reserve
status
in
1996.
This
actually
makes
the
TRC
the
most
remote
lodge
in
South
America!
How
Was
the
Tambopata
National
Reserve
Created?
Starting
in
1990,
several
biologists
and
conservationists
began
lobbying
to
protect
the
Tambopata
area
from
development.
They
were
passionate
about
preserving
this
area
because
it
was
(and
is)
one
of
the
last
remaining
and
largest
areas
of
pristine
rainforest.
Specifically,
Tambopata
is
one
of
the
very
few
areas
containing
lowland
and
foothill
rainforests
and
connects
to
cloud
forests
at
higher
elevations
and
wet
savannahs!
Even
more,
very
few
people
were
living
in
Tambopata’s
most
remote
areas.
Conservationists
realized
that
the
region
could
act
as
a
major
corridor
between
Manu
National
Park
and
Bolivia’s
jungles.
The
area
also
harbored
healthy
populations
of
Tapirs,
Jaguars
and
other
felines,
Giant
Otters,
Harpy
Eagles,
many
types
of
Macaws,
and
other
animals
that
had
disappeared
from
other
parts
of
Amazonia.
At
first,
the
area
that
includes
the
present-day
Tambopata
National
Reserve
and
the
nearby
Bahuaja
Sonene
National
Park
was
known
as
the
“Tambopata-Candamo
Reserved
Zone,”
as
an
earlier
form
of
protection.
While
“reserved
zone”
status
did
afford
the
area
some
protection,
it
left
the
window
open
for
changes
in
land
use,
so
the
area
was
still
at
risk.
Conservation
organizations
carried
out
further
studies
to
help
give
the
area
a
more
permanent
protected
status,
which
showed
that
protecting
the
region
was
crucially
important
for
biodiversity
and
could
work
with
local
cultures.
Those
studies
helped
build
a
strong
case
to
change
Tambopata’s
status
from
a
“reserved
zone”
to
a
“national
reserve,”
a
more
official,
permanent
protection.
The
Tambopata
National
Reserve
was
born!
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