Peru: Tingo Maria National Park celebrates 45th anniversary

Peru: Tingo Maria National Park celebrates 45th anniversary Tingo Maria National Park, which is the second largest protected area in Peru, will celebrate its anniversary number 45 with several different activities, according to its Coordinator, Luis Flores Cordero.

The official highligted the fact that the social aid program “Construyendo Peru” has collaborated to improve the access roads to this park, and said that it will grow by another 12 hectares, after an investment of S/.6 million (some US $2 million).

The expansion of the park will allow to open a new touristic route, which will offer three days and two nights camping tour, including several natural landmarks and birdwatching activities.

“Our idea is turning Tingo María into one of the most important tourism destinations in Peru,” said Flores Cordero.

He added that on Thursday, May 13, they will held singing and poetry contests, as well as beauty pageants: on Friday May 14, there will be sports competitions, and the admissions to the famous Cueva de las Lechuzas will be free.

(Photo: Radio Shalom)

River cruise through Peruvian Amazon among world's best

The river cruise through the Peruvian Amazon, one of the most exciting, memorable experiences in life, is among the best river cruises in the world according to Daily Mail.
"There are still communities whose only connection with the rest of the world are the waters of the Amazon. Iquitos is Peru's third-largest city, yet it is surrounded by impassable jungle and a tangle of waterways," reads a dailymail.co.uk article published today.
The trip takes visitors away from the main river and deep into the flooded jungle of the Pacaya-Samiria National Reserve, where butterflies, birds and monkeys mingle.
The article also includes descriptions of Highland Lochs (Scotland), Amsterdam to Trier, Rhine and Mosel (Netherlands and Germany), Rhone and Saone (Provence, France), Canal du Midi (France), Russian Waterways (St Petersburg to Moscow), Danube (Budapest to Bucharest), and Mekong (Vietnam and Cambodia).
The Best Peru Tour: Tambopata and Manu national Park 

National Park of Manu expects over 3,000 tourists after rehabilitation of road

More than 3,000 local and foreign tourists are expected to visit the National Park of Manu this year, after the reopening and rehabilitation of the road Paucartambo – Kosñipata – Manu which was blocked for more than 40 kilometers by landslides triggered by incessant rains, reported the head of this natural attraction, Vladimir Ramirez Prada.

Some 19 tourist lodges and accommodations located along the route, from the Ajanacu region or Salida del Sol in Paucartambo to the Manu, are ready to receive visitors who couldn't access the site for over a month.

“There are many admission requests and we are authorizing them; we received the visit of more than 40 tourists during the past week,” stated Ramirez.

The government in coordination with concerned entities are working to promote the arrival of tourists, especially from Europe and the United States, and in a lesser amount from Latin America.

Before the landslides in Paucartambo, the National Park of Manu used to attract tourists from different countries who arrived to enjoy the Manu river basin, considered of high tourist value.

More info:

Manu Biosphere Reserve, Peru

Manu National Park Map

Manu National Park Photo Gallery

Suggest Tour: Peru Explorer 19 days/ 18 nights

Treasures in Peru's Amazon: Pucallpa

In Pucullpa, you can shape clay handicrafts, take authentic iconography home with you (tattooed on your skin) and learn more about ayahuasca from the Shipibo tribe

“Magical, delightful and traditional,” “an unforgettable experience,” “a visit that must be repeated,” are some of the expressions from tourists after visiting the native community of San Francisco, located just an hour from the city of Pucallpa.

It is considered one of the most representative communities of the region (they still preserve their customs and their traditions, as well as their language). However, San Francisco offers much more than just a cultural trip, explains Giovanna Vega, General Manager of Amazon World, an agency that offers this package to travelers.

The Ancestral Route

In order to arrive at San Francisco, crossing Lake Yarinacocha is necessary. The trip takes an hour, during which you can appreciate the richness of flora and fauna that characterizes the Amazon. A group of small natives will welcome you with a song in their native tongue and they will accompany you from the port to a “maloca” (a typical residence in the area) which is developed for tourist activities which have taken place there for the past two years. It is here where you will find women with long hair and painted faces, and shirtless, barefoot men with dodgy looks and big stomachs. In this instant, you will feel that you are in another world, in the deepest part of the jungle, where time has ceased to move.

To the rhythm of the drum

While the adults play different wooden instruments that they themselves have made, the children will invite you to dance in the intense heat, which at this time, is more than 32°C. The beating of the drum marks the rhythm of the jumps, and the flutes sweeten the tone. While holding hands and forming a circle, the tribe and their visitors don’t stop laughing, as they feel they form part of a festival that climaxes in the applause of the dancers.

Original Souvenirs

Afterwards you may visit Graciala Valles, a native expert in pottery that will demonstrate her talent before the astonished eyes of the visitors. The best part is the handling of the cold dough, formed from a mix of earth and water, and making your own dish and taking it home as a souvenir. Also, women may put their original designs on part of their body as well. For this temporary tattoo, which will last a few weeks, they use a natural dye with which they have dyed their hair since their ancestral times.

Mystic Adventure

The trip will continue until you arrive at the house of the Shipibo painter Alberto Muñoz, who will explain his art and the relationship that it has with ayahuasca. This artist and teacher, who holds the sessions in which one drinks from this traditional plant, explains how the community uses the ayahuasca for medicinal purposes. If you can not drink ayahuasca, when you leave this place you will know much more about its characteristics and you will have the opportunity to try it on your next visit. If you have more time, the program can include other activities such as traditional fishing, where you will have the opportunity to learn how to make arrows.

After various hours of cultural exchange, the time will come to say goodbye. Tourists usually acquire many of the handmade products of the tribe. The prices of their artwork range between 10 and 30 soles. As you board the boat, you will be surrounded by children. The spectacle will climax when they launch themselves from the raft into the deepest part of the lake.

Travelers should spend a day with the tribe, but if they so choose, they can stay living with them for up to a month.

Much More to Visit

If you are planning to go to hot Pucallpa, you can see the cathedral built in 2005, which shows off wood-work and stained-glass made by the craftsmen of Chacas, in Huaraz. Don’t forget to try a succulent patarashca or the famous juanes accompanied by a refreshing local fruit juice. And when night arrives, there is nothing better to do than enjoy a good drink in the discoteca El Perico, located just minutes away from the center. This discoteca also has a restaurant and room for 700 people.

How to Get There

From Lima there are two daily flights to Pucallpa via LAN Peru. The flight lasts 55 minutes.

Discover Arequipa: The fog forests of Antiqua

Atiquipa is a town so small that it hides in the hills of the coast of Arequipa. Only a large welcome sign at kilometer 600 of the Panamericana Sur serves as a confirmation for travelers that they are on the right track and if they take the detour in the direction opposite to the sea, they will find the town.

In the town itself, there is not much to see and the main attractions of the district are scattered around it. Secluded beaches, archeology and nature are the favorite options for those looking to satisfy their explorer soul.

Coming from Lima, we suggest you visit first some pre-Hispanic towns.

One of these is Pueblo Viejo (kilometer 589 on the highway). To get there you must walk for about 40 minutes. You will be able to appreciate their masonry-based buildings with columns, lintels and niches. Then in Ayparipa (kilometer 599), you can see the colcas (deposits) and platforms standing out in the landscape. The Waca gorge in Puerto Inca (kilometer 610) is an archaeological complex you shouldn't miss. The famous chair of the Inca can be found there.

Steep inclines are a constant feature in these walks, so wear sneakers or good hiking footwear.

Of course, the coastal landscapes are the protagonists; especially those decorated by cliffs, green hills and pristine beaches like Jihuay (kilometer 601), or rustic towns like Silaca type (kilometer 596), where it is almost a duty to take a dip in the pools of clear water.

How to get there

Atiquipa is a district in the province of Caravelí, Arequipa.

It's best to go in car, since public transport is difficult to find.

Almost Like Heaven

It is also worth your while to venture into the town of Atiquipa. Go by motorbike or car to the top of the nearby hills, where, 900 meters above sea level, the ecosystem creates a sort of cloud forest. Here, the local people have placed plastic mesh structures, which function as “fog lamps.”

The fog redistributed water and preserves the vegetation, fauna and agriculture intact.

Atop those hills, a cool breeze blows so it is best to wear something warm, even more so if the day is cloudy. The journey takes about 90 minutes.

Get away from modern life and discover Peru through rural tourism.

SUGGESTED PERU TOURS

The enchanted forest of Chaparrí, in northern Peru

The Chaparrí Ecological Reserve is fascinating. Entering it gives you the feeling of being enchanted, in the middle of nowhere and, at the same time, in the center of the world. It makes you feel reconciled with nature, full of life and relaxed to the extreme.

In this natural paradise there is no Internet, no cell phone signal and no cable channels. However, it just takes one look at the impressive landscape of endless dry forest to realise that those urban details are unnecessary.
Waking up to the sweet melody of a bird, having breakfast together with hummingbirds and reading a book while breathing fresh air is a luxury that you can enjoy here.

If you enjoy walking, this place has long trails to do it and you will most likely be surprised by a coastal fox, which is the smallest of South America, or by a spectacled bear pulling fruit off a tree. But fear not “because the animals that inhabit Chaparrí do not feel threatened and therefore do not attack,” explains its director, Heinz Plenge.

Variety
The reserve is located only 70 kilometers from Chiclayo. It covers 34,412 hectares of dry forest and is named after the imposing mountain that dominates the region.

This is an area that suffers long periods of drought that may last up to three years.
In this place there lives about 30 spectacled bears, Andean condors and the White-winged Guan, which was thought to be extinct until this place brought it back to life.

Chaparrí is also home to over 220 bird species, 36 of which are endemic and 5 threatened. The best hours to view these birds are dawn and dusk when the temperature drops. “If you are looking to see bats or the nine species of owls that exist here, you should go for a walk at night,” advises the scientific director of the reserve, Rob Williams.
You can go for a day to tour major areas or may choose to stay overnight at the lodge that operates inside the reserve, thus being able to live a full natural experience.

For a Day
The tour begins at the interpretive center, where a guide will explain more about the fauna and flora of the reserve.
Walking through the trail you will run into a well of natural water that comes from the vines. You will also see small amphibians and plants everywhere.

In the snake-house you can observe 15 species of boas including the famous rattlesnake, which is one of the most poisonous in the area and the cat snake, so called because it only eats mice.
“Another important point is the shaman or Mochica priest ramada, where spiritual sessions are held, tomas de San Pedro and other mystical tourism activities,” says the guide and resident of the area, Juan Carrasco.

And the most fun part for the children will be feeding the young bear that is in captivity. “He is the only one in that condition and we can not release him because he was rescued from a circus, where they removed the teeth with which he feeds,” says Carrasco.

How to get there


Start in Chiclayo and take the route to Chongoyape, which is right next to the airport. You must take a detour to the left on km 63. 150m away you will see the Asociation for the Conservation of Nature and Sustainable Tourism of Chaparrí where you will meet with you assigned guide and pay the entry fee. Then you will drive along a paved road for an hour.
More about Chaparrí

Last year, the Chaparrí Ecological Reserve received more than 5,000 visitors. 85% were domestic tourists.

The reserve has five rangers, who are residents of the surrounding community and know the animals and secrets of the reserve.

Know that it is forbidden to make loud noise, because animals can feel threatened.

Smoking or lighting fires without permission is prohibited.

It is important to wear neutral colors. It is not forbidden, but you should avoid wearing red or orange.

Do not forget to bring insect repellent, sunscreen, a hat, flashlight and a rain cover.

Tennis shoes are perfect for hiking through the area.

Weather
In Peru's summer months (December through March) the area is green. During the winter, it is so dry that it reveals all the species that inhabit it. It is also known that the area is inhabited by wild cats, ocelots and stealthy pumas, which have only been seen by the cameras that were hidden in the plants to study the fauna.

More info
Photo Gallery
Tour Suggested

Hiking to Gocta Falls, and avoiding the siren's call

“¿Quisieran que les cuento la historia de la mistica sirena? Would you like to hear the story of the mystical mermaid?” Señora Teo tapped her walking stick on the trail and glanced over her shoulder. I nodded, too out of breath to answer.

“Not too long ago, there was a shaman named Gregorio,” she began, without a trace of exertion. “He and his wife lived by the river, and he would often go up to the base of the waterfall and speak with the mermaid that lived there…”


Señora Teo leads the way to Gocta falls.


Señora Teo’s story was on the surface a cautionary tale about the caprices of mystical creatures, but stories like this one could help explain why a waterfall as tall as Gocta remained unknown to the outside world until 2006. It’s location in a blind ravine in the remote Peruvian province of Amazonas might help, too: Amazonas’ capital, Chachapoyas, was unreachable by paved road until a few years ago, and the airport has been in sporadic operation since 2003.


Gocta gushes during the rainy season but is a thin ribbon of water in the dry season.


More info on Gocta Falls

Click here for recommendations on lodging in our interview with Rafo Leon, host of the travel show "Tiempo de Viaje."

At 771 meters (2,531 feet), however, Gocta Falls ranks among the world’s giants. Stefan Ziemendorff, the German who first measured the falls, announced in March 2006 that the falls were the third highest in the world. Since then the claim has been challenged, and Gocta is currently rated as 16th by the World Waterfall Database. Part of the challenge relates to Gocta’s segmented nature: the falls are broken into two segments of 230 meters on top and 540 down below.

In three short years a tourism infrastructure has sprung up in the nearby town of Cocachimba, in the form of a cooperative of guides and other tourism industry workers. Our guide, Señora Teo, pointed out the improvements being made in the area for the expected increase in tourism: a large hotel that, when finished, could probably house the entire small population of Cocachimba; a few restaurants, both in town and one along the trail; and a small hotel about an hour’s walk along the trail, with all the amenities, where one could relax for a few days enjoying the wildlife, the scenery, and birdwatching.

Señora Teo is one of the fourteen guides that take turns leading visitors from Cocachimba to the base of the falls. The trail itself was excellently if steeply built to accommodate the influx of visitors. I asked Señora Teo how people had gotten to the falls before, and she shrugged. “Nobody went,” she said. She told us that the total elevation change would less that 100 meters, a deceptive number that doesn’t take into account the mountainous terrain that separates the town of Cocachimba from the waterfall.

If we thought we’d only be seeing a tall waterfall, we were wrong. Señora Teo led us through fields of sugar cane, corn, beans, beets, pineapple, banana, potato and carrot, pointing out local agricultural practices as we went (such as the planting of a stalk of corn and a bean vine together, so that the beans can use the corn as support as they grow). We also passed several sugar cane mills where the cane is pressed in a giant wringer powered by oxen, the juice extracted, then boiled for six hours to form the dry, condensed panela.

Getting There: The hike itself took 6 hours, though that’s taking into account Rob’s photo pitstops, and the time relaxing beside the river. From Chachapoyas we took a collectivo for 10 soles which drove us up to Cocachimba, but as we didn’t arrange transportation back we ended up walking 5 kilometers down to the main road and hitchhiking back to Chachapoyas (getting a ride is easy in Amazonas region, despite the general lack of traffic). As tourism to the area picks up it will probably be easier to reach Cocachimba, but for now it’s still a wild and unpaved adventure. Just like we like ‘em.

From cultivated land we passed into old growth jungle, draped with vines and festooned with orchids. Giant ferns rose up beside the trail, eerily prehistoric. Since the construction of the trail much of the wildlife has made itself scarce, but the first tourists to arrive in the forest had been confronted by large yellow monkeys, Sra. Teo said, which surrounded them in the trees and screamed at them, throwing sticks.

From time to time we could see the falls through breaks in the foliage: In the rainy season it would be a torrent, but today it was a long, thin white ribbon twisting down out of the mountains.

After nearly two hours hiking we arrived at the base of the bottom fall, where the water did not strike the ground, but simply dissipated as a mist swirling down in waves and eddies. The waters created a wind of their own that was chilly in the sunlight.

At the base of the falls is a pool, beautiful for swimming but with a hole in the center that draws in water and spits it out two kilometers downstream. It can draw in swimmers, as well, Señora Teo cautioned, but the day was too chilly for us to be tempted. The water of the pool and the river was a deep shade of rust fading to black — a result of the iron in the stones of the cliff.

It was easy to imagine a mermaid lurking in those dark waters, waiting for us to leave so she could reclaim her grotto.

Researchers track the rare Spectacled Bear in northern Peru

The four wheel drive truck stopped at 8 in the evening in the middle of nowhere. There was no longer a trail to follow so we carefully got out of the truck. Jose Vallejos and Robyn Appleton, members of the Society for the Spectacled Bear Conservation (SBC), and I adjusted our headlights and our backpacks and headed to Cerro Venado on foot. Three hours later we met with Isa Sánchez and Javier Vallejos, also members of the SBC, in the first camp site under the light of the crescent moon and the stars. Me moved some stones to level the ground, laid out our sleeping bags and said goodnight.

From Canada to Chiclayo
Robyn Appleton has had a fascination for bears ever since she was a girl. She studied biology and got a masters on these admirable mammals. On one of her trips, she decided to visit Peru to see a friend who worked in the Chaparrí Reserve. From that moment she fell in love with the Peruvian spectacled bear.

At the end of 2006, together with his friend and right hand, Javier Vallejos, he started a long journey on foot searching for bears in the surroundings of Laquipampa and Incahuasi until he reached Batán Grande. He was convinced that he would find them. One December morning, after unloading their backpacks from a mototaxi and wandering for hours, they saw their first bear. Fifteen minutes later, they saw another one climbing down a hill. They camped on the top of a hill for a week in order to watch these animals.

When they started to run out of food (and without the will or strength to go to the nearest town to get more) they saw a mother bear with her two cubs walk right in front of them right before entering the dry woods. In three weeks times, they had the opportunity to observe over eight spectacled bears. The study had begun. The SBC had taken its first step.

Laura the bear
We awoke at 5 in the morning thanks to the cries of some emerald parakeets and an eagle flying over us. Javier and Isa discovered that Laura, one of their favorite bears, had given birth to her first cub a couple of days ago. The night before our arrival, they had left her sleeping a couple of meters away from the campsite. Well, 200 meters up a 60º slope, to be exact; that is, a two hour walk.

Laura was one of the first bears that they found when hey started the project and ever since she was a year and a half, she let them approach her without showing signs of fear. That is why her, and two other bears, were chosen to be part of the first chapter of the project. Each one of them was equipped with a GPS collar to monitor their movements. The preliminary report that was sent to the General Management of Flora and Fauna of the Ministry of Agriculture (DGFFS) says:

“The data that we have received from the GPS collars are of great importance because they help us understand the life span of wild bears in the dry woods and how they use their habitat. The most important positions were given in Ocotber 2008 when we found a bear in an area that we thought bears never reached. This place consisted of 100 to 500 meter tall rocks (…) a young male walked over 150 kilometers in less than a week. We are now understanding the needs of a young male and the living space that a bear requires. We have also confirmed that males change the use of their habitat during the different seasons. In summer they descend to 200 meters over sea level to eat sapodilla fruit and find females. During the winter, the young males climb back up to the most remote areas where they can feed off the pasallo trees, bromeliads and snails.”

Laura was lying next to her cub at the foot of a rock wall. When she saw us arrive she shyly growled as a warning sign. The cub raised its eyes to look at us and then went back to playing with a dry branch. We stayed there all day observing them. The temperature was of 32 degrees Celsius and we stood on 20 square centimeters on the slope but we did not mind. The show was amazing.

The cub was restless and did not stop playing. It climbed on its mother’s back then it climbed back down and bit her paw; then her ear. It wobbled while inspecting the area and then went back to sleep. It drank Laura’s milk in intervals of approximately one hour making constant slurping noises. Then it got up and drank its mother’s saliva as if it were kissing her. Laura always played along.

When the sun started to set, she placed her cub face up on the ground and started licking it as if she were bathing ad cleaning it before bed. We collected our things and walked up the slope looking for a place to camp and stay the night. When Laura saw us leave, she got up and approached the spot where we had been to check that everything was in order.

More about the bears

The Spectacled Bear is the only one in South America. It became known around the world thanks to Micahel Bond’s Paddington Bear which told the story of a Peruvian Spectacled Bear who loved jelly.

This bear lives in the mountain range from Venezuela to Bolivia, including Ecuador, Colombia and Peru. In our country, they can be found at altitudes between 250 and 4500 meters.

The bears are four to six and a half feet long. Males weigh approximately 308 pounds, females about 176 lbs.

They are mainly vegetarian: they eat bromeliads, berries, any kind of cacti to keep hydrated, the heart of the pasallo tree, sapote fruit, snails and insects.

Life in Cerro Venado
South of the Laquipampa Wildlife Refuge, 60km north of Chiclayo, past the Batán Grande town and across orange, onion, corn and mango crops, we arrived in front of a fenced wall. This is where the hectares belonging to the El Cebú Farmers’ Committee in the Mochumí Viejo community begin. This is also the area of study of the spectacled bear in the northern dried woods. It is an extreme rural area that holds more life than we could ever imagine.

Across this limit we find a plain forest full of sapodilla and carob trees and giant cacti. Cerro Venado is a couple of kilometers away from this first site. It has almost vertical slopes in some places, flat rock slabs on its walls, massive weed and dehydrated tree sprouts on dry seasons and exuberant vegetation during the rainy season.

Despite the complicated conditions, life always appears here. Eight small pools of water or jagueys have been found in the highlands of this area which are the main available source of water during most of the year. The project has the goal of detecting the geographical distribution and abundance of bears in this unprotected – and protected, like Laquipampa – area. To achieve this, twenty “trap” cameras have been installed in these jagueys in order to complement the information collected from observation.

To the date, 33 bears have been identified in the area and valuable information about their feeding habits and journeys have been collected as well as pictures of the abundant fauna that lives there along with them like pumas, ocelots, deer, wildcats, etc. the most interesting finding is the proof that spectacled bears reproduce in their wild state.

Colca valley agriculture platforms declared Peru's Cultural Heritage

Colca valley andenes (platforms built for developing agriculture in the Incan times) have been just been declared as National Heritage by the National Institute of Culture (INC), reported Jose Luis Talavera, from the Colca Authority.

The area included in this new regulation is spread along the villages of Tuti, Chivay, Coporaque, Yanque, Ichupampa, Achoma, Lari, Maca, Madrigal, Tapay and Cabanaconde, reports Checkperu.com.

The Resolution N° 262/INC, states that from now on any infrastructure works, as well as mining, building or agricultural project that may affect the landscape will have to be previously approved by the INC.

Talavera also informed that they are coordinating with an NGO to preserve the andenes, since they are located in private properties so the state cannot directly invest there

New waterfall promoted as tourist attraction in Ucayali

A recently discovered waterfall, located in El Bombo area in the Curimana district of the Padre Abad province in Ucayali, will be promoted as a new tourist attraction of this Peruvian region.

The waterfall, called El Bombo de Curimana, is about ten meters high and 5 meters wide and is surrounded by lush vegetation and various kinds of trees, such as shihuahuaco, estoraque, quinilla, among others.

Different fish species have also been found in the area, such as fasaco, bujurquis, carachama, bagres and others. “This is one of the most fabulous places of Curimana,” authorities said.

Because of the clear waters and warm weather, this natural attraction is a great place for activities like fishing, refreshing baths and camping.

More info
About Iquitos and North Amazon

Amazon River leads Natural Wonders contest

Lima, Feb. 10 (ANDINA).- The Amazon Rainforest/River leads the group of the top 14 candidates in the contest that will choose the world’s New Seven Wonders of Nature, according to the ranking published today by the New 7 Wonders Foundation.

This group also includes the Salto Angel, in Venezuela; The Great Canyon in the United States of America; and the Iguazu Falls in Argentina and Brazil among other world attractions that received most of the votes.

According to the event’s organizers, the Amazon River has registered so far a high percentage in the voting.

The list published is divided in two parts, the top 14 and the bottom 14, based on the number of votes.

The Amazon River goes through South American countries like Peru, Colombia, Brazil, Ecuador, French Guiana and Surinam.

More information:
Amazon Map

Source: Andina News

Peru creates another natural protected area

The Peruvian government has created another protected natural area between the high basins of the rivers Zaña and Chancay-Lambayeque (in Spanish), in the districts of Catache, Calquis and La Florida, in Cajamarca, as well as Oyotún, in Lambayeque.

The new natural protected area is called Udima Reserve, with an extension of 30 503,45 hectares aiming to enhance the conservation of the highlands where the rivers Zaña y Chancay have their origins, since they play a very important role providing clean water to the whole valley.

Another of the reasons for creating this area is to fight against deforestation and controlling the erosion, conditions which contribute to produce natural disasters in the Zaña basin during the rainy season, especially during “El Niño”.

The area also is a home for the quina tree (Cinchona calisaya), ícon of the National Coat of Arms, and with important medicinal qualities.

Resource: Living in Peru, RPP News