About
Manu Reserve

Other Locations

Things of Interest

People

Climate

Related Links

Manu Photos (I)

Lonely Planet, Peru

Manu Reserve

Manu National Park is 1.8 million hectares of remote virgin rainforest – recognised by UNESCO as a World Natural Heritage Site. It is the largest reserve in Peru, and one of the best places in South America to see a wide range of wildlife. Because the reserve starts on the eastern slopes of the Andes, and plunges down into the lowlands, it contains a far wider range of plants and animals (often localised in small "micro-environments") than in most other areas of the Amazon rainforest. The reserve is also home to several groups of forest-living Indians, living the same as they have for thousands of years with little or no contact with the outside world. One such group is the Mayoruna, also known as the "Cat People" because they believe their tribe is descended from a jaguar, and sometimes wear cat-like facial decorations.

Although the park is huge, only 20% of the area is open to visitors – while the remainder remains an undisturbed home for wildlife and native Indian peoples. The number of visitors allowed into the Park are managed so as to minimise disruption to the local environment.

A visit to Manu is the best opportunity for seeing animals in their natural environment, and to learn about Amazon Indians’ native traditions and way of life. Unlike much of the Brazilian Amazon, Manu is undeveloped, and provides an opportunity to show life in Amaz⌠nia as it has existed for thousands of years – and how it must have appeared to the first European explorers.

Local attractions include a Macaw lick (a gathering place for thousands of brightly coloured macaws), river dolphins, and an Indian Culture zone where several Indian groups have settled in an area of the park which may accessed by visitors.

(Under construction)