Peru’s Southern Amazon

Centered around the Río Madre de Dios watershed, the southern Amazon covers a huge amount of rainforest among Peruvian, Bolivian, and Brazilian frontiers. Much of the land is preserved within national parks and nature reserves, which make for excellent wildlife viewing. The untamed nature is what makes the region is appealing. This region is one of the best places in all of South America to see the rainforest. The southern Amazon is especially known for its bird-watching thanks to several riverside clay licks that attract scarlet macaws and other animals. Oxbow lakes are also common here and provide a home for the hoatzin bird. Also lurking in the oxbow lakes is the giant otter, which live in family group dens.

The region may not be the easiest to reach or explore, but it is definitely worth the effort. The newly paved highway between Cusco and Puerto Maldonado is an option, as are flights between Lima and Puerto Maldonado via Cusco. Boats are another option to travel around the region, but rapids make the Madre de Dios un-navigable in areas.

Two of the most popular parks in Peru’s southern Amazon are Manú National Park and Tambopata National Reserve. The Parque Nacional Manú spans 7,260 square miles (18,800 sq km) of rainforest northeast of Cusco, near Amarakaeri and Alto Purús. This premier jungle sanctuary is accessed via the riverside village of Boca Manú. All travel into the national park occurs by river. The ecosystems within the park vary from steamy tropical lowlands along the Río Manú to cloud forests around Tres Cruces. The biodiversity is truly astounding. In addition to the 15,000 plant species, 200 mammal species, a million insect species, there are over 30 indigenous groups that inhabit the park.

The other popular protected area in this region is Tambopata National Reserve. Located near Puerto Maldonado, the reserve protects a huge area of lowland rainforest along the south bank of the Río Tambopata. Like Manú, the area is known for its amazing biodiversity. Many large jungle animals like howler monkeys, tapirs, and caimans, call this area of Peru home, along with 600 bird species, 1,200 butterfly species, 200 fish species, and 160 different types of reptiles and amphibians.

Further upstream along the Río Tambopata is the Parque Nacional Bahuaja Sonene, which can be accessed via the Heath River in the east. This area is Peru’s only tropical humid savanna, similar to the Pantanal of Brazil. This park has many of the same animals as the rainforest, but the Pampas del Health also attracts far different creatures such as the giant anteater, marsh deer, and maned wolf.

This guide to southern Amazon in Peru was written by a Peru travel expert at Peru For Less, available to help you custom design your exciting Peru vacation package.