The Manu National Park is one of the greatest biosphere areas on the planet. With more than 2 million hectares, the Reserve boasts unique flora and fauna species, as well as different habitats ranging from the high Andes and the cloud forest to the rain forest.
The Reserve was internationally recognized in 1977 as a biosphere under the protection of UNESCO. Today, it is considered one of South America’s best spots to observe tropical wildlife. The Reserve is comprised of three areas: the Cultural Area, which is open to everyone; the Reserved Zone, open only to eco-tourism and controlled scientific research; and the Manu National Park, which is intended to protect the Reserve and is accessible only for anthropological and biological research. In this area, native communities still live who, to this day, have not had any contact with the outside world.
Stretching from the region of Cusco and Madre de Dios, the Manu Reserve is crisscrossed by many creeks and smaller streams that converge from the Andes to the Amazon basin into most important rive, the Madre de Dios River (approximately 1,150 km in length and draining a watershed of more than 100,000 km²).
The Manu Reserve contains more than 20,000 different plant species, around 1,000 bird species, 1,200 types of butterflies, and over 200 types of mammals, as well as 13 species of primates, armadillos, kinkajous, river turtles, caiman, ocelots, and countless reptiles, insects, and amphibians. The Reserve is also home to many endangered species, such as the jaguar and the giant otter. Scientists believe that more than 10,000 species have yet to be identified and that Manu National Park may be the largest and most bio-diverse area in the world.