Peru
practises an active policy of protection of its tropical
forest, which accounts for 60% of its territory. Best the
way of visiting and of appreciating Amazonia is to leave
in the forest for three, four, ten days or more in a lodge
(kind of bungalows on pile with more or less of comfort),
where from there you will be able to leave to discovered
the green hell.
AT THE
CUS
Several sites, in the east of Cuzco, were transformed into
natural reserves, the such national park of Manu, where
one finds one of the most important concentrations of savage
animals in the world and also the reserve of Tambopata and
the National park of Bahuaja.
Puerto Maldonado, city recent which owes its rise with the
fever of gold in the Seventies, has for it to be near four
great natural reserves which count among most beautiful
of the world, among them: The National park of Manu is the
greatest reserve of tropical forest of the world (1,8 million
ha) and richest from a biological point of view. Whereas
many species are in the process of disappearance in other
Park, Ici fauna and the flora proliferate.
One finds there more than 1000 species of birds, 200 kinds
of mammals, 13 types of monkeys and 5000 vegetable species.
The reserve of Tambopata
This zone protected from 1,5 million hectares, created in
1989, is at the same time a "reserve of extraction"
(latex, Brazil nut and other products of the forest) and
a park of ecotourism. It wedges the totality of the splendid
falls of Tambopata.
IN NORTH
Brood in the heart of the jungle, the town ofIquitos is
to 3700 km of the mouth of the Amazon. No road led there.
Its population of more than 400.000 inhabitants is connected
to the rest of the world only by inland waterway or air.
This city, rested by the Jesuits with the 18éme century
and which were, its apogee, the wearing of loading of thousands
of tons of rubber bound for Europe. Today, it is a coloured
city and indolente, which lives at the rate/rhythm of the
tropics.
The district more animated city is without any doubt that
of Belen, this semi-watery zone, true labyrinth of channels,
bridge, boats and shops.
Belen is before a whole market where all the products of
the jungle are sold: tropical fruits, fish, terrapins, medicinal
herbs, game...
One can also find there the products of the local arts and
crafts: butterflies of Amazonia, seed collars, hammocks,
ranges of feathers, arcs, arrows, masks and ceramics with
the naive drawings.
Iquitos is also the starting point of the excursions in
the jungle...
The
best way of visiting Amazonia is to address themselves to
a tour operator or Lodge which will be given the responsability
to obtain the licences and entries in the Parks and Reserves.
They will enable you to discover the flora and to observe
the animals in their natural environments.