A Guide to Yaguas NationaL Park

The Yaguas National Park is a welcome, new addition to the long list of Peruvian protected areas.

It covers an area of 8,689 km² (2,147,100 acres) of tropical forest in Peru's vast Loreto province - roughly the size of Yellowstone National Park … or nearly half the size of Wales.

It is the last piece in the jigsaw of protected areas that constitute a huge biological corridor following the course of the Putumayo River, that marks the border between Peru and Colombia:

  • Rio Puré, Cahuinarí and Amacayacu National Natural Parks in Colombia

  • Maijuna Kichwa and Ampiyacu Apayacu Regional Conservation Areas in Peru

History of Yaguas National Park:

After years of lobbying by indigenous federations, the area was declared a ‘Reserved Zone’ in 2011.

In January 2018, its status was legally upgraded to a National Park.

Indigenous Peoples of Yaguas National Park:

The park offers protection to approximately 1,000 people belonging to 28 indigenous Amazonian groups, along with the Yagua from which it takes its name. The most notable groups are:

  • Bora

  • Mürui

  • Tikuna

  • Kichwa

  • Ocaina

  • Huitoto

Flora & Fauna in Yaguas National Park:

Like all of Peru’s protected Amazonian areas, Yaguas is notable for its biodiversity. In fact, it is reckoned that an area the size of a football pitch in the park contains more species than all the forests in North America!

Brown Woolly Monkey in Yaguas National Park.

Brown Woolly Monkey in Yaguas National Park.

It is only possible to estimate the park’s biological statistics, as creatures and plants new to science continue to be found:

  • 3,500 species of plant.

  • 110 species of amphibian.

  • 100 species of reptile, including caimans and Yellow-Footed Tortoise.

  • 600 species of bird

  • 160 species of mammal, including healthy populations of endangered Woolly Monkey, Anteater, South American Tapir, Giant Otter, Amazonian Manatee & Amazon River Dolphin.

  • 550 fish species, representing two-thirds of all the freshwater fish in Peru … and including some that live in tree branches and underground!

Yaguas National Park is a valuable carbon store: much of it trapped in extensive peat bogs that have recently been discovered using satellite imagery.

How To Visit Yaguas National Park:

Given that there are no roads or commercial airports in the entirety of Yaguas National Park, it may not come as a surprise that visiting is not a simple undertaking.

If you are determined to visit, get in touch and we may be able to assist with the logistics.