Amazon Jungle – Peru

The Amazon rainforests of south eastern Peru is home of one of the world’s highest biodiversity concentrations and has a spectacular array of flora and fauna species.

Amazon - Peru

The Tambopata Reserve and Bahuaja-Sonene National Park is one of the most biodiverse places on Earth. Records include over 700 bird species, 1200 butterfly species, 90 mammal species, 120 reptile and amphibian species and innumerable insect species. Over 400 bird species have been recorded in areas visited by Wasai tours and there are places where it is possible to see over 100 species in a day. We can arrange visits to all the main habitat types found in the amazon area: terra firma, varzea, secondary floodplain, bamboo and aguaje forest as well as lakes, rivers, streams, ponds and cultivated areas. We can take you to a number of parrot “collpas” where many macaw, parrot and parakeet species, feed at clay licks and also mammal collpas where animals such as tapir, deer and peccary come to feed and many other rainforest wildlife. The base for observation is Wasai Tambopata Jungle Lodge and Research Centre which has over 20km of trails, overnight accommodation away from here is in tents.

The Forest
The Amazon region occupies a total area of more than 7.5 million square kilometres, being part of the territory of nine countries: Brazil, Venezuela, Colombia, Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador, Surinam, Guiana and French Guiana, The Amazon has 3,54 million square kilometres of continuous forest-covered areas, the largest in the world. Paradoxically, however, it is a soil with low fertility: 78% of it is acid and difficult to use for agriculture. Biodiversity is also the largest in the world: while there are 4 to 25 tree species per hectare in North America , there are between 40 and 300 different tree species in the Amazon rainforest. There are more than 5,000 tree species.

Peru rain-forest

The rain volume in the Amazon river basin is truly amazing: more than 15 trillion cubic meters per year. Of the overall rainfall, 48% evaporates, 52% flows to the rivers, and ultimately to the sea. The rainforest ecosystem changes significantly this average: in its environment, only 25% is evaporated and 25% goes to the rivers: the major part is retained in the forest itself.
The Amazon rainforest may be considered a kind of “ecological filter” for carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere, because the plants in the forest absorb more CO2 than they release. Unfortunately, the accelerated human occupation of the Amazon is causing a series of environmental problems, due to the amount of destruction of its original ecosystem. It has been estimated that approximately 12,5% of the original rainforest cover, or 500,000 km2, has been deforested or burnt. Logging companies, miners in search of gold and other valuable metals and agricultural occupation are the main culprits. Although the destruction rates have decreased lately, it still continues at a worrying pace.
The Fauna
The Amazon forest is extraordinarily rich in all forms of animal life, from insects to mammals. A cubic meter of soil has 100 times more insects and worms there than in the Northern hemisphere. The gigantic volume of water and the mild temperatures make a kind of fertile incubator, too: there are more than 3,000 fish species in The Amazon, representing 85% of all species living in South America , and 15% of the species in the world. However, only 40% of these species have been studied by scientists, and about 36 fish species are economically exploited.
The jungle region has many astounding records in terms of fauna. It has more than 100 species of New World monkeys (the smallest one is no larger than a fountain pen; the largest is comparable to a chimpanzee), thousands of bird species, like the colourful macaws (guacamayos) and toucans (tucanes) and dozens of exotic and interesting animals such as capybaras (the largest rodent in the world), tree sloths, alligators (caiman), the feared spotted jaguar (onça), turtles and gigantic anacondas (yacumamma), which can reach up to 40 feet ( 12 meter long)
This region encompass a large area of undisturbed amazon nature, the conservation of this area is critical. As a locally owned and operated company, we reinvest the money generated by our eco tourism operations back into the local community. Furthermore, a significant portion of our revenue goes to fund research, conservation, and social development programs.

Tourism and research
Our jungle Lodge and Research Centre, strategically located on the Tambopata River , offers an intimate and comfortable rainforest tourism experience close to a variety of attractions such as oxbow lakes, waterfalls, “collpas” and local communities. Its proximity to the National Park and Tambopata National Reserve guarantees the opportunity to observe well protected wild fauna with little environment impact and make some research expeditions . (animals of wasai)

We are specialists in the rainforests of Southeastern Peru . Our expert guides and resident biologists will show you the region’s natural wonders and teach you about the different Amazon ecosystems. As locals intimately familiar with the jungle region, its surroundings, and its inhabitants, we will take care of all of your travel needs and the accommodations in our lodge . We can arrange tours ranging from a week-long expedition into the heart of the Tambopata – Candamo National Park or to Manu National Park , or an afternoon touris t trip to beautiful Sandoval Lake to spend time in the amazon rainforest hosted by a local family.

Please visit our site, learn about us, our mission, our facilities, our jungle lodge , our expedition offerings, our educational workshops, our Peru Research Expeditions , and the beautiful Madre de Dios region. The following pages describe opportunities for eco-tourists, scientists, and educators. For more information, or to arrange lodging or an expedition, please contact us .
Source: http://www.wasai.com/amazon-jungle.htm