Manu National Park
From Wiki Sumaq Peru
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General information
- Location: Departments of Cusco and Madre de Dios, province of Paucartambo, districts of Paucartambo and Piscota.
- Area: 1 717 295.22 hectares
- Altitude: 250-4050 masl.
- Temperature: 10°C to 35°C
- Rainy Season: January to March
- Season: April - December.
- Entrance Tariff: Manu River: S/.150.00
- Acjanaco Sector:S/.10.00
- Services: Shelters, Police, Restrooms, Life-guard, Radio
- Services outside the park: Boat rentals
Access
- From Cusco:
By road and river: Land travel from Cusco to Shintuya and then by boat from Atalaya to Boca Manu (7 hours), Itahuania (6 hours) to conclude the 287 km / 178 miles trip. By air and river boat: by light plane from Cusco to Boca Manu (30 minutes) and then by motor boat to the camp site (6 hours).
Activities
Nature observation, Birdwatching, Trekking, camping, investigation trips, photo and filmmaking.
Administrative Office
Micaela Bastidas 310 -Wanchak, Cusco. fax: (084) 24-0898 E-mail: pqnmanu@terra.com.pe Attention: Mon - Fri 8:30 - 17:00 hrs (subject to changes without previous warning).
History of Manu
Peru's Manu is one of the most biologically diverse places on earth. Home to over 1,000 species of birds, 300 species of trees, and countless other life forms, Manu showcases life at its most prolific. But deep within Manu's rain forest also lie stories and histories of Indians and foreign explorers of centuries past. Though their footprints have disappeared over time, these inhabitants and travelers have made deep impressions that have shaped Manu into what it is today.
Home to numerous indigenous Indian tribes, the Peruvian rain forest's most recognized Indian inhabitants were the Incas whose capital was in the Andes but whose empire extended into the cloud forest. With their large empire, the Incas had many contacts with the jungle Indians of Manu. At its height, the Inca empire spanned 3,000 miles (4,800 km) across South America. Inca territory was divided into quarters, with Cuzco, the city where the Inca Sun King resided, at the center. Communication between cities was facilitated by "chaskis," couriers who ran between locations to send information.
During the 1500s, the Inca's hold on the region began to wane. Spurred by discoveries in the new world, Spanish conquistadors began exploring South America and claiming these newly-found areas for Spain. By 1532, Peru was conquered by Spaniard Francisco Pizarro, and in 1567, Alvarez Maldonado claimed the Manu river and surrounding regions for Spain.
Even though the Spanish ruled the territory, they knew little of the rain forest's natural resources and waterways. Renewed interest in exploring Manu developed after the rubber boom. In 1839, Charles Goodyear heated rubber sap with sulfur, producing the first commercially viable, heat-resistant rubber. After this discovery, demand for rubber trees ran high, and Manu, with its rich bounty of rubber trees, became the perfect source for satisfying this need.
Also crucial to Manu's rubber trade was baron Carlos Fitzgerald's ("Fitzcarraldo") crossing of a divide between the Upper Mishagua and Upper Manu. This divide, eventually called the "Fitzgerald Pass," provided an accessible travel route to the Madre de Dios River. In 1880, approximately 8,000 tons of rubber were exported from Peru, but by 1900, the number of exports climbed to an amazing 27,000 tons of rubber. In 1914, Manu's rubber trade collapsed, suffering from competition from Southeast Asian rubber suppliers and deforestation.
Manu's landscape has changed since its pristine early years, and several animal and plant species have become endangered since the rubber boom. In 1967, the Peruvian government signed an agreement with other American countries to establish national parks to promote conservation of regional flora and fauna. This agreement specified that the park "covered more than half the country... contained the greatest number of Peru's wide range of animals and birds...be in a virgin state, uninhabited and unaffected by the operations of hunters, lumbers, or colonists...[and] included every biotope from the riverside forests of the Amazon's main tributaries." In 1968, Manu was declared a National Reserve, and five years later, it was upgraded to a National Park.
Today, the entire region of Manu -- a total size of 7200 square miles (1,881,200 hectares) -- is considered a Biosphere Reserve. The Manu Biosphere Reserve is composed of three parts: the Manu National Park, a region protecting the natural flora and fauna; the Manu Reserved Zone, an area reserved for research and tourism; and the Manu Cultural Zone, a place used for human settlement. With these recent conservation efforts, life in Manu flourishes. Presently, scientists and researchers are learning more about the indigenous Indians that still inhabit Manu, as well as of the regional flora and fauna.
Its Inhabitants
The Machiguenga are an ethnic group of the Arawakan linguistic family. They are distant linguistic relatives of the Arawak tribes who once inhabited the Caribbean at the time of Christopher Columbus, but have since been wiped out by diseases and assimilated. The Machiguenga live in the upper montane rain forest of Southeastern Peru, mostly in the Urubamba river drainage and the Madre de Dios river drainage, including Manu. The Machiguenga practice long-fallow swidden agriculture, growing manioc, bananas, maize, sweet potatoes, cotton, peanuts, chili peppers and a variety of other crops in small gardens cleared out of the forest. They supplement their diet with fish, game, fruits and other foods gathered in the extensive forests and small streams of their environment.
The Machiguenga live in dispersed settlements clustered according to a matrilocal pattern of residence: a man marries out of his home village and goes to live with his wife's family. Villages sometimes maintain a loose political integration under traditional leaders called curacas. The word curaca was apparently borrowed from the Quechua language during pre-Hispanic contact with the Inca empire. As the Catholic Church, the Peruvian nation, and more recently, Evangelical missionaries have penetrated into the hinterlands, Machiguenga villages have tended to gravitate toward mission outposts or government school houses. These serve as centers not only for evangelization and education but also for highly valued Western trade goods and medicines. Machiguenga people in more accessible areas have taken up the extraction of timber and the cultivation of coffee, cacao, achiote, peanuts and other cash crops.
Manu Biosphere Reserve
Comprised in the Manu Biosphere Reserve and a UNESCO Humankind Natural Heritage site since 1987, the park’s vast animal and plant diversity thrive in the site’s more than 1.76 million hectares ranging from high Andean to tropical rainforest ecosystems where trees tower above 45 meters / 146 feet.
Flora and Fauna
Numerous mammals (200 species), insects (one million), fish (120 types) and birds (1000). Varieties include giant otters, spectacled bear, pumas, jaguars, caimans, harpy eagles and maquisapa monkeys. Its wealth comes not only from nature but also from the cultures of 30 indigenous peasant and Amazon Indian communities living within its borders. Scenic sites include the Jaguar and Salvador oxbow lakes, the macaw clay lick and the painted stones of Pusharo. he Park is located in the Provinces of Paucartambo and Manu, embracing part of the Sierra Highlands of the Department of Cusco, and the Cloud and Rainforests of Madre de Dios. It has 1692137 hectares, being considered one of the largest Protected Areas on the planet.
Manu Owl Butterfly (Caligo Eurilochus)Its altitude varies between 250 and 4050 metres above sea level, permitting the existence of 14 life zones which house an endless biodiversity, estimated in about 5000 plant species, 1200 butterfly species, 800 birds, 200 mammals and a yet unknown number of reptiles, amphibious and insects. Manu.Cuvier's Toucan (Ramphastos Cuvieri)Studies made have achieved to catalogue a total of 1147 superior or vascular plant species in an area of 5 square kilometres only, which gives us a more clear idea of the great biological diversity of the place. It is also estimated that at least 15% of all the plants within Manu are new to science.
Reasons such as these made the Peruvian Government decide to protect the zone, creating the Manu National Park the 29th of May, 1973. A restricted area accessible for authorised scientists only. The Manu Reserved Zone within the Park would be created later on, for the purpose of promoting activities such as eco-tourism and research. The attention of the world a place of such richness would call upon itself, made UNESCO declare this zone a Biosphere Reserve in 1977, and later recognise it as Natural Patrimony of Humanity in 1987.
Manu protects 10% of the botanical species of the world, amongst which countless of medicinal plant species are included, currently being classified by scientists for their later analysis and application. A sole hectare of the forest of Manu can embrace over 220 tree species, whilst a temperate wood in Europe and North America may hold only 20 species.
Division of Manu
The division of the Manu National Park into three large zones has achieved to make its administration more efficient. The Intangible Zone is the most extensive one and it has the sole purpose of protecting the biological resources and the indigenous populations who inhabit the region since thousands of years ago. Amongst the ethnical groups we have the Machiguenga, Amahuaca, Yine, Amarakaeri, Huachipaire, Mashco-Piros and the Nahua, amongst others, many of whom remain voluntarily isolated from the outside world. Tourist activities are not allowed at the Intangible Zone, only investigations, which take place at the Biological Station of Cocha Cashu. Research projects concerning flora and fauna have been realised by Peruvian and foreign scientists during the last 25 years.
The Buffer Zone
The Reserved Zone is also called the Buffer Zone. It was created for the purpose of allowing the access of the public to this specific area through tourist activities, which help to keep the rest of the Park afar from activities that might alter its delicate ecosystems. It extends along the Manu River and comprises a vast territory of the Primary Forest. Due to the fact that the river is the only access alternative, it is relatively easy to control and protect it from unauthorised visitors or prowlers. Investigation activities are equally realised in here, for scientists consider it a living laboratory due to the mega diversity of its flora and fauna.
The Cultural Zone
The Cultural Zone, in the Lower Manu, is an area where some settlements of colonists coming mainly from the sierra are located. It is conformed by mountain zones, and Cloud and High Mountain Forests. Their settlers yield on productive activities such as agriculture and low intensity wood extraction, for the Ministry of Agriculture and the authorities of the Park are in charge of exercising control and supervising these activities. One of the reasons for keeping this controlled zone is to establish it as a barrier for the reserved and protected areas.
The weather in Manu is very variable, meaning sudden rains even during the dry season. Therefore, it is advisable to be prepared and always carry the necessary gear. However, there are two very distinguishable seasons of drought and rainfalls, besides the unexpected chills along the year, which bring heavy rains with them. The variety of its geography contributes to the variety of its weathers, from the dry and cold of the Andes, down to warmth of the humid Amazon forest. Temperatures oscillate between 3° and 6° C in the uppermost areas, whilst the annual average for the lower parts (Cocha Cashu) is of 24° C.
Significance of Manu as a National Reserve
Manú National Park as a biosphere reserve is the largest National Park in Peru, covering an area of 15,328 km². The park protects all of the ecological zones that exist in the Amazon Basin, covering an altitudinal gradient between 150 and 4200 meters above sea level.
References
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