The National Reserve of Pacaya Samiria

The main goals of this Reserve are the protection of the wild flora and fauna, the social and economical progress of the population settled in the area, protect the representative ecosystems of the Amazon and promote the tourism in the Zone.

This National Reserve is located in the department of Loreto, Requena, Ucayali and Alto Amazonas.

It has a surface of 2080 000 hectares and is the biggest in the country. The wild fauna is abundant and very rich. There are 132 types of mammals especially monkeys and gnawings, 330 types of birds, 150 types of reptiles and bathracians and 200 types of fishes.

With regard to the fishes we con see: the paiche (Arapaima gigas) which is a quite big fish very appreciated by its meat; the charapa (Podocnemis expanii) the vaca marino (Trichechus inunguis) the bufeo colorado (Inia geoffrensis) and the bufeo negro (Satalia fluviatilis). We can also find several animals that are in danger of extinction such as: the maquisapa negro (Ateles Paniscus), the maquisapa pecho amarillo (Ateles beltzeguth) and the river wolf (Pteronura brasiliensis).

The vegetation is quite rich, there are847 types of plants grouped in 118 families which 22 of them belong to the archids, the palm trees are found everywhere as well. With regard to the bushes and trees we con find the Aguaje (Mauritia flexuosa) that is the most representative plant in the area, the cedar (Cedrella odorata), the cascarilla (Cirichona officinalis), the mahogany (Swietenia macrophylla), the cacao (Theobroma cacao), the chuchuhuasa (Noxy thece sp.) the hormiga caspi (Durdia eriophila), the huairuro (Ormosia amazonica), the lupuna (Chorisla insignis) and the machin sapote (Quaribea bicolor).