The Rio Abiseo National Park (Spanish: Parque Nacional del Río Abiseo) is located in the San Martín department of Peru. UNESCO designated it as a Natural and Cultural Heritage of Humanity (World Heritage Site) in 1990. The park contains many types of plant and animal life, as well as more than 30 pre-Columbian archaeological sites. The park has been closed to tourism since 1986 because the natural and archaeological areas are delicate and require protection.
Geography and climate
The park is located in the San Martín Region of Peru, between the Marañón and Huallaga rivers. It covers an area of about 2,745.2 square kilometers. The park includes 70% of the Abiseo river basin. The highest point in the park reaches 4,200 meters (13,780 feet) above sea level, while the lowest area is 350 meters (1,150 feet) above sea level.
The park protects three different ecoregions: Ucayali moist forests at lower elevations, Peruvian Yungas at middle elevations, and Cordillera Central páramo at the highest elevations.
There are at least seven climate zones in the park, including montane forest, tropical alpine forest, montane rainforest, high Andean grasslands (puna), and dry forest. Rainfall in the park ranges from 20 to 80 inches (2.0 meters) each year. The montane cloud forest, which covers most of the park, is a high-altitude rainforest with short trees, moss, and lichen. This ecosystem is found above about 2,300 meters (7,550 feet). The air is always very humid, and rain falls throughout the year, especially at higher elevations. The soil in this area is acidic.
Wildlife
The yellow-tailed woolly monkey, Oreonax flavicauda, was once believed to be extinct. It is now known to live in the park and is found only in this region. Because this monkey is in danger of becoming extinct, the area was made a national park and added to the World Heritage Sites list in 1983.
Other animals living in the park include:
- Andean guan, Penelope montagnii
- Venezuelan red howler, Alouatta seniculus
- White-fronted spider monkey, Ateles belzebuth (endangered)
- Jaguar, Panthera onca
- King vulture, Sarcoramphus papa
- Three-striped night monkey, Aotus trivirgatus
- Curassaw, Crax salvini
- Peruvian guemal, Hippocamelus antisensis (endangered)
- Mountain paca or punatuacher, Agouti tazcanowskii (endangered)
- Southern pochard duck, Netta erythrophthalma
- Spectacled bear, Tremarctos ornatus (endangered)
- Turkey vulture, Cathartes aura
- White-fronted capuchin, Cebus albifrons cuscinus
- Hairy long-nosed armadillo, Dasypus pilosus
- Yellow-crowned amazon, Amazona ochrocephala
- Russet-mantled softtail, Phacellodomus berlepschi (endangered)
- Yellow-browed toucanet (endangered)
There are 980 known plant species recorded in the park’s highlands, 13 of which are found only in this area. In the Rio Abiseo region, there are 5,000 plant species.
Archaeology
The most famous archaeological site in Rio Abiseo Park is Gran Pajatén, a ruined village located on a forested ridge that looks over the Montecristo River canyon. Close to Gran Pajatén are the ruins of Los Pinchudos, which include a group of cliff tombs discovered by Pataz villagers in the early 1970s. Gran Pajatén, Los Pinchudos, and other remains found in the park are often linked to the Chachapoyas culture. The largest archaeological research project in Rio Abiseo Park was conducted by the University of Colorado during the mid-1980s.