Puerto Maldonado
Biodiversity is the word that covers everything that Madre de Dios contains infinite forest, immense rivers and vast variety of animals and vegetation. Its capital, Puerto Maldonado is an obligatory stop along the way to the national parks and reserves located in the area to gain the entrance and authorizations. Years ago Madre de Dios have been an important exporting site rubber, wood, gold, and petroleum; today the eco-tourism and chestnut harvesting are the two main economic activities in the department.
About ten kilometers from Puerto Maldonado and an hour and half walking you find the Lake Sandoval, surrounded by aguajales (swampy areas full of palm trees), orchids, kapok trees, caoba trees, and Mauritanian palm trees that grow up to thirty meters tall. The lake is the home for a vast variety of animals like parrots, macaws, toucans, egrets, turtles, tapirs and the refuge for black caimans and otters, two species threatened with extinction.
60 Kilometers from Puerto Maldonado by the Madre de Dios River is Lake Valencia, in the areas around of the lake there are several native communities. These natives are extraordinary fishermen and living from that activity, fishing for tiger shovelnose catfish, gilded catfish and paiche. This area is full of flora and fauna, too.
One of the most important national parks in the world is The Manú National Park with 1,716,295 hectares, located in the departments of Cuzco and Madre de Dios, protects more than 800 bird species, 200 species of mammals, gigantic trees and it is the home of many native communities. This park has the world record of the number of species seen in one day at one spot with 324 species.
Other national park in the area is The Tambopata-Candamo National Park con 274,690 hectares, which is known to possess the greatest diversity of mammal, tree, insect, and bird species in the world, as well as the world record for the amount of butterfly species.
But, The Manú and Tambopata-Candamo national parks are not the unique, The Bahuaja-Sonene national Park with 1,091,416 hectares, is the third park in the area, which has the unique humid tropical savannah in Peru. In this live two species threatened with extinction, the manned wolf and the marsh deer, as well as the giant river otter, the bush dog, the black caiman, the giant anteater and the harpy eagle.
USEFUL INFORAMTION
 |
|
ALTITUDE
Capital:Puerto Maldonado (183 masl / 600 fasl)
Lowest point: 183 masl / 600 fasl (Puerto Maldonado)
Highest point: 500 masl / 1640 fasl (Boca Manu) |
|
|
CLIMATE
The city of Puerto Maldonado has a hot and wet climate. The average annual maximum temperature is 26ºC (77ºF) and the minimum is 8ºC (24ºF). The rainy season is from December to March. |
|
|
DISTANCES FROM THE CITY OF PUERTO MALDONADO
Salvación(Province of Manu) 1 hour to Puerto Laberinto by road and 3 days by river
Iñapari(Province of Tahuamanu) 244 km (152 miles) / 4 hours by car. |
DIRECTORY:
|
|
AIRPORT
Padre José Aldamiz International Airport. km. 7 of La Pastora-La Joya Highway. Telephone: (082) 57-1533 / 57-1531 / 57-1532. |
|
|
OVERLAND TRANSPORT
There is no bus station; however, the companies that travel the Puerto Maldonado-Iberia-Iñapari route are concentrated at the corner of Jiron Ica and Jiron Piura, and those that travel the Puerto Maldonado-Cusco route are located in the 3rd block of Avenida Tambopata. |
|
|
HEALTH CENTERS
Victor Alfredo Lazo Peralta Hospital (ESSALUD – Ministry of Health)
Avenida Andrés Avelino Cáceres, km. 3. Telephone: (082) 57-1074
Santa Rosa Hospital
Jiron Cajamarca 171. Telephone: (082) 57-1019 / 57-1030. Attention: 24 hours |
|
|
POLICE STATIONS
National Police of Peru Madre de Dios Sub-Region. Jiron Daniel Alcides Carrion (Intersects with Jiron Puno). Telephone: (082) 80-3504 / 80-3464. Attention: 24 hours |
|
|
CRAFT MARKETS
Different areas where stores can be found in Puerto Maldonado. Among them, there are the Main Square and the Airport. |
|
|
POSTAL SERVICES
Avenida Leon Velarde 675 Puerto Maldonado. Telephone: (082) 57-1088. Attention: Mon. – Sat. 8:00 A.M. – 8:00 P.M. |
|
|
LINKS
|