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National Parks
Almost ten percent of Peru is incorporated into some form of
protected area, including seven national parks, eight national reserves, seven
national sanctuaries, three historical sanctuaries, five reserved zones, six
buffer forests, two hunting reserves, and an assortment of communal reserves and
national forests.
The largest of these protected areas is the National Reserve of Pacaya-Samiria ,
an incredible tropical forest region in northern Peru covering some 2,080,000
hectares. This is closely followed in size by the Manu National Park and
Biosphere Reserve , another vast and stunning jungle area of about 1,532,806
hectares, and the Tambopata-Candamo Reserved Zone and Bahuaja-Sonone National
Park , again, an Amazon area, over 1,478,942 hectares in extent, with possibly
the richest flora and fauna of any region on the planet. Smaller but just as
fascinating to visit are the Huascaran National Park in the high Andes near
Huaraz, a popular trekking and climbing region some 340,000 hectares in area,
and the lesser visited National Reserve of Pampa Galeras , close to Nasca, which
was established mainly to protect the dwindling but precious herds of vicuña,
the smallest and most beautiful member of the South American cameloid family.
Bear in mind that the parks and reserves are enormous zones, within which there
is hardly any attempt to control or organize nature. The term "park" probably
conveys the wrong impression about these huge, virtually untouched areas, which
were designated by the National System for Conservation Units (SNCU), with the
aim of combining conservation, research and, in some cases (such as the Inca
Trail), recreational tourism. In December 1992, the Peruvian National Trust Fund
for Parks and Protected Areas (PROFONANPE) was established as a trust fund
managed by the private sector to provide funding for Peru's main protected
areas. It has assistance from the Peruvian government, national and
international non-governmental organizations, the World Bank Global Environment
facility and the United Nations Environment Program
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