A Guide to cerros de amotape National Park
Cerros de Amotape National Park is to be found straddling the border of Piura and Tumbes. These departments are best known for their beautiful Pacific beaches, popular with holiday-makers; but head inland, and the scenery becomes more mountainous, as the coastal desert gives way to the Andes Mountains.
A local riding his donkey through dry forest of Cerros de Amotape.
Cerros de Amotape covers an area of 91,300 hectares (352 square miles), ranging in altitude from 120 m (394 ft) to 1,538 m (5,046 ft).
To the north, it forms a continuous protected area with the Tumbes National Reserve; while to the east, it stretches to the border with Ecuador.
Ecology of Cerros de Amotape National Park:
The park is centred on the River Tumbes, and the Amotape Mountains, from which the name is derived.
It sits in a climatic transitional zone, between the Peruvian coastal desert and the Ecuadorian sub-humid tropics, and has several distinct eco-regions, including:
Pacific tropical forest: this shares many similar traits to the Amazon, with a good deal of species crossover; but also has unique climatic and soil conditions reflecting the influence of the nearby Pacific Ocean and the decreased rainfall.
Equatorial dry forest
Dry pre-montane tropical forest: in higher and cooler areas of the Amotape Range, where vegetation is tall forest or savannah.
While very dry in parts of Cerros de Amotape, kayaking is possible on the Tumbes River.
As a result the park boasts over 400 plant species, and a number of endemic animals. Chief amongst these is the American crocodile (Crocodylus acutus) and the Neotropical Otter (Lutra longicaudis).
New species continue to be discovered, such as the White-necked Jacobin (Florisuga mellivora), a type of hummingbird, first spotted in 2017 by park wardens.
How to Visit Cerros de Amotape National Park:
Cerros de Amotape receives very few overseas visitors, but if you have a hankering to see the White-necked Jacobin, or any other of the park's flora and fauna, there are birding day trips from Mancora and Los Organos. Just ask us for details.
Cerros de Amotape National Park is popular with birdwatchers seeking rare & endemic species.