A Guide to Matses National Reserve

The Matses National Reserve covers an area of 4,206 km² (420,735 hectares) in Peru's Loreto province, and forms part of a cross-border biological corridor with the Sierra del Divisor National Park in Peru and the Serra do Divisor, Alto Jurua and Alto Tarauaca reserves in Brazil.  

History of Matses National Reserve:

One of the stated objectives of the Reserve, when it was established in 2009, was to allow the indigenous people - the Matses (also sometimes known as Mayoruna) - to continue to live in their traditional manner, adapted to the jungle environment they have called home for centuries, and exploiting its resources in a sustainable manner. 

The Matses, who are also known as the 'Jaguar People', on account of their cat-like facial decoration, only made contact with Westerners in the 1960s. This soon led to conflict, as they attacked the newcomers with bows and arrows, and kidnapped their women, as was traditional practice in Matse warfare, in order to assimilate them into their tribe. 

The response of the Peruvian government was to bomb their villages with napalm, and send the army to 'pacify' the area, forcing the Matses to move nearer and over the Brazilian border. 

Relations gradually improved, with the acceptance by the Matse of two SIL International missionaries who learned the language - with a view to translating the Bible - and encouraged them to desist from the practice of kidnapping women.  

The area where the Matses lived was declared a 'communal reserve' in 1998. But pressure from oil companies, keen to drill in the area, continued.

In 2007, the Matses leaders rejected an advance from PetroPeru to explore their territory, threatening to refuse entry, with violence if necessary, to their personnel. 

This was the catalyst for the establishment of the national reserve, which was signed into law two years later. But pressures from oil companies, loggers and farmers continued.

In 2012, in response to the granting of exploration permits to a Canadian oil company, an additional 60,059 hectares of Matses land, in the headwaters of the Chobayacu and Yaquerana rivers, was purchased and protected as a Communal Reserve.

Flora & Fauna in Matses National Reserve:

A biological exploration in the Reserve in 2004 by Chicago’s Field Museum recorded:

• 65 species of mammal

• 416 species of bird

• An estimated 3,000 - 4,000 plant species

• Two rare & endangered monkey species:

  • Bald Uakari (Cacajao calvus)

  • Goeldi’s Marmoset (Callimico goeldii)

Further scientific research is needed to establish the full extent of Matses Reserve’s bio-diversity, and no doubt, uncover new species.

How To Visit Matses National Reserve:

There is a military airstrip at the small town of Colonia Angamos, on the Yavari River, but there are only charter flights here from Iquitos.

The Yavari River divides Peru from Brazil for much of its course, and marks the Western limit of the Matses Reserve.

From the Colombian town of Leticia, which sits at the border of Brazil, Colombia and Peru, it is possible to get river transport up the Yavari.

Alternatively, one can hike into Matses territory from the Peruvian jungle town of Requena, which sits upstream from Iquitos, on the Ucayali River.

There are infrequent group trips to Matses Reserve, going via Requena, and hiking from one village to the next. Ask us about the next departure.

The hope is that small-scale tourism to the Matses National Reserve will offer the inhabitants a less destructive source of income, assisting with the maintenance of the rainforest.