Situated roughly six hours drive northeast of Cusco, Manu National Park was declared a World Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO in recognition of its status as one of the world’s most important tropical parks.
The park’s most southerly point, Acjanaco, lies at 3,500 metres above sea level and is described as tropical alpine grassland. It has short, scrubby vegetation and the weather is often cold. Lower down, elfin forest is characterised by low trees, cold humid air and highly diverse fauna, including a rare species of high-altitude toucan.
Still further down, between 1,000 and 2,500 metres above sea level, the cloud forest begins. This unique ecosystem receives high rainfall and is home to a large number of endemic species such as the spectacled bear and the cock-of-the-rock, as well as numerous iridescent hummingbirds.
Lower still lies the high forest zone, which occupies the niche between cloud forest and the Amazon Basin, a diverse landscape rich in fauna, and home to many indigenous tribes. Finally the lowland Amazon Basin lies at around 350 metres above sea level. No other national park compares with Manu in terms of the sheer variety of life forms; for example it boasts no fewer than 13 species of monkey and one of the world's rarest mammals: the giant river otter.
The cloud forest is created where the warm, moist air of the Amazon Basin meets the cold bulk of the Andes Mountains. Here the air cools, condenses, and cloaks the mountainsides between 2,500 and 3,500 metres altitude in a perpetual shroud of mist. In this unique environment almost 50% of the plants are endemic i.e. are found nowhere else on earth! The perpetual humidity of the cloud forest ensures there is a huge variety of butterflies, giant ferns, bromeliads and orchids.
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