Qualla: Cerros de Amotape National Park

Cerros de Amotape National Park: Introduction

Thu, 16 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Vladimir Terán Altamirano from Lima, Perú, CC BY 2.0. Peru has exactly one navigable river on its Pacific coast, and it runs through here. The Tumbes River cuts across the Cerros de Amotape National Park and keeps flowing long after the surrounding country has turned to desert - a fact that says almost everything about why this particular 1,500 square kilometers of dry forest and low mountain exists as a protected area. Jaguars live here. So do American crocodiles. So does the mantled howler monkey, whose morning calls can carry for three miles through the moister forest sections. The park has 111 bird species, miradores that open onto valley views, hidden waterfalls, and archaeological ruins most visitors never see because they never get past the entrance gate. The park rewards those who do.

Image: Vladimir Terán Altamirano from Lima, Perú | CC BY 2.0

Cerros de Amotape National Park: The Mountains and the River

Thu, 16 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Harrison zender, CC BY-SA 4.0. The park covers more than 150,000 hectares - 1,515 square kilometers - of the Cordillera de los Amotapes in Peru's Northern Coast region, on the Ecuadorian border. Elevations run from 120 meters in the river bottoms to 1,538 meters on the ridgelines, which is not alpine terrain b...

Image: Harrison zender | CC BY-SA 4.0

Cerros de Amotape National Park: Dry Forest, Moist Forest, Jaguar

Thu, 16 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Vladimir Terán Altamirano from Lima, Perú, CC BY 2.0. What makes Cerros de Amotape ecologically valuable is not one ecosystem but the transitions between several. The dry forest holds white-tailed deer, red brocket deer, and the Guayaquil squirrel - a species found almost nowhere else in Peru. The moister forests along the river sup...

Image: Vladimir Terán Altamirano from Lima, Perú | CC BY 2.0

Cerros de Amotape National Park: Birds and Crocodiles

Thu, 16 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Vladimir Terán Altamirano from Lima, Perú, CC BY 2.0. The 111 recorded bird species in the park include hawks, parakeets, and owls in predictable abundance, along with specialized residents like the gray-cheeked parakeet, the black-headed spinetail, and the slaty becard. On the right day, looking up at the right moment, you might ca...

Image: Vladimir Terán Altamirano from Lima, Perú | CC BY 2.0

Cerros de Amotape National Park: Trails into the Backcountry

Thu, 16 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Imagen, CC BY-SA 4.0. Three trails provide most of the park's access. Sendero Cerro Amotape climbs to the top of the park's main mountain and rewards the difficulty with expansive views of the river valley below; the trail is challenging and sometimes poorly cleared, and you will want a map. Sendero E...

Image: Imagen | CC BY-SA 4.0

Cerros de Amotape National Park: Getting There and Sleeping Rough

Thu, 16 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Vladimir Terán Altamirano from Lima, Perú, CC BY 2.0. The nearest airport with good commercial service is in Piura, from which a bus takes you to Sullana, from which a taxi or arranged transport completes the long and not-cheap journey to the park entrances. Entry fee is roughly S/10 - about three US dollars - collected at the range...

Image: Vladimir Terán Altamirano from Lima, Perú | CC BY 2.0