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Yanachaga-Chemillen National Park

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  About: The Yanachaga-Chemillen National Park is a biodiversity hotspot encapsulated in multiple life zones. The park encompasses an isolated mountain range east of the Cordillera de los Andes that protects the headwaters of three rivers and the territory of indigenous communities.

  Address:  The park encompasses 110,658.25 hectares in the central Andes of Peru. It has five access points. The city of Oxapampa is the base to explore the park stations.

  Biodiversity: 523 (?)

  Hours and Fees: It can be visited any time of the year. Foreign visitors pay S/30 for a day or S/60 for a 2-3 day stay. Peruvians pay S/15 for a day or S/30 for 2-3 days. Children and all locals pay S/8 for a day or S/15 for a 2-3 day stay.

  Photography: Photography in the forest interior is challenging due to the poor light conditions and difficulty of having a clear view of animals. The grounds around the facilities offer better conditions for nature photography.

  Policies: No fishing and hunting are allowed. No pets. Collection of specimens is allowed only with the proper permits.

  No wheelchair Access  (?)

   Adequate for families

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Activities

Nature Walk  Wildlife Observation Bird-Watching Photography Hiking Camping

Features

Signaled hiking Trails Interpretation Center Basic Lodging Facilities Restrooms Camping Areas Designated Observation Points

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What Can I See?

Birds

These are the most characteristic birds at Yanachaga-Chemillen National Park. The photo gallery includes birds that are conspicuous, common, and those considered a specialty for the site of a list of approximately 523 species recorded at this site. Species included in the photo gallery give an idea of the birds likely to be seen and photographed on a visit to this site. The caption for each photo contains the species' name, measurements, abundance, and habitat type where it is more frequently seen.

Mammals

These are the most characteristic mammals that occur in Yanachaga-Chemillen National Park. The photo gallery includes the most conspicuous and larger species likely to be seen on a visit to this national park.  However, bear in mind that some of these mammals are largely nocturnal. The caption for each photo contains the species name.  See the photo Gallery.

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Habitats

Wet Puna Grasslands

Puna Grasslands occupy the higher mountain slopes and plains of the park. This habitat type is found generally above 3,500 meters. These grasslands vary in humidity and floristic composition from pure grass to mixed grass and shrubs, largely depending on the altitude, locations, and humidity. In Peru and Bolivia, the dominant vegetation types are bunch grasses of the genus Festuca sp. and Calamogrostis sp.  Photo: Zookey. 

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Cloud Forest

Overall, the Andean montane forests encompass temperate and montane rainforests within the tropical zone ranging from approximately 1,300 m (4,265 feet) up to c. 3,600 m (11,811 feet) of altitude. The Annual precipitation generally exceeds c. 1,000–1,200 mm, and ground level clouds are frequent. The upper limit of montane or cloud forests is the timberline with a transition of shrubs and grasses before the high altitude grasslands. Photo: Emilio Constantino.

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Evergreen Montane Forest

Montane Evergreen Forests are wet to very wet forests generally found in mountains beginning at elevations of 1500 m. The mean annual temperature at the lower limit of the montane forest is about 20 C, (68 F) with a low temperature of approximately 7 C (44 F). Trees are regularly 25-30 m (82-98 feet) tall with relatively small and rounded crowns. The trunk and branches are twisted and covered in moss and bromeliads. Photo: Francisco Llacma.

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Evergreen Lowland Forest

The Tropical Lowland Evergreen Forest is often known as the Neotropical Rainforest. This forest type is characterized by little or no seasonal water shortage and rather uniform warm and humid conditions. In the Neotropics, the Lowland Tropical Evergreen Forest occurs up to 900 m. The Tropical Lowland Evergreen Forest is structurally complex showing multiple layers along its vertical length, which constitutes habitat for a tightly packed community of vertebrate and invertebrates. Photos: Nestor Ccacya.

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Site Photos

1. View of the park facilities at the Huampal park station.
2. Panoramic view of the headquarters and facility at the San Alberto park station.
3. View of the facility and information panel at the Paujil park station.
4. A bridge along one of the trails at the Huampal Area.

Photos: Jorge Tiravanti.

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Map of the Yanachaga-Chemillen National Park

Explore layers (click on ) or icons on the map. There are five points of access and three park stations. San Alberto, Huampal, and Paujil have a park station with facilities.  Sand Daniel and Santa Barbara have only trails and signs. 

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Visit Yanachaga-Chemillen National Park

The Yanachaga-Chemillen National Park was established on August 29, 1986, principally to safeguard the high basins of the headwaters of the Río Palcazu, Río Huancabamba, and Río Pozuzo and to protect indigenous communities such as the Yanesha living in the Park buffer zone. Of the 110,658.25 hectares within the Park limits, 99.99 percent is primary forest. The park encompasses several life zones, altitudes, climate types, and soils. Vegetation types include montane rainforest, tropical Amazon rainforest, cloud forest, and puna ecosystems. Located within 38 miles north of the Oxapampa district Yanachaga-Chemillen is an ideal travel destination for nature-lovers.

Description 

The  Yanachaga-Chemillen National Park encompasses an isolated mountain chain east of the main Andean Cordillera including elevations ranging from 400 to 3800 m above sea level. There are five park stations and points of access to the park. Each park station has basic facilities, park rangers, and signaled trails.

• The Santa Barbara Sector is the highest accessible point of the park, which is located at an approximate height of 3600 m above sea level.  This point of access to the park does not have a park station.
• San Alberto Park Station: Is close to the city of Oxampampa. The trail network includes elevations ranging between 2400-2800 meters.
• San Daniel Sector: Is also located reasonably close to the city of Oxapampa. The trail network includes elevations ranging between 1800-2200 meters. There are no facilities at this point of access.
• Huampal Park Station: Is located along the road between Oxapampa and Pozuzo. The trail network includes elevations ranging between from 700-1500 meters.
• Paujil Park Station: Is located along the Iscozacin River on the eastern side of the park. It can take multiple days to access. The trail network includes elevations around 400 meters.

Plan your Trip

It takes approximately 11 hours to travel between Lima and Oxapampa (407.4 km) by Car,  Central/Route 22 The park is visited mostly by Peruvian visitors throughout most of the year except for the wettest months of January, February, and March. The San Alberto and Huampal areas are the most visited due to their ease of access. The San Daniel area is less visited in spite of being scenic and close to the city of Oxapampa. This is due to the lack of infrastructure, facilities, and lack of promotion. Most visitors visit the park for a single day. Visitors with more specific interests visit the park for multiple days either camping or using the basic lodging facilities at the park. The Huampal park station has roofed camping sites and basic lodging facilities for up to 6 people.  Multiple-day stays either at the lodge or camping areas will require previous coordination with the park administration. You can use Oxampampa as a base to visit San Alberto and Sand Daniel. Huampal can be explored using the town of Pozuzo as a base as it is located within 17 km from Huampal. We recommend to bring lunch and plan to stay at the park most of the day. Get as early in the morning as possible to take advantage of the peak of bird and other wildlife activity.  Explore the trails and points of interest. There are trails of various lengths going to different points of interest. Rangers at the park stations are willing to help with information about each trail and landmarks of interest. If you plan to camp or stay at the facilities on site, you will need to bring everything yourself as there are no supplies available. The bathrooms are basic but kept clean.

This article about the Yanachaga-Chemillen National Park was published on Avian Report.