The bears
Up close in large pens.
JYB Devot — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Josefito123 — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Carlo Brescia — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Josefito123 — CC BY-SA 4.0
Peru's first private nature reserve, created in 2001 over some 34,000 hectares of dry forest and hills at the foot of Chaparrí mountain, held sacred by local people since Moche times. It is run by the Muchik farming community of Santa Catalina de Chongoyape, an example of protection by the people of the land. Its best-known residents are Andean spectacled bears, South America's only bear, named for the pale rings around their eyes. Some bears rescued from captivity live in large, near-natural enclosures, so you can see them up close, a rare chance in Peru. The reserve also has the white-winged guan, a bird thought extinct for decades before it was rediscovered, plus foxes, hummingbirds and sometimes condors overhead. You walk with a guide on trails among carob trees and cacti beneath rocky Chaparrí mountain. A guide is compulsory and visitors are capped at fifty a day, so book ahead. You can stay at an eco-lodge inside the reserve with advance booking, which is better for seeing animals at dawn.
Up close in large pens.
Back from extinction.
Sacred since the Moche.
Chongoyape district, about 75 km east of Chiclayo; the last stretch is a dirt road
It is best to: visitors are capped at fifty a day and a guide is compulsory. The eco-lodge always needs advance booking.