Peru

Rio Abiseo National Park

WHS Score 3.0
rate
Votes 4 Average 3.75
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Votes for Rio Abiseo National Park

3.0

  • Wojciech Fedoruk

4.0

  • Kurt Lauer
  • Timonator
  • Zoë Sheng

Rio Abiseo National Park is home to a large number of species of flora and fauna, as well as over 30 pre-Columbian archaeological sites.

The park comprises an isolated river basin covered by forests, transitioning into a mountain landscape at higher elevations. The critically endangered Yellow-tailed Woolly Monkey is known to live in the park and relies on it for its survival as a species. The most famous archaeological site in the park is Gran Pajatén, a ruined settlement that was occupied between 900 and 200 BCE, and 200 BCE to 600 CE.

Community Perspective: This is one of the most difficult to visit WHS in South America; Wojciech managed to set foot in the park after a harrowing drive, and also provides practical tips for future visitors. Timonator arrived from the North by boat.

Site Info

Official Information
Full Name
Rio Abiseo National Park (ID: 548)
Country
Peru
Status
Inscribed 1990 Site history
History of Rio Abiseo National Park
1990: Referred
Additional info on Archeological sites
1990: Revision
Derived from 2 former TWHS: Pajaten Archaeological Complex and Rio Abiseo National Park
1990: Inscribed
Inscribed
1992: Criteria
To include cultural heritage criteria (iii) as well
WHS Type
Mixed
Criteria
  • iii
  • vii
  • ix
  • x
Links
UNESCO
whc.unesco.org
All Links
UNESCO.org
Related Resources
News Article
  • June 11, 2025 wmf.org — Discovery of Over 100 Archaeological Structures At Gran Pajatén
  • Oct. 14, 2017 perutelegraph.com — Update on visiting Gran Pajaten ancient ruins

Community Information

  • Community Category
  • Natural landscape: Forest
  • Archaeological site: Pre-Columbian
Travel Information
One thousand visitors or fewer
One thousand visitors or fewer
"DD : “Despite the evident tourism potential of the landscape and the fascinating archaeological …
Reservation required
Reservation required
To enter the park you need a visitor permit from Peru's Park Service (SERNANP).
Recent Connections
View all (31) .
Connections of Rio Abiseo National Park
Geography
  • Andes
    (500- 4200mtrs)
  • Highest cultural WHS
    Gran Pajaten 2900 m
  • Amazon Basin
    "Located in the San Martín Region of Peru between the Marañón and Huallaga rivers" (Wiki) - both tributaries of Amazon
History
Ecology
  • Endemic monkey species
    Yellow-tailed woolly monkey
  • Jaguar habitat
  • Bears
    spectacled bear
  • Refugium
    "The property is believed to belong to the Huallaga Pleistocene refugium according to the Pleistocene refuge hypothesis, a prevailing explanation for biodiversity patterns and endemism. Isolated refuges, such as the area today constituting the property, are thought to have enabled not only the survival but also the birth of new species during glacial periods. Still very incomplete records show impressive endemism in plants, invertebrates, amphibians, evidence for ongoing speciation processes." (UNESCO)
  • Cloud forest
    The cloud forest is considered a relic of the preglacial Huallaga Pleistocene refugium, and the reason for the area's high degree of diversity and endemism (UNEP-WCMC)
  • Rainforests
  • Sloths
    brown-throated sloth, two-toed sloth
  • Critically endangered fauna species
    Peruvian Yellow-tailed Woolly Monkey (1,000-10,000 remaining)

    See www.iucnredlist.org

  • Anteaters
    southern tamandua
Architecture
  • Mosaic art
    Gran Pajaten: slate mosaics displaying human, bird and geometric motifs
World Heritage Process
Human Activity
Constructions
WHS on Other Lists
Timeline
  • Built in the 4th century BC
    "constitute an outstanding example of pre-Hispanic human occupation at high altitudes in the Andean region from as early as the 4th century BC" (ICOMOS); Gran Pajaten is dated from -900-200 BC and 200 BC-AD 600, but the ruins that can be seen today were constructed in the Inca times (1200-1500 AD)

    See www.7wonders.org

Science and Technology
Visiting conditions
  • No road access
    Best by boat (or hike)

    See www.lonelyplanet.com

  • One thousand visitors or fewer
    "DD : “Despite the evident tourism potential of the landscape and the fascinating archaeological sites, public visits are highly restricted and controlled due to the property’s fragility. (unesco website). “Cabe mejorar el control de las visitas. El turismo y la recreación en el sector de Churo del Parque, que «(IUCN Outlook)"
  • Reservation required
    To enter the park you need a visitor permit from Peru's Park Service (SERNANP).
WHS Names
News
wmf.org 06/11/2025
Discovery of Over 100 Archaeologic…
perutelegraph.com 10/14/2017
Update on visiting Gran Pajaten an…

Community Reviews

Show full reviews
First published: 18/11/23.

Timonator

Rio Abiseo National Park

Rio Abiseo National Park (Inscribed)

Rio Abiseo National Park by Timonator

We´ve made it to the Río Abiseo National Park in Peru! Apparently it´s one of the more difficult places to visit in South America but with the knowledge I have gained I thjnk it is quite feasable for everyone now. Nevertheless it cost me an investment of at least 3 days of travelling and planning to make it. And I´ve only visited a tiny corner of a vast national park that has different habitats and geographical regions that are mainly impossible to easily visit and also has a cultural aspect with the Gran Pajatén which I was not able to visit either. If you want to visit the Gran Pajatén you can contact Nestor (see Wojciech´s review) and he might be able to arrange something. I think officially it´s prohibited to visit for tourists but he told me that he could arrange something during May to July when river levels are easy to cross by hiking. 
 
In my case I have stayed 2 nights in the Abiseo Lodge just next to the park ranger house and only a 10 minute boat ride from the official NP territory on the complete other side of the park than Gran Pajatén. This lodge is accessible from Juanjui which you can reach from Tarapoto. In my case I took the 21 hour overnight bus from Trujillo (Chan Chan) to Tarapoto (movil bus was really comfy for 30 USD) and then 3 hours by minivan/colectivo to Juanjui. This is the website of the …

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First published: 01/07/22.

Wojciech Fedoruk

Rio Abiseo National Park

Rio Abiseo National Park (Inscribed)

Rio Abiseo National Park by Wojciech Fedoruk

Site visited in June 2022. Rio Abiseo is undoubtedly the most difficult WHS to visit in Peru and one of the most difficult in South America. Traveling to such places is especially exciting, so I couldn't let it go while planning a trip to Peru with my family.

You can get to Rio Abiseo in two ways: from the east, from Tarapoto (which has connections to Lima), where you can visit the lower part of the park with tropical forest, or from the west, where the gate to the park is Pataz and you visit the high-mountain part of the park, with archaeological sites, including the most famous Gran Pajaten. For logistics reasons, I only considered the western route. Besides, I am not sure if the eastern route covers the core zone or only parts of the Abiseo River outside the national park.

Rio Abiseo National Park is officially closed to visitors, but you can find offers for trips there on the Internet, so I suspected it was not that tragic. Long before we left, I got in touch with Nestor (whatsapp +51961844611), a guide who offered the opportunity to visit Gran Pajaten from Pataz. Due to the huge differences in height (over 1000 meters), he recommended using mules and trekking from Pataz for at least two days when traveling with small children. Later, however, our contact broke off, but I know that Nestor can be a good fixer for those who want to visit Rio Abiseo from …

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