Cutervo National Park

Cutervo was declared in 1961, the first national park in Peru, and the reason was specific: the Cueva de los Guácharos, a cave in the Tarros hills holding a colony of oilbirds. The guácharo is a nocturnal fruit-eating bird that roosts in caves, navigates in the dark by echolocation - one of very few birds that do - and leaves at night to feed on palm fruit, and the colony here was being harvested for the oil rendered from fat chicks, which is where the name comes from. The park has since been expanded to protect around eight thousand hectares of cloud forest and páramo holding spectacled bear, mountain tapir, and a substantial bird list including cock-of-the-rock. Access is by road to San Andrés and then trails; the cave requires a guide and a torch, and the birds are sensitive to light and disturbance, so visits are managed and restricted.

What you actually see

• The oilbird cave - the guácharo colony the park was created to protect.
• The echolocation - one of the few bird species that navigates by sound in the dark.
• The cloud forest - around eight thousand hectares with bear and tapir present.
• The 1961 designation - Peru's first national park.

When to go

May to September for trail conditions, though cloud forest is wet year-round. Cave visits are managed and need a guide. A day or two.

Honest expectations

Oilbirds are highly sensitive to light and disturbance - visits are limited and flash photography is prohibited. Muddy trails and constant damp. Guides and registration are needed. Very few visitors and minimal infrastructure.

Nearby

Cutervo town is the base; Chota and the Cajamarca highlands are south.