The Tumbes Mangroves

Mangrove needs warm water, which is why Peru has almost none of it: the cold current keeps the rest of the coast too cold, and only this corner against the Ecuadorian border is warm enough. The national sanctuary protects a delta of red and black mangrove cut by tidal channels, where the trees stand on stilt roots above water that rises and falls several metres a day. Boats work the channels around high tide. The mud below holds the black conch, gathered by hand by collectors who reach in among the roots, and the system supports the American crocodile at the northern edge of Peru, along with herons, frigatebirds and large populations of fiddler crabs.

What you actually see

• The tidal channels - narrow waterways between stilt-rooted mangrove, navigable only around high water.
• Black conch gathering - collectors working the root mud by hand, a trade specific to this coast.
• Bird colonies - herons, egrets, frigatebirds and cormorants roosting on the islands.
• The crocodile breeding centre - the conservation project for the American crocodile near Puerto Pizarro.

When to go

Trips are tied to the tide rather than the season, and operators plan around high water, so ask before fixing a time. Mornings are cooler and better for birds. The wet months from December to April are hot and humid with heavy afternoon downpours. Mosquitoes are worst at dusk in any month, so cover up before the light goes.

Honest expectations

It is a short boat ride rather than a day in the wild, and some operators pad the trip with stops at a small island menagerie and souvenir stalls, which is not what most people came for. The water near Puerto Pizarro carries rubbish. Heat and humidity are heavy year-round, and there is no shade on an open boat.

Nearby

Cerros de Amotape National Park lies inland, and the beaches around Punta Sal are south.