Travel Information to Visit Noel Kempff Mercado Park
About Noel Kempff Mercado National Park
Noel Kempff Mercado National Park, was created in 1979 and protects 15,234 km² of Amazonian rainforest, cerrado savanna and mountain forests in the northeast of the Santa Cruz department, right on the border with Brazil. It is one of the most extensive and best-preserved spaces in the Amazon basin, with an altitude that varies between 200 and 1000 m asl, which generates a great variety of habitats and exceptional biodiversity.
In addition to its magnitude and variety of ecosystems, Noel Kempff Mercado Park was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in the year 2000, recognizing its universal value as one of the last practically intact refuges of the Amazon basin.
Its humid tropical climate, with abundant rainfall and average temperatures between 25 and 28 °C throughout the year, favors the proliferation of exceptional flora and fauna. The area is also a center for scientific research that have gathered more than 50,000 botanical specimens, 135,000 insects, 1,960 mammals, 4,920 reptiles, 2,685 amphibians and 3,000 birds, which makes the park an invaluable source of data for biology, ecology and conservation. This biological richness, added to the presence of viable populations of threatened species such as the jaguar, the tapir and the harpy eagle, positions Noel Kempff Mercado as a global reference for the preservation of Amazonian biodiversity and as an attraction for ecotourists and scientists seeking to experience and study one of the most complete ecosystems on the planet.
Tourist Attractions
Data
Management Category
IUCN Category II (national park).
Area
1,523,446 ha (≈ 15,234 km²).
Location and Biogeographical Subregions
Northeast of Santa Cruz, José Miguel de Velasco province, border with Brazil; part of the Amazon forest and the Brazilian cerrado, integrating into the “Brazilian Shield”.
Altitude Range
200 – 1,000 m asl.
Climate
Humid and warm tropical, with high annual precipitation and average temperatures around 25‑28 °C, creating conditions of high humidity throughout the year.
Wildlife
Animal wealth is equally remarkable: 139 mammals have been recorded (jaguars, pumas, maned wolves, giant anteaters, tapirs, spider monkeys and black howlers), ≈ 620 birds (including the harpy eagle, the Amazon parrot and more than 20 species of parrots), 74 reptiles (black and spectacled caimans, anacondas, pythons) and 62 amphibians, in addition to 347 insects and a large number of freshwater fish. The park houses viable populations of globally threatened species, such as the jaguar and the Amazonian manatee, and constitutes an essential refuge for the conservation of Amazonian and cerrado biodiversity.
Vegetation and Flora
The park shows a mosaic of ecosystems that includes evergreen Amazonian rainforest in the lowest areas, semi-deciduous and palm forests in transition zones, extensive areas of cerrado and tall grass savanna on the Huanchaca plateau (≈ 42,000 ha), in addition to gallery forests, swamps and bamboo forests in river valleys. This diversity of habitats explains the presence of more than 4,000 species of vascular plants, including bromeliads, heliconias, aroids and valuable woods such as “mara” (mahogany).
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