Puerto Maldonado

Puerto Maldonado on the map of Peru

Puerto Maldonado is a city in southeastern Peru, and the capital of the Madre de Dios region. It has 50 661 inhabitants ( 2005). It is named after explorer Faustino Maldonado, the 1860 expedition to the Peruvian Amazon basin led, in 1861, remained missing there.

Location

Puerto Maldonado is located in the tropical forests of the Amazon lowlands, 55 km west of the border with Bolivia, at the confluence of the Río Tambopata in Madre de Dios, an Amazon tributary. In Puerto Maldonado, a ferry crosses the river, which connects the main street of Cuzco with the Peruvian cities of San Lorenzo, Iberia and Iñapari.

Economy

The original foundation of the settlement dates back to the extraction of rubber, but the time of the rubber production is long past. Today the city thrives primarily from logging, gold washing, collecting Brazil nuts, boat-building and eco-tourism, the latter particularly through the airport " Padre Aldamiz " and on the new road access Interoceanica Sur, on the Cusco in just over 6 hours a day is.

The new road links the population has grown strongly in the surrounding area and there are several illegal settlements were built. The gold rush has received a new impetus, and is now widely practiced. The gold is washed either from the river bed or obtained from sediment deposits. Besides, also the amalgam process is used, in which the gold is bound to mercury, wherein the environment is contaminated. The logging has increased as well after a previous reduction, in addition to a woodworking company in Puerto Maldonado in the area are more developed.

Recent changes in EU foreign law have cut hundreds of nut collectors and the local processing plant on the import into the EU. The local economy is based today on the eco-tourism and the construction of boats, which the tourists are transported.

Nature Reserves

Near the town are the Manu National Park and the Tambopata National National Park, also the Bahuaja - Sonene National Reserve. These protected areas are one of the few remaining pristine primary forests of the rain forest belt of the earth. The nature reserves are tapped by a number of places for tourists who can only be reached by boat.

Climate

The climate is warm and humid throughout the year, the rainy season lasts from October to April.