Noel Kempff Mercado national bolivian park (part3)

The Huanchaca Plateau is a drained by numerous perennial rivers and streams which merge and form the deadwaters of teh Verde and Paucerna Rivers. Precipitous escarpments, 600 to 1800 feet high, bound the plateau, often crating spectacular wateralls; Arco Iris and the Federico Ahlfeld falls on the Paucerna River are considered to be two of the continent's finest.

The Huanchaca Plateauat sunset, taken from the savannah grasslands looking southeast from Los Fierros.

On it's way to the Rio Itenez, the narrow Paucerna River winds its way through dense towering rainforest. Slowly travelling downstream through this remote and pristine wilderness, one many frequently see Jaguar and Giant otter, an exciting and unforgettable highlights to this unique expedition. The first to discover the Huanchaca Plateau was the legendary British explorer Colonel Percy Fawcett.

Fawcett discovered the plateau in 1910 while exploring the Verde River and demarcating the national boundaries for the Bolivian government. It is believed that Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's famous novel The Lost World was based in part on Fawcett's exciting accounts of the Huanchaca Plateau.

A frequent sight along the Itenez, Paucerna, and Verde Rivers are families of Gian Otters and Southern River Otter. These two species are rare and threatened throughout their range.

Noel Kempff Mercado national bolivian park (part2)

So far, over 620 bird species have been identified within the park, which is approximately one-fourth of all birds in the Neotropics. blu-and-yello, Scarlet, Golden-collared and Chestnut fronted Macaws; over 20 species of Parrots; Crimson-bellied Parakeet; Red-necked Aracari; Helmeted Manakin; Curl-crested Jay;Hoatzin and Harpy Eagle are just some of the exciting species found within the park.

Photo below shows a couple of blue and yellow Macaws, one of the seven species of Macaws within the park.

The park is also abundant in fauna; many large mammals are frequently sighted during hikes into the park's savannah and forests or while cruising the extensive river and lagoon systesm. Brazilian Tapir, grey-and-red brocket deer, silvery marmoset, spider and black howler monkey are plentiful. There are also Giant Otter and Capybara.

Noel Kempff Mercado national bolivian park

I mentioned this park in another post some time ago, but didn't give myself the time to look for some info. I've been to this park many years ago and I can absolutely support the fact that it must be either the or one of the most beautiful parks that Bolivia has.

Our park is found at the very heart of South America and allows a unique access to rainforest, seasonal flooded savannah, Brazilian cerrado, gallery forest, thorn scrum, humid forests and marshes similar to the Pantanal formation in Brazil. the mesa-like lnadscape of the Huanchcaca Plateau (see in the photograph below), the spectacular Arco iris, Ahfeld and El Encanto Falls; the virigin rainforests of the Paucerna river, and the extensive black water bays an lagoons of the Itenez river provide a breathtaking backdrop to one of South America's premier wildlife locations.